Lady the Mantis

This was lady! When I captured her, she was pregnant. I wanted her to let her have her babies, so I got a container for her, some plants and crickets. This was her in her container, with her eggs, and then just walking around on the floor.

Researchers Find Gene that Makes Mosquitoes Prefer Humans over Animals

I thought this was a very ground breaking discovery in mosquitoes. It's a genetic adaptation that benefits the mosquito but negatively impacts humans. Will this new form of mosquito cause yellow fever to escalate excessively? Will the other form of mosquito that only bites forest animals also begin to exclusively chose human blood? Are insects becoming smarter faster than human technology is advancing? -Victoria Nelson http://entomologytoday.org/2014/11/13/researchers-find-gene-that-makes-mosquitoes-prefer-humans-over-animals/

"The Astonishing Weaponry of Dung Beetles"-New York Times Article ( Highlights and key points) By Claire Wetterer

Last week I was able to read an article on the New York Times Website called "The Astonishing Weaponry of Dung Beetles", written by Douglas Emlen.  In the opening paragraph of the story it describes travelers in Tanzania having a close encounter with upwards of 50,000 Dung beetles.  The source of the attraction for the beetles was a large pile of elephant excrement.  The scientists were swarmed by these beetles, this is the part of the piece that caught my attention, such a large volume of insects swarming.  As the article goes on we can clarify that the sheer amount of beetles converging on the excrement is not what the title is lending itself to, but how these beetles defend themselves :

" It is their weaponry. Scores of dung-beetle species on the Serengeti have no horns at all. But as many as five different horns jut from the bodies of other species, and many of these protrusions are proportionally huge; in Onthophagus raffrayi, for example, the male has a horn that arcs all the way over its head, extending more than twice the length of its body."(Emlen)

The article continues to explain that the fundamental reason for this weaponry all comes down to this 

" extreme weaponry has the same root cause: violent dueling, in which the lesser-armed combatant loses out. But investment in weapons suited only to a single task — matched contests with similarly armed rivals — leaves the bearer vulnerable to attack from new enemies" (Emlen)

  This weaponry is necessary because for a male dung beetles battle is a simple way of life, it encounters many unavoidable fights trying to complete it's necessary acts, mating, feeding and surviving.  The male beetle has many fights which control how he must go about his existence and according to Emlen, these horns make up "thirty percent" of the insects weight. The life of a dung beetle in Tanzania and other places is constantly under siege. ironically the males with the largest horns do not always win in the gene pool. It is the ones with the weapons that do not make it to the next generation

" Over time, this end run around the logic of the arms race can completely upend it, pushing the armed animals out of the gene pool. Overburdened and outmatched, animals with weapons eventually die off."(Emlen)".

 At the conclusion of the article, Emlen makes a connection between this lifestyle and  human arms races.
"The Astonishing Weaponry of Dung Beetles" written by Douglas Emlen

Above: an interesting illustration featured in the article by Paul Sahre

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/magazine/the-astonishing-weaponry-of-dung-beetles.html - Claire Wetterer

jizai okimono

Jizai Okimono seems to me like the perfect art form for expressing the movement and delicate intricacy that is the jointed legs and external skeleton of hexapods. 
Traditionally these sculptures are crated from metal and feature sculpture perfectly mimicking the appearance and movement of animals, such as the attached photos. However, one of the most impressive examples I have found is of this isopod (a lobster) carved from wood:

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/06/artist-ryousuke-ohtake-carves-incredibly-realistic-lobster-from-boxwood/

 Image Link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sushifactory/sets/72157609672293007/ 

More Examples of Jizai Okimono:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sushifactory/collections/72157609707407762/ 


-R 

Unusual Reversal of Sex Organs in Insects is Discovered in Brazil

(posted by Livia Margon)

Female Insect with Penis Found in Brazilian Cave

I know the Last link I posted was of the same topic but... Despite the unusual language of this article which I think is somewhat used for shock value, it helped me clarify the issue of how sex is determined in insects. I think the case of this insect is a good example of the confusion regarding this issue, but the article addresses it very directly and helps clarify how it is resolved in the scientific comunity.

Fungus Gnat Larvae "Snake"

Fungus gnat larvae practice a bizarre and disturbing formation when searching for food. Talk about teamwork! By forming a single mass, the larvae certainly draw a lot more attention from predators than they would if they ventured out individually; however, it is possible that their unity could successfully SIMULATE snake-like behaviors, thereby deterring predators. I wonder if this is evidence of the "Invisible hand theory" mentioned in the reading! (These are my own thoughts and observations. I could not find much research on this phenomenon online.)
       ~ Olivia C.

Ants carrying a worm

I don't know if anyone have seen this but.. this is a video of ants carrying a worm back to their home. I've seen many video clips of ants carrying stuffs, but this is the first time I see those ants actually lining up in rows and pulling their food (I guess?). I wonder how they're linked to each other. Are they biting one another? or using their antennae to hold each other? I don't know...

-YJK

Before and After

Before and After
This is a lovely display of caterpillars and their metamorphosis into butterflies and moths...now if I could only collect an Acraga Coa specimen for my collection everything would be spectacular! -KM

Acharia Stimulea

Acharia Stimulea

Acraga Coa

Acraga Coa

Attacus Atlas

Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Blue Morpho

Blue Morpho

Brahmin Moth

Brahmin Moth

Cecropia

Cecropia

Cerura Vinula

Cerura Vinula

Flannel Moth

Flannel Moth

Glass Winged Butterfly

Glass Winged Butterfly

Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth

Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth

Io Moth

Io Moth

Isa Textula

Isa Textula

Isochaetes Beutenmuelleri

Isochaetes Beutenmuelleri

Phobetron Pithecium

Phobetron Pithecium

Pipevine Swallowtail

Pipevine Swallowtail

Polyura Sempronius

Polyura Sempronius

Spicebush Swallowtail

Spicebush Swallowtail

Spotted Apatelodes

Spotted Apatelodes

Buggin'

This is a lovely song by the Flaming Lips called Buggin' from their album The Soft Bulletin. This is the perfect album to play during those late studio nights and it will also give you and your friends a pleasant nostalgic feeling about bugs in the summer!

Lyrics:

All those bugs buzzin' 'round your head
Well, they fly in the air as you comb your hair
And the summertime will make you itch the mosquito bites

The buzz of love is busy buggin' you
Well, they fly in the air as you comb your hair
And they're splattered up and down your windshield and the headlights

Well, they bite
Yeah, they bite
But you can tell they're there

Does love buzz because that's what it does?
Well, they fly in the air as you comb your hair
And the summertime will make you itch the mosquito bites

Well, they fly in the air as you comb your hair
And they're splattered up and down your windshield and the headlights

Fly in the air, comb your hair
Flies in the air, comb your hair

KM.

Mycocepurus goeldii and Mycocepurus castrator

Today I came across a really interesting discovery made by a German researcher Christian Rabeling. It is a very important discovery for evidence towards evolution. 

Take a look at these ants.

These are two queen ants, who live in the same same colony.

"The ant colony they studied was situated under a group of eucalyptus trees at São Paulo State University in Brazil. The familiar ant, Mycocepurus goeldii, is a fungus-farming species, meaning it grows fungus and relies on it for nutrients. This ant has been observed throughout Brazil and in neighboring countries. But within that one colony on the university campus exists a parasite ant, Mycocepurus castrator. Rather than help grow fungus, the parasites spend their lives eating the food reserves and reproducing. Sometimes they go undetected; other times, mobs of the farmer ants identify and kill them."

The article goes on to talk about how the discoverers, Rabeling and Schultz, are confident that this is one of the best cases of "Sympatric Speciation" which is where a species splits into two species without any geographic separation.

In the world of Science, there hasn't been any real solid evidence of it happening, so scientists have been skeptical of its existence. Darwin's theory is that evolution happens if there is a change in geographic location or environment. Sympatric Speciation goes against this idea.

If Rabeling and Schultz can prove that these ants really did evolve in the same geographic location then this will be a solid breakthrough in the science of evolution. 

I really recommend reading it here at the Smithsonian so that people who are paid to write about science can explain it to you much clearer, and in a much more interesting way.

Ants are cool,
Aileen