#Bugstodon

#bugstodon #insects #beetles #springtails #Coleoptera #Staphylinidae #Collembola

1 day ago

New Ant Lab!! New Ant Lab!!! https://youtu.be/RjKhIg3kCpM

The evolutionary arms race between springtails and their predators has given the tiny rove beetle _Stenus_ super-fast, Alien-esque mouthparts.

1 week ago

In other exciting bug news, the praying mantises are changing color! I saw this one (an oo-kamikiri) on my way to work today; it was about the size of my hand. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

Side view of the same large brown praying mantis, taken from above as it perches on the side of a stone wall.

Top-down view of the same large brown praying mantis. Legs included, it’s about the size of my hand (not pictured).

1 week ago

My desk neighbor shows me a sashigane-mushi / assassin bug that’s hitchhiked into our office on his jacket. “撮って / Take (a picture of this cool bug)!”, I think he’s saying, but actually what he’s saying is “取って / Take (this bug off my clothes)!”

After the misunderstanding got cleared up, I released the bug out back. #bugstodon #insects #bugphoto

A brown assassin bug / sashigane-mushi perched on my hand. Its mouthparts are curved into a sharp point that can pierce the exoskeleton of hapless prey insects and suck out their juices.

Now transported to a log out back, the assassin bug crawls onto my notebook.

The assassin bug continues to explore my notebook.

And these harmoniously cohabitating hime-eguriba caterpillars #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

Two small black hime-eguriba caterpillars, with yellow and red spots, munching on the same leaf that's growng through the gap in a chainlink fence. The leaf was once green but now (in addition to being halfway eaten) is yellow with reddish-brown spots as autumn takes its toll.

Aethy is back! Happy Saturday from this hawk moth caterpillar. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A large, bright green hawk moth caterpillar (species unknown) on a gravel step. It has a pale yellow line on each side of its body, a sharp point on its tail, a small head, and a tiny black spot on each of its legs. The picture is taken head-on as the caterpillar twists its body in preparation to descend the step.

#crustaceans #isopods #bugstodon #Crustacea #Isopoda

Almost forgot it was #WoodlouseWednesday!

Two isopods on the underside of a rock, in the warm yellow glow of golden hour.

Went to check out the caterpillar fence today, only to unexpectedly encounter THE COOLEST MOTH.

Fun facts:

- Assuming wikipedia isn’t lying to me, this species is commonly called the squeaking silkmoth, on account of the caterpillars making a squeaking sound when poked.
- It’s listed on the IUCN Red List as ‘critically endangered’ in Tokyo, but only Tokyo
- It has translucent spots on its wings
- This one is a male
#insects #moths #saturniidae #lepidoptera #bugphoto #bugstodon

A squeaking silkmoth / Rhodinia fugax / usutabiga moth on a fence, with a human hand next to it for scale. (Its wingspan is almost as long as the distance from the base of my thumb to the tip of my index finger.) The moth's wings are spread, and are orange with brown markings and two translucent spots on each side. It has a furry body (also orange) and large feathered antennae.

Close-up of the same silkmoth, taken from above so that you can see its full wingspan.

Side view of the same silkmoth. From this angle, you can see its body and its little furry legs gripping the fence.

Tamir Bahar

I found a couple of those at home. I've never seen them before.
Does anyone know what they are?

They are dark brown-gray, about 7 or 8 mm long, fat body, small head, hind legs start thick and then grow thing (like a cricket or grasshopper), but they don't seem to jump. Don't seem to fly either.

#bugstodon

Happy Friday from this hummingbird hawk moth! #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon #スズメガ

A hoshi-houjaku /
Macroglossum pyrrhosticta (a species of hummingbird hawk moth) sipping nectar from a purple flower while mid-flight. Its wings are a blur and its body is brown with orange stripes and a black tail.

“But what about the caterpillars?” Don’t worry, I photographed them too. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A black, yellow and red hime-eguriba caterpillar inching its way along a vine that's curled around a chain link fence.

Elsewhere on the same fence, another hime-eguriba caterpillar stretches its body to reach from one vine to the next.

A third hime-eguriba caterpillar is curled around the outside of a leaf that it is in the middle of eating.

Not sure what kind of beetles these are, but there was a cluster of four or five of them on the caterpillar fence today. (Update: probably a leaf beetle / hamushi, possibly a Chrysolina aurichalcea / yomogi-hamushi?) #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

Silhouette of a small metallic black beetle walking along a plant stem. It has a rounded body (like a koganemushi beetle, but smaller) and straight antennae.

Another small metallic black beetle of the same species resting on a plant stem. This one's wings are open slightly, revealing a pale underside.

#bugstodon #crustaceans #isopods #Crustaceae #Isopoda #Porcellionidae

It's also #WoodlouseWednesday! Just a humble _Porcellio_(?) for you all today.

A rough-shelled dark grey-brown isopod with small golden markings, on a tree trunk at night.

Radgryd

I freaking love bugs. 🪲 #Bugstodon #LoncoviliusCarlsbergi
https://www.popsci.com/environment/new-beetle-weird-genetalia/

4 weeks ago

Just spotted this cute beetle on the wall during my workout. It's a Dotted Paropsine Leaf Beetle, AKA Eucalyptus Tortoise Beetle (Paropsis atomaria, family Chrysomelidae). First one I've seen around here. It's a pretty serious pest in Australia, feeding on Eucalyptus leaves. Recently (2022) introduced into California.
#nature #NaturePhotography #bugs #insects #coleoptera #bugstodon #SouthernCalifornia #invasive

Compact, pill-shaped, light brown beetle on a white stucco wall. It has darker brown markings on the pronotum, and the elytra are covered with tiny speckles. It's head and antennae are retracted.

Same beetle with the tip of my finger for scale. The beetle is about the same size and shape as my fingernail.

Happy Friday from this fence caterpillar #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

Small black hime-eguriba caterpillar curled into a fishhook shape.

I tried googling which subspecies, but apparently the only reliable way to distinguish Urostylis annulicornis from Urostylis striicornis is the genitals ( http://sallygenak.livedoor.blog/archives/25330698.html ) .... Needless to say, I did not think to check that closely. #insects #bugstodon

Green bugs at work: matsumushi / pine cricket, and an indeterminate species of kunugi-kamemushi / Urostylis shield bug. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A green matsumushi / pine cricket resting on a piece of plywood. Unlike most other kinds of crickets, its body is a rounded diamond shape, with virtually no neck.

A bright yellow-green shield bug resting on the trunk of a tree, with some yellow-green leaves and metal pallets visible out of focus in the background. Like other shield bugs, its body is flat and pentagon-shaped.

😱 #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

Close-up of the area immediately underneath the overhang, where a hundred or more seed beetles are all clustered together in a writhing orange-black mass.

Thought process that accompanied these photos:
- Ooh, look at all the hime-juuji-naga-kamemushi on this leaf
- Oh wow, they’re all along the plant
- And the wall! … wait a second …. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A dozen or so hime-juuji-naga-kamemushi / Tropidothorax sinensis, a kind of seed bug, all clustered together on the same leaf. They have flat, oval-shaped bodies that are patterned orange with black diamond-shaped spots.

Further along the stalk of the same plant, several more of the same kind of seed bug are perched.

On the nearby wall, there are a handful more seed bugs, all in the vicinity of a shadowed overhang.

Also encountered an assortment of ladybugs #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A black ladybug with two red spots inside a curled-up blade of grass.

A black ladybug with ten to twelve orange spots, resting on a blade of grass.

A black ladybug with two orange spots on another blade of grass from this same stretch of plants. The grass has produced seeds that are pinkish in color, and the pink and green of the grass go well with the black and orange of the ladybug.

A black ladybug with two orange spots next to an orange ladybug pupa with black spots. They're both resting on the same large blade of grass.

I identified it using this handy dandy guide: https://www.nacsj.or.jp/official/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ss2008_manual-2.pdf #insects #bugstodon

All the praying mantises I’ve seen so far this fall have been harabiro-kamikiri (Hierodula patillifera), but today I ran into this oo-kamakiri (Tenodera aridifolia)! As its Japanese name would suggest, it was really big. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A large green Tenodera aridifolia praying mantis, photographed from behind. Compared to the harabiro mantises I usually see, it has a narrower and more angular body, with pronounced shoulder ridges.

The same Tenodera aridifolia praying mantis, photographed from above. Its front pair of legs are raised and its head is pointed forward. You can see its face and very large compound eyes.

#FlyFriday #insects #flies #Diptera #bugstodon

It's #FlyDay! What I like about this one, found recently at Cherry Beach, is the bits of pollen you can see on its face and legs.

A house fly-ish fly (not a house fly, but, like, more like a house fly than like a woodpecker fly or a hoverfly) on some still-blooming goldenrod. There's a dusting of yellow pollen on its antennae and front legs. There also seems to be a goldenrod bagworm amid the flowers.

Indian Fritillary / Tsumaguro-hyoumon butterfly in my neighborhood. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

An Indian Fritillary butterfly resting on an orange cosmos flower. The butterfly's wings are partly closed; the front side of the wings are orange and black, with black and white tips, while the underside is brown and white, with pale blue eyespots.

The same Indian Fritillary butterfly, now resting on the ground. Its wings are open, and are mostly orange with black spots and black tips. It has a fuzzy brown body.

yayJill

I think it's a western #yellowjacket. Look at its antennae! #insects #bugstodon

A black and yellow banded insect with one set of wings and large black antennae. Face view.

A black and yellow banded insect with one set of wings and large black antennae. Top view, facing right.

A black and yellow banded insect with one set of wings and large black antennae. Top view, facing down.

Happy Friday from me and this slug! #slugs #bugphoto #bugstodon

A large futasuji-namekuji (Meghimatium bilineatum) slug inching along the ground, photographed at night. Its body is pale yellow-beige with a light brown stripe running along its back.

The same slug, next to a human hand for scale. It's about the same size as my ring finger.

#SciArt #art #illustration #watercolor #painting #sketchbook #NatureJournal #NatureJournaling #PerpetualJournal #Tucson #SonoranDesert #biodiversity #environment #ecosystem #ecology #nature #outdoors #insect #arthropod #entomology #bugs #bugstodon #moth #larva #caterpillar #Fall

I saw yet another cool caterpillar to paint for my Perpetual Journal: a White-lined Sphinx moth larva! Check out those awesome colors & patterns! (The Fall foliage art is my PJ entry for Oct. 15-21 for last year.)

My 2023 Perpetual Journal watercolor and pen art of a White-lined Sphinx moth larva and my 2022 Perpetual Journal watercolor and pen art of Palo Verde leaves turning yellow.

Just look at them! Chaos. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

Photo in which at least eight hime-eguriba caterpillars can be seen hanging out on a vine that's wrapped around a chain link fence, with many more caterpillars out of frame. The caterpillar in the center of the picture is frozen mid-inch, with its midsection raised.

Meanwhile, the caterpillar party is getting out of control #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

Video of seven different hime-eguriba caterpillars variously resting, inching, and leaf-munching along the same small stretch of fence. The caterpillars are black with red and yellow spots; they've grown since the last time I photographed them and are now 2-3 cm long.

New, excitingly green variety of #spider spotted at work today. (According to the internet, it could be a satsuma-no-midamashi/ Neoscona scylloides.) #arachnids #bugphoto #bugstodon

A small brown spider with a bright yellow-green abdomen crawling along the asphalt. The photo was taken from above while the spider was trying to get somewhere in a hurry.

What it can capture, though, is video. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A brown and orange hoshi-houjaku hawk moth (part of the hummingbird hawk moth family) flitting very quickly from flower to flower on a glossy abelia bush.

“Is the shutter speed on my phone fast enough to photograph a hummingbird hawk moth?” I wondered. The answer: kind of? #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A brown and orange striped hoshi-houjaku (a kind of hummingbird hawk moth) sipping nectar from a glossy abelia flower bush while hovering in midair. Its body is out of focus but visible; its wings are a total blur.

The same hoshi-houjaku hawk moth) feeding at another flower from the same bush. Its body is at a 3/4 angle, its lower body (which looks almost like a fluffy tail) is curled under itself, and its wings are a blur of black and orange. At this angle its silhouette resembles a shrimp.

The same hoshi-houjaku hawk moth feeding from yet another flower on the glossy abelia bush. In this shot its wings are as blurry as ever, but you can clearly see the striping on its body and the orange spots on its wings.

channing

Thousands of these bugs in the air in south Berkeley for blocks and blocks, just lazing around — I ate several while on the bike just now. Tiny, slight blue-ish in a way these photos don’t capture, some with white… fluff? Any ideas on an ID? #bugstodon #inaturalist #berkeley

Tiny bug with long wings on fabric— smaller than a thumbnail even with wings outstretched

Tiny bug with weird white fluffy stuff on it??

My favorite thing about photographing praying mantises is how no matter how stealthily I try to approach, they always notice me and turn their head to look straight at the camera. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A bright green praying mantis resting on the edge of a rusted iron tub in the outdoor product storage area of the factory where I work. The mantis is facing to the right, but has turned its head to look straight into the camera.

#nature #NaturePhotography #bugs #insects #lepidoptera #caterpillars #bugstodon #SouthernCalifornia

A tobacco hornworm (larva of Carolina sphinx moth, Manduca sexta), nibbling happily on highly toxic Datura wrightii.

A fat, green caterpillar hanging upside down from a Datura branch. The caterpillar has 7 white diagonal stripes bordered with black, eight small eyespots, and a red, curving horn on its tail. Its head is tucked into its true legs under its curled-up forebody. The leaf at the end of the branch, over the caterpillar's head, is half eaten.

Joro #spiders in love (or at least deigning to share the same web). The banded black and yellow one is a juvenile female; the brown one is a male. #arachnid #bugphoto #bugstodon #Arachtober

Wide shot of a juvenile female joro spider (bottom) and a male joro spider (top) hanging out in the same web. The female is a little larger than the male. Behind the spiderweb are some green plants and out-of-focus factory buildings.

Close-up of the female joro spider. She has long black and yellow banded legs and a slender black and yellow abdomen, with a red dot at the end.

Close-up of the male joro spider. Like the female, he has a slender body and long legs, but his whole body is light brown, with a darker brown stripe down his abdomen.

Chrysalis achieved! Evidently they were not the same species. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

The green caterpillar from the previous photo is now a pale yellow chrysalis on a concrete wall. The chrysalis is attached to the concrete with a thread of silk.

I thought the caterpillar party was over, but it’s still going! The new batch of caterpillars are just a) tiny and b) on the other side of the fence. #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

Very small hime-eguriba caterpillar crawling along a plant stalk. The caterpillar is black with yellow and red spots along its length. The photo has been taken from several feet away, through the gaps in a chain link fence.

Another very small hime-eguriba caterpillar, with the same coloration as the others (black, with yellow and red dots along its length). This caterpillar is on a half-eaten leaf. In the foreground of the photo, you can see the bars of the fence that cruelly separates this caterpillar from the photographer.

A third small hime-eguriba caterpillar on another leaf that's twined around the same fence. Size-wise, all these caterpillars are between 1-2 cm long, and only a little thicker than a strand of spaghetti.

#bugstodon #insects #beetles #weevils #Coleoptera #Curculionidae #Entiminae

I'm so excited that I have something to share for #WeevilWednesday. This broad-nosed weevil, found in a bunch of snowberries, had a delightfully subtle pink/green iridescence. Upon discovery it tragically died of fright but revived after a few minutes.

A sort of light pinkish-brown broad-nosed weevil playing dead on a snowberry leaf.

Weevil magically alive again. Up close, its body is covered with tiny faintly metallic scales, and its abdomen is covered with pinprick stripes like a sheet of matzah. (Thumb for scale.)

The trail between Tommy Thompson Park and Cherry Beach is always kind of an afterthought for me, so I decided to focus on that stretch today, not having enough time to do a full trip to TTP. Gorgeous fall colours and plenty of bugs. Highlights:

- a rain of tiny bagworms dressed in goldenrod filaments, dispersing on silk threads
- two (2) _Neoscona arabesca_
- a male _Hypselistes florens_
- some unusually pretty _Larinioides_
- tons of red velvet mites
- two different weevils!

Still going through my photos but I promise I will post them.

#bugstodon

Bugs spotted on the way to work: a caterpillar about to turn into a chrysalis, and a few feet away, an actual chrysalis. (Unsure if they’re the same species or not.) #insects #bugphoto #bugstodon

A bright green caterpillar with thin yellow stripes (and one black spot) on a stone wall. Its body is bunched up in preparation for imminent metamorphosis.

A small greenish-brown chrysalis on a stone wall.

#nature #NaturePhotography #bugs #insects #butterflies #lepidoptera #bugstodon #SouthernCalifornia

Checkered white, AKA southern cabbage butterfly (Pontia protodice), female, Lakeview Mountains, today. On a sprig of Stephanomeria.

A small, white butterfly with a gray thorax and dark, polygonal spots on its wings. The forewings are bordered with brown, elongated spots (males don't have these).

Queen (Danaus gilippus). Lakeview Mountains, 2 days ago.
#nature #NaturePhotography #bugs #butterflies #insects #lepidoptera #bugstodon #SouthernCalifornia

A large butterfly perched on a milkweed branch. It has a black body and dusky orange wings bordered in white -speckled black; with several round, white spots on the forewings.

miyelsh

#entomology #columbus #ohio #bugs #bugstodon

I found a beautiful adult praying mantis while clearing out some brush in our back yard.

I took a few picks with it before putting it back in a new home, near where we found it.

About 4 inches, 10 cm from head to tail.

Closeup of the praying mantis on a black table, facing the camera.

Me holding the praying mantis. Its about the size of my thumb.

Praying mantis in the brush where I found it. Aside from bright green underneath its wings, it camouflagea nicely with the autumn leaves.

alfa_vuk

Guess I might try here too. Anyone know what this is? I’ve been finding loads on my balcony. Insect pupae or eggs or seeds? I’m kind of going crazy over it. #bugstodon #bugs #whatisthisthing #plants #biology

https://paulaborchardt.substack.com/p/a-cool-caterpillar

In today’s blog post I shared my Queen Butterfly larva & eclipse art + graphs showing how the eclipse affected our solar panels’ energy production.

#SciArt #art #illustration #watercolor #painting #sketchbook #NatureJournal #NatureJournaling #PerpetualJournal #Tucson #SonoranDesert #environment #ecosystem #ecology #nature #insect #arthropod #entomology #bugs #bugstodon #butterfly #larva #caterpillar #eclipse #Substack #blog #blogging #Solar #SolarEnergy #CleanEnergy

#bugstodon #insects #beetles #weevils #Coleoptera #Curculionidae #Entiminae

I heard it was…… #WeevilWednesday?

A black vine weevil on a leaf, seen head-on. It has a broad, whiskery walrus-like snout.

#SciArt #art #illustration #watercolor #painting #sketchbook #NatureJournal #NatureJournaling #PerpetualJournal #Tucson #SonoranDesert #NativePlants #biodiversity #environment #ecosystem #ecology #nature #Fall #insect #arthropod #entomology #bugs #bugstodon #butterfly #larva #caterpillar #eclipse

Last week I had 2(!) 😍 exciting events to record in my Perpetual Journal: a Queen Butterfly larva and the solar eclipse! Usually I only add 1 entry each week!

My 2023 Perpetual Journal watercolor and pen art of the solar eclipse and a Queen Butterfly larva, and my 2022 Perpetual Journal watercolor and pen art of Cloudless Sulphur butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

Emily McLean

Lavender Menace 🐝 #bugstodon

A picture of a honey bee on a lavender flower

Clover

Do you believe in the big weevil that lives in the sky? #bugstodon #weevil

An image of a weevil on the outside of a car windscreen. The framing of the picture make it appear as if the weevil is in the sky.

LionelB

#insects #rumex #bugstodon

Always nice to find a true bug. I saw this one on a dock plant and unsurprisingly it is a Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus).

In my opinion, a very beautiful beast.

A bug sits facing downwards on a crowded seedhead which vaguely resembles rye (it is dock).

The insect has a brown leathery appearance created by minute points of colour in reds, purples and yellows. A thin skirt surrounds the rear portion, giving it an almost circular outline. The feelers are long and orange but the brown tips match the body more

Layla Low

Does anyone know whether brown marmorated stink bugs are active at night?

Asking because I want to know if I open the window after dark, will they crawl in around the screens during the night?
#insect #Insects #bugstodon #insects #PNW

#bugstodon #insects #ScaleInsects #Hemiptera #Sternorrhyncha #Coccoidea #Hymenoptera #Formicidae #Camponotus #macro @bugid

I found the most amazing scale insects (superfamily Coccoidea) on a tree today!!! Big, close to pea-sized, and salmon-coloured, and tended by carpenter ants.

I pried up the edge of an already damaged one with a leaf-stem, and some babies came out!!

A row of salmon-coloured dome-shaped shells on lichen-covered bark.

Close-up of some others. The "shells" are thin but tough, like hard leather, and finely pitted. They cling to the tree like limpets.

A medium-sized black carpenter ant tickling one of the scales with her antennae. The insects produce honeydew which the ants can eat.

Extreme close-up of the edge of an adult scale insect. A tiny flat oval insect, darker purplish-red with pale filaments coming off it, is walking over the shell.

Amogh :verified:

#programming #programmers #programmer #bugstodon #bugs

All bugs on bug trackers are nerd snipes!

Eugene Alvin Villar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phereoeca

I finally got an answer to a question I've had for quite some time: what the heck are these worm-like creatures with a weird shell that I see everywhere around the house?

I got a photo of one of them, uploaded it to #iNaturalist, and got the genus #Phereoeca, a type of moth, as the suggested taxon. Reading the description of the larvae of this genus, I'm convinced that this is the right answer.

#bugstodon #mothstodon #moths #insects #Tineidae #Lepidoptera #entomology

Photo of a small worm-like creature housed within a pumpkin-seed-like shell that is about 1 centimeter long.

#FlyFriday #bugstodon #insects #flies #CraneFlies #Diptera #Tipulidae

#FlyDay: These gorgeous big crane flies (family Tipulidae) were out in force down by the lake last week, hanging out on tree trunks! Check out the brilliant green eyes.

A large light brown crane fly with long spidery legs, iridescent green eyes, weird little mouthparts and comb-like antennae.

#bugstodon #insects #thrips #Thysanoptera #Aeolothripidae #macro

Is it…after so long…could it finally be… #ThripsThursday???

Possibly _Aeolothrips_, found on grasses at Scarborough Civic Centre. I think of thrips as plant pests, but this one apparently is a predator.

A tiny insect with a slim elongated body and dapper white and black banded wings, on a wide blade of some ornamental grass. Its small antennae are banded black and white too.

View from directly above, in slightly better focus. Its wings are soft like a fly's rather than hard casings over membranous underwings like a beetle's.

#bugstodon #insects #beetles #weevils #Coleoptera #Curculionidae #macro

it's #WeevilWednesday

(this is from back in May, I'm going through old pics as I clear up space on my phone)

A small blue-black beetle with a long thin snout and grooved elytra, on a rust-stained piece of concrete.

#bugstodon #insects #dragonflies #Odonata

on the way to get groceries I stopped by this vacant lot next to the tracks, and there was a swarm of big golden-winged green dragonflies soaring around in the air! they seemed to be mostly gliding and not flapping their wings much. they would fly by quite close to me. it was magical. :dragonfly:

couldn't get very good pictures of them in flight, but I steadily crept up on one that was resting on a plant and was able to get a close-up shot.

Several dragonflies in flight above a field next to a graffiti-covered wall, on a sunny afternoon.

Close-up of a dragonfly hanging onto a plant. Its body is bright green with a splash of blue on its face; its abdomen is purple with dark markings; and its wings have a slight golden shimmer where the sun hits them.

#ArthroBeauty #DailySpiderPic #DailyMitePic #bugstodon #arachnids #spiders #mites #insects #bees #aphids #Araneae #Thomisidae #Acari #Anystidae #Hymenoptera #Apidae #Hemiptera #Aphididae #macro

bugs of Scarborough Civic Centre!!

1. tiny fierce crab spider in aster
2. worst bumblebee pic
3. the sedums were full of whirligig mites
4. aphids on those tall plants that look kind of like dandelions but, unlike dandelions, are always covered in aphids

An absolutely miniscule translucent crab spider in a purple aster, clinging to a petal with its front legs spread wide defiantly, "like antennas to heaven".

Blurry, sun-drenched shot of bumblebee lifting off from a sprig of lavender. The bee is barely in frame.

An orange whirligig mite in pink-red sedum (Hylotelephium?) flowers.

A black-red aphid birthing a pale slip of a clone that is the watery pinkish shade of a colorless pomegranate aril.

#FlyFriday #bugstodon #insects #flies #Diptera #Cecidomyiidae

Something a little different for #FlyDay! These fantastical polka dots are induced by the dogwood eyespot gall midge, _Parallelodiplosis subtruncata_. Yes, these too are flies. They don't really harm the tree.

More on this species: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/dogwood-eyespot-gall-midge

A green leaf dotted with yellow-green circles ringed with red.

Zoomed-out view: the leaf belongs to a tiny dogwood seedling.

_Lasius_ nuptial flight in High Park the other day! The small bright yellow workers solicitously coax the winged reproductives out of the nest so they can take flight, mate, and found nests of their own.

These yellow ants have always creeped me out a bit. Their holes are very large, big enough to put your finger into, but the ants never seem to go in and out; they sit clustered just inside the entrance.

Apparently many _Lasius_ species live entirely underground tending root-feeding aphids and are only seen at the surface for nuptial flights. Maybe that's what I've been seeing—the workers waiting to escort the alates out.

#bugstodon #antstodon #insects #ants #Hymenoptera #Formicidae #macro 🐜

A bright golden-yellow ant helps a darker winged ant out of a hole in the sandy earth. There are yellow ants climbing up the edges and more winged ants in the centre.

A row of dark, winged alates emerge from the hole, led by golden-yellow workers.

An alate is carefully attended by numerous workers, like a plane being readied for takeoff.

A lot of rushing as even more alates arrive at the surface.

#bugstodon #insects #wasps #beewolves #Hymenoptera #Crabronidae #macro #toronto #HighPark

By a sandy path along a road in High Park there's lots of these little hills, and if you wait you'll see what seem to be yellowjackets flying low around them. I thought at first they were bees like _Colletes_, but now I think they are beewolves, solitary, ground-nesting crabronid wasps in the genus _Philanthus_. They prey on bees like sweat bees (Halictidae) to provision their larvae with in the tunnels they dig.

They're shy and will duck back into their burrows when you approach, but if you wait you'll see them crawling on the ground looking for places to burrow, or backing out of their tunnels kicking sand behind them.

A bare patch of light brown earth dotted with pale hills of sand.

A black and yellow wasp peeking out from its burrow.

A wasp above ground. It is rather smaller than a honeybee, relatively hairless and black with yellow legs and yellow bands on its abdomen. Its wings are amber.

Sarah Dal

Another reminder that as far as I can tell, the wonderful @Buglife are the only UK conservation charity with an active presence on mastodon, and they're great! Give them a follow
#insectodon #invertebrates #bugs #bugstodon

update: @bumblebeeconservationtrust are here too! and also very worthy of a follow!

#ArthroBeauty #bugstodon #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Trombidiidae #macro

I was taking a picture of this red velvet mite in the park when a lady walking a dog was like "is that a bug?" and I showed her the mite and she mentioned seeing some box elder bugs mating and we discussed how cool molting cicadas are. ^_^

A plush, wrinkly red velvet mite on a birch tree. You can see its beady little red eyes quite well.

#bugstodon #insects #wasps #Hymenoptera #parasitism

New Ant Lab on wasps! Solitary parasitoids up close and personal. Including some great footage of a _Cotesia_ emerging from its cocoon on a _Manduca_ caterpillar's back! https://youtu.be/Hg50ovWFyyw

Fat Squirrel Peppers

Found this little bastard (aka hornworm) while picking this evening.

Looks like a Manduca sexta (Carolina Sphinx). #Gardening #GardeningMastodon #hotpeppers #bugstodon #bugs

A big fat hornworm caterpillar the size of a finger munches on a red bhut leaf. It grips the stem with its fat little legs and its head is poised near the stub of a mostly eaten leaf.

https://paulaborchardt.substack.com/p/longhorn-bees

In today’s blog post I shared my art of Longhorn Bees, a few fun facts about bees, & lots of puns about bees!

#SciArt #SciArtSeptember #art #illustration #watercolor #sketchbook #NatureJournal #NatureJournaling #PerpetualJournal #Substack #blog #blogging #Tucson #SonoranDesert #NativePlants #biodiversity #environment #ecosystem #ecology #nature #Summer #insect #bugs #bugstodon #bee

#SciArt #SciArtSeptember #art #illustration #watercolor #sketchbook #NatureJournal #NatureJournaling #PerpetualJournal #Tucson #SonoranDesert #NativePlants #biodiversity #environment #ecosystem #ecology #nature #Summer #insect #bugs #bugstodon #bee

Longhorn Bees have been gathering in groups in our Tucson, AZ, USA yard to sleep on the dried-out flower stems of our Brittlebush. We’ve seen up to 40 of these each night recently so I drew a few of them for my Perpetual Journal this week.

My Perpetual Journal art of Longhorn Bees gathered on dried-out flower stems of Brittlebush in our yard in Tucson, AZ, USA, with a zoomed-in view of one Longhorn Bee.

Good old Pogonomyrmex rugosus. Desert harvester ant. Abund-ant around here.
#nature #NaturePhotography #bugs #insects #hymenoptera #bugstodon #SouthernCalifornia

An opening in the ground, with a team of large, dark-colored, tough-looking ants milling about. They're each about 1 cm long.

Flipping rocks in the garden, had an unprecedented three pseudoscorpion day!

#bugstodon #arachnids #pseudoscorpions #Pseudoscorpiones #Chthoniidae(?) #macro

A tiny reddish-brown pseudoscorpion, a small creature with a smooth, pear-shaped body, eight legs, and elbowed scorpion-like claws, amid rocks embedded in a chunk of concrete.

A similar golden-brown pseudoscorpion on the underside of a rock next to a thin blade of grass.

A reddish-brown pseudoscorpion on the underside of a whitish sedimentary rock.

#summer #bugstodon #mosquitoes

So many mosquito bites this weekend I feel like I should get a cookie, glass of orange juice, and a "I Donated" sticker.

The trick is to lean not to flinch and then you can kill 'em.
#bugstodon #summer

Mosquito flattened on a white woman's wrist.

ChadGPT6 :v_bi:

Some hashtag guesses: #Bugstodon #Mantistodon #Mandiblestodon #ThoraxMeAnything

A vibrant green praying mantis hanging onto a deep red ti plant, upside down. It’s doing the prayer arms

Different angle on the green praying mantis, kinda looking lengthwise down its body. Its triangular head and big eyes are evident. I get Zorak from Space Ghost vibes

My port-o-potty buddy while camping. #bugstodon #spiders

#bugstodon #insects #cicadas #ants #predation #Cicadidae #Formicidae

But not every cicada emerges successfully. My first find was this partially emerged cicada being rapaciously devoured by the big carpenter ants (_Camponotus_) that also live in the willows. They were carrying away great hunks of meat in their jaws. Seeing this, I was surprised that any cicadas managed to molt successfully at all!

Front view of a partially emerged cicada swarmed by large black carpenter ants. One ant has a large piece of flesh in its jaws.

Side view of dog day cicada being swarmed and eaten by carpenter ants.

#bugstodon #insects #cicadas #Cicadidae

Went cicada-ing among the big willows down by the lake last night and was gloriously rewarded!

These are dog day cicadas, _Neotibicen canicularis_.

A dog day cicada, freshly emerged, perched on its empty brown shell. The veins of its wings are subtly rainbow-hued.

Dorsal view of freshly emerged dog day cicada.

Dog day cicada on willow burl. The bases of its wings are a vivid green and its ocelli, the trio of simple eyes between its olive-green main eyes, are clear red.

n-gons

Hi #bugstodon i found this #moth on my front door (Vienna, Austria), i can’t figure out what kind it is, any ideas? #insects #invertebrates #id

Javed Ahmed

#bugs #bugstodon #insects #mothstodon #moths

Today on #wildlife (and yes, 'urban' wildlife is wildlife too) which share our homes with us, are actually beneficial, but which we are blissfully oblivious about, we meet the painted meal #moth (Pyralis pictalis) - finger-tip for size comparision in pic. no. 2.

These tiny moths (15-34 mm.) complete their entire life-cycle inside of our homes, with their caterpillars feeding on the eggs of #bedbugs - that's right! Free pest control!

(1/2)

EyeInHand

#Bugstodon
#naturephotography
#virginia
#RuralSouth

Luna Moth on a stump beside the trail in Saint Mary's Wilderness. When we passed it outbound, it was still unfurling wings, just hatched from the chrysalis. By the time we came back an hour later, it was ready to fly.

skry

#BloomScrolling #PrayingMantis #bugstodon

Artichoke flowers, dozens of them, on one 8-ft tall plant against the blue summer sky.

Light-green baby praying mantis inside a clump of copper-colored grass.

@evan Great photos! You should tag it to #bugstodon

Evan Prodromou