Mike Libby creates these lovely hand crafted steam punk insects, i thought you all might enjoy;

His Insect Lab can be found here

dorky fun!

becka

bee brainz

This is a recently published article about how bees use advanced math to determine the shortest path from food source to food source. I posted it because it reminded me of what we learned about how ants use trigonmetry to find their way back to their nest. Interesting!

http://http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101025090020.htm

Maggot Art?

Apparently so!
Entomologists are now getting these larvae to paint - or rather getting students to get the larvae to paint - with their very own bodies.



And little article about the project, Maggot Monets.

The idea has clearly taken off, being exhibited at the US Science and Engineering Fair this week, but it has been going on so a while now, as the Maggot Art website attests to.

They say the paint is non-toxic, but do the maggots really do OK with this goop on their bodies? I worry about latex in their tiny trachea...

AY

Cockroach King on the Bedbug Menace

The Midwest's finest news source, The Onion, can always be relied upon for the latest entomological buzz, including this article on the worry cockroaches are feeling over the emergent bedbug problem throughout the US.

The article reports cockroach King Leopold stating:

"We must not allow this ignoble parasite to usurp our rightful place as the most feared and reviled pest in all the land," continued Leopold, raising four of his six legs to the sky and shaking his scepter. "Scurry forth, my countrymen, and let our unmatched ability to repel be known!"

I have doubts on the taxonomic identity of the "maggot" shown in the interview section here - suspect it is a beetle larvae for some reason pretending to be Dipteran youth?



AY

the eyes have it

Yes, this is pretty much almost a second pair of huge eyes on the top of this mayfly's head, called "turbinate eyes." Given they live for only 24 hours, can you think of why natural selection may have favored the evolution of this trait?

taken by Laurie Knight, Tonbridge, Kent, UK, Turbinate eyes of male mayfly (10x)

Check out another nice photo of this other-worldly morphology here.

AY

a small small world (with many insects)

Well This year's Nikon's Small World Photomicrography Competition had many stunning images submitted this year with a whole host of fantastical winners, including quite a few from - you guessed it - the insect world. Check out some of them below:

The Grand prize Winner! Seems like Nikon judges favor a certain aesthetic formalism?

Jonas King

Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences
Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Anopheles gambiae (mosquito) heart (100x)

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Charles Krebs

Charles Krebs Photography
Issaquah, Washington, USA

Ichneumon wasp compound eye and antenna base (40x)

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Riccardo Taiariol

La Spezia, SP, Italy

Wasp nest (10x)

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Dr. Tomas Cabello

Universidad of Almería
Roquetas de Mar, Spain

Apterous Aphis fabae (black bean aphid) female with offspring inside the body (40x)

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To see many of the other stunning winners, browse the gallery!

AY

Linnaeus, Shlinnaeus!

Linnaeus, Shlinnaeus! and What Goes Into Naming A New Species? A Lot

Humans do the darndest things...

I debated whether or not to post this. Perhaps it's a bit risque. But I figured, since we've been learning about sexual behavior and patterns of insects, and since one of our new orders this week was Phthiraptera, I might as well go for it.

There is a website called CrabRevenge.com and it offers just that. You can order a vial of lice for the purpose of getting revenge on your ex by setting them loose on their bedsheets or underwear drawers. Although, really, you could get revenge on anyone this way. Those little guys don't discriminate.
I just found it entertaining to compare the sexual behavior of insects, which is completely driven by procreation, and that of our own species, often driven by...let's go with, pride.

katydids believe in clean feet

The little fellow caught at Chevalier Woods still hopping and clicking away - he seems to like black locust leaves particularly.....


AY

One of these things is not like the other...

hymenopteras

i am most fascinated with hymenopteras. mainly because of ants. i think ants are crazy. you dont mess with ants or they will mess you up by the tens of thousands. they build cities underground that we have no clue about, and they take on anything they can eat. im also terrified of hymenopteras. bees, wasps, and hornets. i havent been stung many times in my life, but the times i have were very unpleasant.

love, jeff pak

Colony collapse

A team of entomologists and military scientists have discovered a possible explanation for the 'colony collapse' that has affected 20-40% of bee colonies in the U.S.

article can be found HERE.
-Emily

New insects discovered!

A team of scientists were doing their thing up in an isolated mountain range in Papua New Guinea and discovered new mammals, plants, and insects. Here are some notable ones:

Katydids!




(this guy uses his spiny legs for defense by raising them up in the air)

Ants!




...and apparently Shrek!


More images and lists of the discoveries can be found HERE
-Emily

KILLER BEES ARE REAL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee

norballs

Sunday Trip

Documentation of the somewhat chilly day of bug collecting off the Rosemont stop.

Bad Ass Things Insects Inspired

Mantodea is my homeboy

Coleopteran Decor at Robin Richman

This is the Halloween themed window display at Robin Richman, the boutique I work at. Robin added beetle ornaments and this tiny bronze sculpture of an atlas beetle, done by Dear Swallow. Dear Swallow is designed by Ria Charisse, daughter of a biologist, whose inspiration comes from twigs, rock formations, and other wonders of nature, including insects.


For a closer look, stop by Robin Richman at 2108 N. Damen Avenue!
-Camila