#insect facts

[spiraling-bug]

False Metamorphosis

[gloomywolfmushroom]

The Southern Flannel Moth (Megalopyge opercularis)

Cute and oh so furry, am I right? These moths are widespread throughout the United States and commonly found on the East Coast stretching from New Jersey to Florida. Though they are completely harmless as adults, behind all that thick and lengthy, almost fur like hair, they have a sneaky little secret.

The larvae of this species is one of the most venomous caterpillars in the U.S. and are capable of delivering a sting so painful, it's described as a knife like feeling in your bones or getting bit by a snake. Some even say it resembles the sensation of amputation!

The caterpillar also goes by the name Puss Caterpillar, Asp Caterpillar, or Woolly Slug. They can be between 1-1.5 inches and have long hairs covering their entire body. These hairs act like stinging spines that carry toxic venom inside. As the caterpillar grows, they become curly and fluffier, making them look even more approachable and pet-able. But, the older they get, the more potent their venom becomes.

Now, before you panic, they are not actively out to attack, and their sting isn't lethal. But it is an extreme discomfort. A simple touch, just brushing past, is enough to cause the hairs to break off and inject their venom. Pain begins in minutes and increases quickly. It can spread all throughout the limb or affected area, then eventually the whole body. It is usually followed by redness and swelling as well. So, if you see the moths around, it is safe to assume there are many caterpillars nearby or waiting to be born.

Be safe and be smart, my friends.

Image links: 1 & 2, 3

[v3ronicasawyer]

WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ANTS WERE SO COOL?

okay, so, i thought i accidentally scared an ant, and for some reason i’ve been emotional asf today, so i ranted about it to a friend, who said something along the lines of “i’m sure the ant is fine now”, which spiked my “animal curiosity”, so i looked up if ants can feel fear, and turns out, they can’t! later on, i looked into it more, and DUDE THEY ARE SO AWESOME

it’s so cool cause like, yeah, ants don’t feel fear in the same way we do, BUT they show behaviour that assumes they can realise and actually respond to potential problems. they have this cool sensory system that helps them detect changes in environment, like potential predators being around or something dangerous idk anymore. and so when they’re threatened, they release these “alarm pheromones” that signal other ants in the colony to do defence actions (fleeing or attacking or something similar). similar to a fear reaction, as that it involves avoiding a perceived threat. however they still do not have the cognitive capacity to understand or show fear as humans can, responses are based on instinct and adaptations from evaluation over time

god i need an animal rants tag at this point

[curium-killedthecat]

bees this, bees that, okay but what about ladybirds.

everyone knows bees are great for the ecosystem and basically provide us with most of our food. (and i love them for that)

but did you know ladybird beetles are our biological pest control? they prey on aphids and control their population - aphids can cause serious damage to crops so farmers love them (and i do too) with one ladybird beetle eating up to 5000 aphids in their lifetime.

commonly called ladybugs - although they are not actually bugs, but beetles! the main difference between the two is the mouth - bugs will pierce, beetles will chew. another key difference is the shape of the wings. which is why lady-beetle is also another common name.

ladybirds are cool :D one of my favourite bugs (beetles)

[heghogxl06]

Insect/Bug of the day!!!!!! (feb 5th) today is one of my personal favourites the dung beetle I may have gone a bit overboard with the information on this one but there's just so many cool stuff about these guys people take one look at their name and judge these guys think that they are disgusting and ugly but they are so beautiful and do so much for our ecosystem they roll shit so we can walk in a beautiful world and you should let them roll into your heart as well 🤎

𓆑𓆦𓆣𓆨𓆑𓆤𓆧𓆬

This is just a fun thing im doing in my fee time its not super serious so if any people know more and I've got stuff wrong feel free to let me know

Also if people have bugs/ insects/arcnids or arthropods they love let me know and I may look into them 🥰

(full images bellow)

[pnkzero]

Fun entomology fact of the day! 2/9

Not all ant species build nests. A group of about 200 species known as army ants have two phases of their life: nomad and stationary. During the colony's nomad phase, the ants travel all day, attacking other colonies and insects they encounter for food. At night, they build a temporary nest and keep moving the next morning. The only time they stop traveling is during the stationary phase when the queen lays eggs and the colony waits for them to hatch. During this time, the worker ants make a nest out of their own bodies to protect the queen, the food, and the eggs.

[the-animal-kingdom]

Did you know, that wasps can create their own paper? This material is what is used to create wasp nests. When a lone Queen wasp finds a good place to build, she begins to chew on wood fibres, mixes it with her saliva and then spits it back out to form walls. The nest starts as a durable, vertical stalk and then she builds an inverted cup shape that has 6 sided cells, as a nursery for larva. She also sprays this first part of the nest with a chemical that is able to repel ants.

When she is done with the first part, the Queen wasp lays eggs in the cells she created and when they then reach adulthood, these worker wasps will then continue to build the nest, allowing for the Queen to resign to egg laying.

It can typically take a hive around 2-4 weeks to build a full, finished nest.

[alittleplaytime]

Hi hi hi hi hi!!!

Hi I saw that you like bugs, and I really really really like bugs!!!!!!!!

My favorite bugs are rolly pollies and also orchid mantises!!!

Do you have any fun bug facts? I wanna bug facts :DD

hi hi, i'm more than happy to talk about buggies to you!! i love, love, love bugs - i was always the kid who found insects during break and tried showing them off to everyone (even the 'ugly' or 'gross' bugs no one liked, i thought they were precious)

since you love roly polies, heres a fact or two about them!:

fascinatingly enough, despite being named pill bugs, roly polies are actually crustaceans and not insects! they're more closely related to shrimp, crabs and lobsters then bugs!

they can ingest heavy metals such as lead, zinc, copper and cadmium that are present in soil, though it's not a primary food source for them!

they carry their babies in a pouch, called the marsupium! the eggs will develop in the pouch for two to three months and after hatching, they will even stay in the pouch for three or four days afterwards!

along with some orchid mantis facts:

orchid mantis have learnt to change colours, much like a chameleon - though their range is much more muted and small, being light white and pinks to brown!

orchid mantis' are not the only type of flower mantis, others include: the small devils flower mantis and the wandering violin mantis!

they're one of the top insect predators - they'll even eat bigger animals such as frogs, rodents and birds!!

despite being named the orchid mantis, they don't specifically resemble any orchids, more so a general flower aesthetic to attract prey according to behavioral ecologist james o’hanlon who said, “there no compelling evidence to suggest that orchid mantises mimic a specific orchid, or any other specific flower.”!

and some general bug facts, of course <3:

male giraffe weevils will use their long necks to fight eachother, just like their namesake!

bugs can in fact fart, though not all bugs have this function! it's particularly seen in bugs with a lot of gut bacteria, such as roaches and termites!

sometimes bumblebees will bite plants to make them bloom earlier - even up to a month early!! this usually happens during the early spring when pollen may be limited!

some stone flies will do push-ups in an attempt to impress potential mates!