bug bytes

just a girl who likes entomology -- there are over 1,000,000 known insect species!! let's talk about them all

[sinobug]

Pale Green Awlet (Burara gomata, Coeliadinae, Hesperiidae) by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu'er, Yunnan, China See more Chinese skippers on my Flickr site HERE…..

[insectish-blog]

just molted! with an appropriate field guide to insects and spiders in the background  i also made a time lapse video if anyone is interested

[insectish-blog]

cicada nymph!

[rasec-wizzlbang-blog]

@zuzu look at this katydid pretending to be a weaver ant

[quae-est]

@ants-are-fascinating

[crosstimberlake]

Pond skater, a rare non-skitish moment resting on a rock so I could get down and get close

[sinobug]

Giant False Leaf Katydid (Pseudophyllus titan, Pseudophyllinae, Tettigoniidae), nymph (above) and adult (below) by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu’er, Yunnan, China See more Chinese grasshoppers, katydids and crickets on my Flickr site HERE…..

[beautiful-earthly-things]

[deactivated-blog]

Meloe proscarabeus by Cristian Arghius on Flickr.

[smithsonianlibrariesarchives]

Still a fundamental work for the study of Neotropical plants and animals, Biologia Centrali-Americana is an encyclopedia of the natural history of Mexico and Central America. The entirety of the 215 part encyclopedia has been digitized and made available in the Biodiversity Heritage Library. 

You can also find many images from Biologia Centrali-Americana in our Galaxy of Images under subjects like “Butterflies and Moths,” where we found this one. The Biodiversity Heritage Library’s Flickr page also has oodles of butterflies.

[creatures-alive]

Imperator by andre de kesel

[typhlonectes]

A spectacularly colored coprophagous beetle from scrublands in Latin America. The males have a very long horn on the cephalon (male, ca. 24mm long, Sulcophanaeus imperator, Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, collection specimen, Argentina, 2014).

[ecuadorlife]

Tiger moth, Phaeo sylva from Ecuador Megadiverso: www.flickr.com/andreaskay/albums

[astronomy-to-zoology]

Hymenopus coronatus

Sometimes known as the Walking Flower Mantis or Pink Orchid Mantis, Hymenopus coronatus is a species of flower mimicking mantis that is native to southeastern Asia. Hymenopus coronatus is a rainforest dweller, typically being encountered in Malaysia and parts of  Indonesia. Like other flower mantids H. coronatus lies in wait on or near flowers, ambushing any flying insects that stray too close. Some sources state that H. coronatus prefers the Melastome Melastoma polyanthum.

Classification

Animalia-Arthropoda-Insecta-Mantodea-Hymenopodidae-Hymenopus-H. coronatus

Image: Luc Viatour

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

Adorably fuzzy honey bee that I found on my front porch in the wee hours one night last July. No idea why it was there. Looks like it was visiting my milkweed patch, based on the pollinia attached to that front leg. It was gone when I checked later that morning, so hopefully it made its way back to its hive.

[vita-insectum]

This is the cutest bee I have ever seen

[insectish-blog]

Arctiine moth pupae

Caterpillars of the genus Cyana weave a cage out of their spines in order to protect themselves during pupation. 

Photos by Nicky Bay

[creatures-alive]

Pink flatid hopper (Phromnia rosea) (6) by pbertner on Flickr.

[b33tl3b0y]

lovely palmetto tortoise beetle sons. look at their sweet feets, look at their darling dimples

[khrysdiebee]

LOOK AT THE LITTLE FEET

[kearunning]

These little feet are not only pretty, they are extremely functional! 

Like a gecko, this tortoise beetle (Hemisphaerota cyaneae) sticks to surfaces using many many tiny hairs on it’s feet! The hairs are coated in oil, and the combined surface tension of the oil keeps the beetle stuck down. When faced with danger (Ants!), the beetle clamps down and will not be moved. 

I remembered reading this in a book once, and after a bit of research I found it! In Tomas Eisner’s For Love of Insects, (phenomenal book, btw), he showcases an experiment where researchers tested the strength of this little beetle’s feet using a pulley system, wax, and a succession of larger weights. The beetle was able to withstand 2g of lift-pressure, 148x its own body weight! So yes, please do look at their feet, they are really amazing. 

[little-instars]

Little feets!!!

[ecuadorlife]

Katydid nymph from the Amazon rainforest near Puyo, Ecuador, additional photos in higher resolution at www.flickr.com/andreaskay