the entomology thread

The large wasp species has a special structure in its abdomen that traps the sun's rays, and a special pigment that harvests the energy they contain.
The discovery helps explain why these hornets have a large yellow stripe across their body and why they become more active as the day gets hotter.

― the nagl is the nagl (dayo), Thursday, 9 December 2010 07:52 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkr0VYcZ-eY

― dayo, Friday, 17 December 2010 00:19 (fourteen years ago)

four months pass...

http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/mraz/stag-beetle-08d240.jpg

http://www.members.shaw.ca/mswerdlyk/kevin8.gif

― you ain't my son, you my motherfucking flopson (dayo), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:03 (fourteen years ago)

http://vogueyogi.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/palmetto.jpg

http://www.wingsoftherainforest.com/large_images/P8090356.JPG

― you ain't my son, you my motherfucking flopson (dayo), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:05 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.marcofolio.net/images/stories/art/inspiration/colourful_insects/assassin_bug.jpg

― you ain't my son, you my motherfucking flopson (dayo), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:07 (fourteen years ago)

http://i.neoseeker.com/v_fanart.php?faid=1874

― funperson (Lamp), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:09 (fourteen years ago)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bee_Squirt.gif

― you ain't my son, you my motherfucking flopson (dayo), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:10 (fourteen years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Hoverflies_mating_midair.jpg/800px-Hoverflies_mating_midair.jpg

― you ain't my son, you my motherfucking flopson (dayo), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:10 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles/a421_dasychirapudibunda.jpg

― you ain't my son, you my motherfucking flopson (dayo), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:13 (fourteen years ago)

i saw a black grasshopper with orange highlights in florida a few weeks ago

http://i.imgur.com/JdRZO.jpg

like this

― Princess TamTam, Friday, 13 May 2011 01:13 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.animalwebguide.com/Praying-Mantis-3.jpg

― you ain't my son, you my motherfucking flopson (dayo), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:14 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.wormspit.com/calletaspin1.jpg

― you ain't my son, you my motherfucking flopson (dayo), Friday, 13 May 2011 01:15 (fourteen years ago)

seven months pass...

New favorite thread!

― Leee, Monday, 2 January 2012 20:55 (thirteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02107/The-Scaptia-_2107965b.jpg

The Scaptia beyonceae horse fly.

― lEEE (Leee), Saturday, 28 January 2012 17:34 (thirteen years ago)

hah! I was talking to a friend about that fly, wondering why they didn't name it the scaptia jloae or the scaptia kardashae

― dayo, Saturday, 28 January 2012 17:41 (thirteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOBMfNJOVrM

― dayo, Friday, 3 February 2012 00:49 (thirteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEnEebe3Iqc

― flagp∞st (dayo), Wednesday, 22 February 2012 03:34 (thirteen years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/M3JNq.jpg

― flagp∞st (dayo), Thursday, 1 March 2012 12:50 (thirteen years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/5GWW4.jpg

― flagp∞st (dayo), Thursday, 1 March 2012 12:52 (thirteen years ago)

four months pass...

http://i.imgur.com/O81mqh.jpg

― Tom Crucifictorious (Leee), Sunday, 8 July 2012 23:16 (twelve years ago)

And sorry for sullying the insect thread with a different kind of arthropod but:

http://static.neatorama.com/images/2012-06/ladybird-mimic-spider.jpg

― Tom Crucifictorious (Leee), Sunday, 8 July 2012 23:21 (twelve years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/O81mqh.jpg

― Tom Crucifictorious (Leee), Sunday, July 8, 2012 7:16 PM (2 hours ago)

whoa this dude seems v chill

― k3vin k., Monday, 9 July 2012 01:56 (twelve years ago)

six months pass...

http://i.imgur.com/o1RD9ms.jpg

― 乒乓, Friday, 8 February 2013 12:26 (twelve years ago)

WTF evolution.

― SOPA Middleton (Leee), Friday, 8 February 2013 17:25 (twelve years ago)

one month passes...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/science/dragonflies-natures-deadly-drone-but-prettier.html

― 乒乓, Tuesday, 2 April 2013 16:27 (twelve years ago)

^^^ Super-rad!

― Leeena Dunham (Leee), Sunday, 7 April 2013 22:13 (twelve years ago)

Like, giant prehistoric dragonflies with beaks, omg.

― Leeena Dunham (Leee), Sunday, 7 April 2013 22:13 (twelve years ago)

one month passes...

Sorry for posting a spider to an entomology thread but

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/05/TinySpider1.jpg

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/05/tiny-spiders-found-in-china/

― llama del rey (Leee), Saturday, 25 May 2013 23:48 (twelve years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/sT5LxqF.jpg

― 乒乓, Friday, 7 June 2013 13:09 (twelve years ago)

bug say hi to me

― nagl dude dude dude (ledge), Friday, 7 June 2013 13:11 (twelve years ago)

What are this pastel colored, ribbon-like soft candies that are hella sour? I guess they come from that moth.

― Ou sont les Sonneywolferines d'antan? (Leee), Friday, 7 June 2013 15:44 (twelve years ago)

http://ucresearch.tumblr.com/post/52397364590/this-photo-taken-by-bug-squads-kathy-keatley

― 乒乓, Saturday, 8 June 2013 12:27 (eleven years ago)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3490/3187579894_22758204d5_z.jpg

― Lynyrd Cohen (Leee), Sunday, 16 June 2013 18:01 (eleven years ago)

^^ http://membracid.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/the-mad-hatterpillar/

― Lynyrd Cohen (Leee), Sunday, 16 June 2013 18:01 (eleven years ago)

link at the end is awesome too http://www.flickr.com/photos/itchydogimages/8607611517/

― 乒乓, Sunday, 16 June 2013 18:32 (eleven years ago)

Caterpillar infantry rising up against army ants!

― Lynyrd Cohen (Leee), Sunday, 16 June 2013 21:50 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8091/8419407107_dc640e81a3.jpg
Harris' Three-spot - Harrisimemna trisignata by Colin Hutton Photography, on Flickr

― 乒乓, Friday, 19 July 2013 01:11 (eleven years ago)

Woah, what is that? More caterpillar wearing molted exoskeleton action?

― Louie Althusser (Leee), Friday, 19 July 2013 01:32 (eleven years ago)

yeah, it's from the bug girl blog

― 乒乓, Friday, 19 July 2013 01:35 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY-6G3zYYtk

― Shannon Leeedles (Leee), Saturday, 31 August 2013 23:33 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/files/2013/09/frog-legged-leaf-beetle-sagra.jpg

― Shannon Leeedles (Leee), Friday, 11 October 2013 23:06 (eleven years ago)

four weeks pass...

http://i.imgur.com/CAIdNMh.gif

Fucking terrifying

I hate moths because their bodies are so big and squishy and soft-looking

― 乒乓, Saturday, 9 November 2013 18:17 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/the-secret-underwater-world-of-dragons/?viewall=true

http://i.imgur.com/8H7DVKA.gif

― 乒乓, Wednesday, 11 December 2013 15:15 (eleven years ago)

Libellules!

― Le passé, non seulement n'est pas fugace, il reste sur place (Michael White), Wednesday, 11 December 2013 16:33 (eleven years ago)

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/this-is-not-a-penis/

http://i.minus.com/ibnnQShrghFJtW.gif

Again, I hate moths

― 乒乓, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 13:34 (eleven years ago)

I don't hate moths but WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHT. x_X

― Matt Groening's Cousin (Leee), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 17:15 (eleven years ago)

two weeks pass...

For the moth-hater:

http://i.imgur.com/hYUoUPn.gif

(^Moth caterpillar.)

― Matt Groening is MY Cousin (Leee), Thursday, 2 January 2014 20:58 (eleven years ago)

I want to give that spider one million dollars. Nice work dude

― 龜, Thursday, 2 January 2014 22:45 (eleven years ago)

Yeah, before you do that:

http://i.imgur.com/FPMys6d.gif

― Matt Groening is MY Cousin (Leee), Thursday, 2 January 2014 22:46 (eleven years ago)

did it murder the caterpillar and then tenderly stroke its face?

― Merdeyeux, Thursday, 2 January 2014 22:53 (eleven years ago)

Spider doesn't like smokers.

― Matt Groening is MY Cousin (Leee), Thursday, 2 January 2014 23:03 (eleven years ago)

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/01/new-species-of-peacock-spider-dances-for-you-and-sex/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOAfXUshpVY

― 龜, Wednesday, 8 January 2014 18:36 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

http://i.imgur.com/VUTQOty.jpg

― 龜, Monday, 10 February 2014 07:49 (eleven years ago)

that walking stick bug in the first post of this thread is elegant and beautiful

― marcos, Monday, 10 February 2014 15:42 (eleven years ago)

OMG does that caterpillar also come with CHRISTMAS LIGHTS?!?

― eeeLastica (Leee), Monday, 10 February 2014 17:32 (eleven years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgrbT_R_mxQ

― 龜, Wednesday, 12 February 2014 07:14 (eleven years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/RKeyrvd.gif

― 龜, Wednesday, 12 February 2014 07:14 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/03/parasitic-junk-trunk/

― 龜, Thursday, 13 March 2014 00:28 (eleven years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyaPfR-Mj98

― 龜, Thursday, 13 March 2014 00:30 (eleven years ago)

three weeks pass...

Entomology-related:

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/files/2014/04/Pain-map.jpg

Punchline here.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 9 April 2014 20:27 (eleven years ago)

Trilobite Beetle:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/files/2014/03/trilobite-beetle-ponies.jpg

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/2014/03/31/trilobite-beetles-are-happy-being-on-land-alive-in-the-present-day/

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Friday, 11 April 2014 00:54 (eleven years ago)

three weeks pass...

Tsetse flies are a bit strange: They give birth to offspring similarly to mammals. A single tsetse larva grows inside its mother’s uterus and nurses on a milk gland until it’s ready to be birthed. When that magical day arrives, the mother pushes out a single wriggling larva that’s almost as large as she is.

GROSS.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/04/25/decoded-tsetse-fly-genome-could-save-lives/

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Thursday, 8 May 2014 21:20 (eleven years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJhTrPDUoxs

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Friday, 9 May 2014 19:27 (eleven years ago)

me irl

― 龜, Friday, 9 May 2014 23:29 (eleven years ago)

Baller status.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Friday, 9 May 2014 23:37 (eleven years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLTPGhBG2V0

― 龜, Thursday, 15 May 2014 10:13 (eleven years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLTPGhBG2V0

― 龜, Thursday, 15 May 2014 10:13 (eleven years ago)

two months pass...

http://i.imgur.com/DveTfSe.jpg

― 龜, Thursday, 31 July 2014 15:05 (ten years ago)

Terrifying.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Thursday, 31 July 2014 16:58 (ten years ago)

Awesome.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Thursday, 31 July 2014 16:58 (ten years ago)

man that is one tiny egg

― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Thursday, 31 July 2014 20:59 (ten years ago)

Not too long ago I killed what I think was a spider in my bathtub. I think it was attracted to the black seaweed soap, but I did not use a tennis racket. Spiders are less objectionable than some other insects, maybe because of Charlotte's Web.

― youn, Thursday, 31 July 2014 23:18 (ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puQTJHb0eg0&feature=youtu.be

― OH MY GOD HE'S OOGLEEE (Leee), Monday, 11 August 2014 01:03 (ten years ago)

Mostly for the headline: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/the-beetles-white-album

― OH MY GOD HE'S OOGLEEE (Leee), Sunday, 17 August 2014 17:31 (ten years ago)

Mordy, fire away

― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:07 (ten years ago)

i heard some crazy buzzing out my window this morning and looked down to see a bird fighting w/ some kind of large oval buzzing thing. when i got outside 15 minutes later i saw that the large oval buzzing thing (which was now no longer buzzing or moving) was what looked like two connected cicadas. it looked like the actual cicadas not the shells (tho it could be the shells still are really green + shit when they're fresh)? wtf am i dealing w/ here? were two cicadas fucking and the bird got involved and killed them in their consummation bed? they were gone much later in the day, but a wind could've blown them off.

unrelated, a cicada skeleton photo i snapped at my brother's apartment building yesterday

http://i58.tinypic.com/2j5dwrr.jpg

― Mordy, Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:17 (ten years ago)

jeez, I'm stumped. not too hot on US entomology from description - I'd be much more use if you had a photo

cicadas vary greatly in colour & their 'shell' is simply the exoskeleton, which is v much an inseparable part of them, so I'd not rule it out

― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:25 (ten years ago)

but would two cicadas shed their shells at the same time while in embrace?

― Mordy, Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:26 (ten years ago)

an insect without a shell is basically just innards spilling everywhere

― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:27 (ten years ago)

oh if you mean the wing-casings then maaaaybe they were ripped off by the bird

― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:28 (ten years ago)

have you seen the "food chain" ep of adventure time? it's very good.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1zmcuj_adventure-time-food-chain-season-06-episode-06-full-episode-free-hq_animals

― Mordy, Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:29 (ten years ago)

when I'm not in a hotel on srsly retrograde internet I'll check that out :)

― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:30 (ten years ago)

but yeah, not living up to my username here, sorry

― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:39 (ten years ago)

You're more of a chrysalis atm

― 龜, Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:45 (ten years ago)

I can't do the thing where it sheds its outer layer by letting go of the branch and catching itself again after a split-second in which it casts off the unwanted matter, which has always struck me as nature's most incredible feat of dexterity

― i'm elf-ein lusophonic (imago), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:53 (ten years ago)

Maybe the exoskeleton was cast off after molting?

― OH MY GOD HE'S OOGLEEE (Leee), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:54 (ten years ago)

what's weird to me is that they were paired together when whatever happened happened and stayed paired together when i found them later. i have a lot of experience w/ cicadas and cicada exoskeletons. i've just never seen anything like this.

― Mordy, Tuesday, 19 August 2014 20:56 (ten years ago)

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/08/22/cyborg-moths-living-drones/

― OH MY GOD HE'S OOGLEEE (Leee), Wednesday, 27 August 2014 17:55 (ten years ago)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11058396/Giant-wasps-nest-invades-spare-bedroom.html

http://i.imgur.com/ZAL1FmV.jpg

― 龜, Wednesday, 27 August 2014 17:57 (ten years ago)

Good god.

I once found a small wasp's nest in the lip of my car trunk and I freaked out, can't imagine how badly I'd react to this huge discovery.

― OH MY GOD HE'S OOGLEEE (Leee), Wednesday, 27 August 2014 18:08 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://io9.com/cross-section-of-an-active-wasp-nest-reveals-ordered-la-1634371927/+rtgonzalez

― 龜, Saturday, 13 September 2014 23:19 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://i.imgur.com/3E7FirD.jpg

If aero reads this thread this one's for you

― 龜, Wednesday, 1 October 2014 12:46 (ten years ago)

that one's for all of us tbf

― Ƹ༑Ʒ (imago), Wednesday, 1 October 2014 12:46 (ten years ago)

lead us, moth, unto endless night

― Ƹ༑Ʒ (imago), Wednesday, 1 October 2014 12:47 (ten years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://i.imgur.com/KCScXqI.gif

― 龜, Friday, 24 October 2014 12:02 (ten years ago)

Infinite caterpillar!

― My Life with the Thrillho Kult (Leee), Friday, 24 October 2014 16:41 (ten years ago)

three weeks pass...

Now not only will the termite queen soon become too fat to move – ever again – she’ll also start sweating profusely, thanks to all that hard baby-making work. While she’s still capable of producing eggs, her children will keep her clean by constantly licking the sweat from her body as an army of worker termites stack egg after freshly laid egg into neat little piles for hatching. Once their queen is so old she can no longer produce eggs, the tables will turn rather sharply, Moffett told the Kitchen Sisters. Instead of licking her gently, the termite queen’s many children will eat her alive, growing strong on her nutritious juices.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/2014/11/05/long-live-the-morbidly-obese-termite-queen-and-her-terrifying-army-of-sweat-licking-babies/

― In Which Doctor Who Listens to Classic Rock Classics for the First Time (Leee), Wednesday, 19 November 2014 23:04 (ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-gLxOanrfI

― 龜, Thursday, 20 November 2014 12:02 (ten years ago)

I wonder about who has ever ate a termite queen and what they felt it was like xp

― 龜, Thursday, 20 November 2014 12:02 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/9609823425_93aa676480_k.jpg

More here: http://www.wired.com/2014/12/absurd-creature-of-the-week-treehopper/

― TAKING SIDES: HUMANS VS. GUACAMOLEEE (Leee), Monday, 8 December 2014 20:45 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/12/23/when-a-female-mantis-is-hungry-she-fakes-fertility-to-snack-on-duped-mates/

Same

― 龜, Thursday, 25 December 2014 00:37 (ten years ago)

four months pass...

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/05/13/watch-trap-jaw-ants-use-their-chops-to-backflip-out-of-danger/#.VVu03FnBzRY

Sometimes I wonder if I should've become a myrmecologist.

― Madison Dumbbarfer (Leee), Tuesday, 19 May 2015 22:14 (ten years ago)

https://vine.co/v/eKqtW7Z6nEX

― 龜, Thursday, 21 May 2015 11:52 (ten years ago)

one month passes...

Awesome headline: http://www.wired.com/2015/06/silent-deadly-fatal-farts-immobilize-prey/

― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 16:45 (nine years ago)

nice. arthropods are the best killers

― rahrah avis (imago), Monday, 29 June 2015 16:52 (nine years ago)

There is a fairly deep literature on insect farting

― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 17:11 (nine years ago)

This caterpillar:

http://i.imgur.com/tEhupnd.jpg

I lost the name, unfortunately - it's from this awesome caterpillar search engine: http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Caterpillars

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 29 June 2015 20:54 (nine years ago)

A Hyphantria cunea apparently

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 29 June 2015 20:57 (nine years ago)

Ridiculous

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?act=zoom&img=/home/IM/I_JP/1039/640/Hyphantria_cunea,_Fall_Webworm,I_JP103948.jpg

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 29 June 2015 20:59 (nine years ago)

Whoops

http://i.imgur.com/ZXxRaHr.jpg

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:06 (nine years ago)

seven months pass...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160201-arachnids-harvestman-penis-amber-fossil-animals-science/

― 龜, Wednesday, 3 February 2016 13:30 (nine years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/lpWIsWV.jpg

― 龜, Wednesday, 3 February 2016 13:31 (nine years ago)

The arachnids' long track record excites scientists

― Sofialo Ren (Leee), Wednesday, 3 February 2016 23:34 (nine years ago)

one month passes...

http://i.imgur.com/eowXaK0.jpg

― 龜, Monday, 28 March 2016 12:03 (nine years ago)

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=115778830

― Star Wars ate shiitake (latebloomer), Monday, 28 March 2016 16:10 (nine years ago)

three weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6AB7EZflDE

― 龜, Thursday, 21 April 2016 00:02 (nine years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/Om2KxzD.png

― 龜, Sunday, 1 May 2016 12:44 (nine years ago)

http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-autopilot-knocked-out-by-moth-2016-5

let me reiterate: fuck moths

http://i.imgur.com/KhFiDgZ.jpg

― 龜, Wednesday, 11 May 2016 18:26 (nine years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://i.imgur.com/4nP5c5K.jpg

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-biology-of-the-translucent-jewel-caterpillar-the-nudibranch-of-the-forest/

― 龜, Wednesday, 1 June 2016 12:44 (nine years ago)

oh wow those are striking

― Mordy, Wednesday, 1 June 2016 13:00 (nine years ago)

one month passes...

http://i.imgur.com/9L5zJVU.jpg

― 龜, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 13:01 (eight years ago)

want a slo-mo of it springing into flight

― imago, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 13:12 (eight years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/2ymAThf.jpg

― 龜, Friday, 15 July 2016 12:48 (eight years ago)

one month passes...

http://oddity-txt.tumblr.com/post/149239939651/oddity-txt-oddity-txt-oddity-txt

― 龜, Tuesday, 23 August 2016 12:29 (eight years ago)

eight months pass...

https://i.imgur.com/ix6Fhnc.jpg

― 龜, Sunday, 21 May 2017 02:14 (eight years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nr8SYrJ53g

― 龜, Sunday, 21 May 2017 02:16 (eight years ago)

five months pass...

It is not fully known what the adults feed on, but it could be flowers. These beetles have a unique life cycle. The female will lay her eggs near the base of various flowers. When the eggs hatch the newly born larvae must climb up the stalks to the blooming flowers. Then the young larvae will cluster together and form a shape that very much resembles a female solitary ground bee. To make the ruse even more complete they even emit a pheromone that very much smells like the female bee....in fact it is so good that male bees are often fooled and come to "mate" with the cluster of larvae. By the time he realizes his mistake the little larvae have climbed on board. The male bee will carry his stowaways along with him as he locates a "real female" to mate with. During mating the larvae transfer to the female who will then carry them to her underground nest. The little interlopers will remain behind in the burrow and feed on the bees offspring and the honey stores she provided to feed them. The beetle larvae will remain in the burrow to pupate and later will emerge as the wingless prodigy of their parents. Mother Nature offers no limitations on deceit.

― Mordy, Wednesday, 8 November 2017 01:56 (seven years ago)

two months pass...

Giant mesquite bug nymphs. pic.twitter.com/LYy8ihmmxU
— Strange Animals (@Strange_Animals) January 15, 2018

― Mordy, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 14:36 (seven years ago)

one month passes...

Any recommendations for a good popsci book on ants? I'm guessing something by EO Wilson?

― Chard Michaels (Leee), Sunday, 18 February 2018 01:48 (seven years ago)

four months pass...

https://gizmodo.com/i-do-not-like-this-new-wasp-species-whose-giant-stinger-1827395696

― 龜, Saturday, 7 July 2018 13:47 (six years ago)

two months pass...

Still reading this https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/sep/18/a-giant-crawling-brain-the-jaw-dropping-world-of-termites but here's an interesting nugget:

Christine Nalepa, Theo Evans and Michael Lenz have written that termite parents bite off the ends of their antennae, which may make them better at raising their young. Antennae give termites lots of sensory information, and biting off the segments toward the ends could reduce that stimulation, making it easier to live in a tiny burrow with a few million children.

― Nag Reddit (Leee), Wednesday, 19 September 2018 19:16 (six years ago)

three years pass...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aha_ha
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubetia_bigaulae (Pronounced you betcha by golly)

― Choice Errol Quotes (Leee), Thursday, 10 February 2022 04:50 (three years ago)

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