inverts, bryophytes, and co.

hihi, and welcome! i hope you find something that interests you here :) *all pictures are my own unless otherwise stated*

[imlichenthesebugs]

greetings!! 🪲

i've been meaning to post bug stuff (and maybe the odd bryophyte thing) here for a while, but i've just returned from the amazon rainforest, and have decided to just start hehe

so welcome! i hope you find something cool or interesting here :)

(and feel free to ask any questions :D)

[imlichenthesebugs]

Arctiinae

Tiger Moths

order: lepidoptera

superfamily: noctuoidea

family: erebidae

There are about 11,000 named species of tiger moths worldwide. More of these are found in tropical America than anywhere else in the world (about 6,000 species).

Tiger moth colouration varies; some are white, others have disruptive or cryptic patterns, and other species have bright colours to warn any potential predators of the noxious chemical compounds they contain.

caterpillars obtain these chemical defenses (mainly pyrrolizidine alkaloids) from host plants and pass these on to adults

Many Arctiinae caterpillars are polyphagous (feed on multiple types of plants). However, there is still a bias towards plants containing alkaloids.

in some species, it is the adults that gather the chemicals from target plants (either instead of or in addition to the larval stage)

adult males especially -> for their own defenses, and to synthesise sex pheremones and offer during mating

the male passes some of the chemicals through sperm packets, and the female then passes some of these on to her eggs

Some species (in genus Cosmosoma and a few others) spend 9 hours copulating. To deter potential predators from taking advantage of this extreme vulnerability, the male will discharge fibers with alkaloid over the female.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (in the aster and borage families, as well as a few others) - sequestered by both adult and juvenile arctiinae

Cardiac glycocides / cardenolids (in the dogbane family. A steroid named for the ability to cause humans cardiac arrest) and iridoid glycosides (in many of the Lamiales order plants) - sequestered by juvenile tiger moths

Arctiinae also uses mimicry a lot, especially in species that may not contain as many chemical defenses:

warning colouration of other distasteful insects

precise mimicry of wasps (colour; pattern; narrow, transparent wings; how the wings fold; similar waists

The less colourful species that fly at night can emit bursts of ultrasonic clicks to deter bats. This is thought to warn them that the moths contain distasteful compounds.

[imlichenthesebugs]

Acromis sparsa

order: coleoptera

family: chrysomelidae

subfamily: cassidinae

Acromis sparsa is a species of leaf beetle, specifically a tortoise beetle with a neotropical distribution (Mexico to Brazil), and found in tropical forests.

Both the adults and the larvae will feed and live on hogvine plants (Merremia umbellata). This is a vine with yellow flowers and fruit, often harvested for medicine and food.

This species of beetle exhibits complex behaviours not often observed in other leaf beetles.

the males have an intense competition, where they fight over females

the females will guard their larvae, sometimes standing on their backs to shield them

the larvae are lacking in many defensive behaviours that are displayed cassinidae larvae without maternal care

The only sexual dimorphism is in the shape of the elytra. The top corners in males end in long points. The males are also often seen with elytral holes, but this is thought to be due to fighting rather than a biological reason.