Mantis CAN Have Liddle A Honey Snack @mantischildren - Tumblr Blog

HAPPY NATIONAL MOTH WEEK! Celebrate with moth art! Moths of North America poster Saturniid Moths of North America poster

layaart

some bugs!

fluffysheeps

Bumble sharks 🐝🦈

iwannabeaswampwitch

Lots of drama in our household

isopresso

ゾウムシ

Weevil

etcstims

GIANT WEEVIL | source

deepseaworm

A rose chafer I saw a few days ago

snailspotter

Today's snail: Olivancillaria auricularia | Ear Ancilla

(source)

snailspotter

oh, to be held gentle like the hamburger...

(sources: left, right)

textless

When I first found some triops by accident, back in 2010, they absolutely blew my mind. The next time I found a few, in 2018, I was excited to see them but they seemed less alien because I knew what they were. And since they lived in puddles quite close to home, I knew where to find them.

Triops eggs can dry up and lie dormant for extended periods, which allows them to live in the desert. They need good rain to hatch, and it takes two or three weeks for them to grow to adulthood. Their lifespan is 60-90 days in good conditions, but of course conditions don't always cooperate.

This year we had a nice monsoon, with steady rain starting in late June. I saw the first triops in Palominas at the beginning of August, and found this bunch a week or so later. I have never seen them laying eggs before, but that was clearly what they were doing as they made little dips in the mud by swishing their shrimp tails.

When I went looking for them at the end of the month, with a friend who was excited to see some triops, there were still good puddles but not a triops (or even a tadpole) to be found. At least I know they had a chance to lay eggs.

Cochise County, Arizona, August 2024.