Freaky Friends Bugs

Many insects undergo what is known as complete metamorphosis, the technical term being  holometabolism . The larvae, or young, of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis are quite different than the adults. A familiar example are caterpillars and butterflies. A butterfly egg hatches into a caterpillar (the larval stage) which spends some time eating and growing. The caterpillar then creates a cocoon and becomes a pupae. It is during this pupal stage that the caterpillar transforms into a butterfly (the adult stage). Ants, bees, wasps, dragonflies, butterflies, flies, and beetles are some examples of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis.  Why complete metamorphosis arose is still a mystery, but entomologists have been able to identify a few of the advantages to undergoing complete metamorphosis. A decrease in competition . In biology, competition refers to an interaction between organisms that results in harm to each organism. For example, lets say the...

My first encounter with a green lynx spider was last November while visiting my in-laws in the DFW area in Texas. I spent a couple hours walking around Bob Jones Nature Center (which by the way, I definitely recommend visiting if you are ever in the area) looking for bugs to photograph, but I hadn't had much luck. On my way out, I stopped at a bush by the visitor center in a last attempt to find something interesting. I caught a flash of movement which turned out to be a beautiful katydid. After capturing a few shots of the katydid, I realized that my hand was mere inches from a rather large momma spider guarding her egg sac. I personally find spiders much more interesting than katydids so I left the katydid to photograph the spider. Momma spider didn't seem to mind me taking some pictures, but I couldn't resist using a piece of grass to disturb her to get her in a defensive posture. I later learned that green lynx spiders can squirt venom from their fangs towards any wou...

Have you seen the recent news story about the girl who was bit by a black widow in Massachusetts? If you haven't, you can check it out here or here or here . However, after reading the article, the entire mishap sounds to be a misdiagnosis. I'm not a medical doctor nor a medical entomologist, but black widow bites result in some pretty distinct symptoms. Let me go through the article to explain why I think a black widow was not involved. The first part of the story I have a problem with is the initial diagnosis of a spider bite. As has been previously shown , most diagnosed spider bites are not actually spider bites. There are no tests nor definitive signs to confirm a spider bite (with the exception of latrodectism -envenomation by a black widow-which is possible to diagnose based on the symptoms). My second problem lies with how the injury was determined to have been caused by a black widow in particular. According to the first article I linked to, the do...

Insects tend to be quite small. Even large insects are small when compared to most animals that people are familiar with (dogs, cats, cows, horses, etc.). This makes it kind of difficult to watch how an insect eats. However, it is fascinating to watch how an insect's mouth parts all work together to help it eat. When I was asked to give a bug demonstration to some Cub scouts, I immediately knew that I wanted to show them how an insect eats. It is both cool and gross at the same time, perfect for the age group. I decided to use a grasshopper as an example because 1) it was a great time of year to catch grasshoppers and 2) grasshoppers are on the larger side and it would be easier to film. I went outside, caught a grasshopper, and then brought it inside to film. I usually like to do all my photographing and filming out in a natural setting, but I didn't think I would be able to get a good enough shot for the demonstration. I used some forceps to restrain the grasshopper, set...

A darkling beetle! The darkling beetles (genus Eleodes) are fun beetles. The are big and black and can often be found wandering around in desert environments. You probably won't see them much during the day, but starting around dusk they will be more active. I found this particular beetle while camping in Fillmore, UT. It wandered into our camp and I immediately grabbed my camera. I'm still working on learning how to use my flash, so for this picture I actually set up my phone and some flashlights around the beetle for my light source. My wife captured the following picture of my setup. Maybe I should learn how to use my flash better so that I don't have to position so many lights around bugs! After I took these pictures, I learned that the posture the beetle assumed was a defensive tactic and that if further provoked, it might have sprayed me with a smelly liquid! I'm glad this one was at least a little friendly and let me snap a few pictures. Look...

A trashline orb weaver found near Dallas, TX. Trashline orb weavers (genus Cyclosa) are quite fascinating little spiders. For starters, their abdomens are somewhat conical rather than rounded like most spiders. Secondly, and this is where they get their name, they line up debris in their webs in a vertical line and then sit somewhere in that line. This behavior is believed to make it harder for birds or other predators to find the spider in the web. A great view of the "trashline" in the web. I found this one up Hobble Creek Canyon in Utah. In the years I've been collecting bugs, I'd collected trashline orb weavers on several occasions. I found them interesting due to the shape of their abdomens, but I'd never bothered to figure out what kind of spider they were. Once I learned what these funny shaped spiders were, I all of a sudden started seeing them everywhere! Awareness of what these spiders were definitely led to an increased ability to find them...