Caudal Autotomy - Tail Loss

Many lizards have the ability to lose their tail to escape from predators, the lizards then have the ability to regenerate cartilage tails. In some cases, as in this lizard I found while cleaning up some debris in our field, the tail is also vibrantly colored to attract predators (better to get nipped in the butt than the face). Not only does the tail detach, but it also has the ability to wriggle around for a long time, distracting the predator, while the lizard has a chance to get away. I think I got too close to this lizard and spooked the poor thing.

hugs 4 bugs,

moki

Moth Thermoregulation

This large moth was stuck in the tatami room and was flying around, but it stopped and rested for a long time, I caught it and brought it to the window to let it go, but it did not fly away. After awhile though, the moth started vibrating its wings really fast. This wing-vibration produces heat in their thorax, raising the temperature in the flight muscles of the wings which large moths need to do prior to flight because they are mostly nocturnal and do not have the radiant energy of the sun at their disposal.

hugs 4 bugs,

moki

Nippon Animal Pictures

Just some of the insects, myriapods, and other animals I encountered over my adventures in Japan on the Japan: Nature, Aesthetics, Science, and Technology Summer 2013 Study Trip and then while WOOFing in the mountains north of Kyoto in Miyama.

 

Add caption

 

hugs 4 bugs,

moki

Mr. Finch's Vintage Textile Flora & Fauna

I ran across these awesome little creations on Colossal by self taught artist who calls himself Mister Finch. He lives in Leeds in Yorkshire and creates flowers, insects, arachnids, fungi, birds and other inspirations from nature out of recycled materials, mostly vintage textiles!

hugs 4 bugs,

moki

"Too Lovely To Squish"

A lovely painting of a bug (Hemipteran, that is), among many by Bernard Durin in re-published book. See more images HERE

Fire and Phorids

http://conyay.deviantart.com/art/Zombie-Ants-342544078?ga_submit=10%3A1356131183&ga_type=edit

Yay! I found something that will play Flash video properly. Follow the link to see my puppet show rendition of the fire ants vs. phorid fly vs. humans situation.

-Connie

Bee Keeping Classes

Chicago Honey Co-op has beekeeping classes begining in January!! The classes will be held at Jane Addams Hull House Museum (UIC) from 10AM to 3PM. Class costs $75.

http://chicagohoneycoop.squarespace.com/classes/

I am working on binding books at North Branch Projects with Insect themes...

Thanks for a great semester everyone!

moki

Media Project "The Waggle Dance Of the Honey Bee"

beefinal from Emma on Vimeo.

Here is my media project! It is a hand drawn animation about the waggle dance. It's narrated so make sure the volume is on - or click here 

Emma

Life, in some form

A new exhibition featuring two artists, Marissa Lee Benedict (image of work, left) and Brittany Ransom(image of work, right), who are interested in objects of transformation, technology, science, nature, etc!
It also features a Twitter-Remote-Controlled-Cockroach! Where participants are asked to tweet at the program connected to the cockroach and effects its movement. Also, Ransom will exhibit steel sculptures inhabited by various stages of metamorphosis for moths.  More here!


Opening Reception: December 7, 6-9


-Joanne~

Bees Swarming

I was looking to see if there were any long videos of bees. No commentary or editing or anything. Just a nice long video of bees living out their lives.

Hard to find any. But I found one that shows bees swarming while searching for a new home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMoRoiKmdM

It got really exciting at the end when they were all preparing to fly off.

Cephalopod Eyes

I was looking stuff up about octopus eyes and noticed an article titled "What animal has a more sophisticated eye, Octopus or Insect."

http://www.ebiomedia.com/what-animal-has-a-more-sophisticated-eye-octopus-or-insect.html

I remembered talking about the convergent evolution of eyes and how the octopus eye differed in that the nerves are attached at the back. Apparently that's because the eye evolved as an invagination of the skin, meaning that the eye evolved from the skin going inwards rather than an outward extension of the brain.

The article says that all invertebrate eyes develop as an invagination while vertebrate eyes are all extensions of the brain. I wonder if invertebrate invagination includes insects?

SpaceX Grasshopper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-VjaBSSnqs&feature=plcp

 

My brother works at SpaceX and sent me this link along with this message:

"I . . . called the test engineering manager for Dragon and said, 'I'm bored.  Is there anything I can help out with out there this evening?' and he replied, 'Get over here ASAP!  Grasshopper is about to hop!'"



This is just more proof that by studying insects, engineers and scientists can get a whole lot of inspiration for their designs. (Even if it looks nothing like a grasshopper.) And it's a huge leap for reusable spacecraft.


-Connie

Disappearing Bees

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/04/09/mystery-of-the-disappearing-bees-solved/

This is so weird. Until today, I'd thought the whole bees disappearing thing was just a joke in Doctor Who. Then this morning, I was listening to a podcast (not even a scientific one) where they mentioned findings in this article and I had to look it up. It was only later in the night that I saw the subject of the Insect World readings and videos for this week. It was crazy.

-Connie

The Cobweb Hotel

This short video is a documentary showing the interactions of flies and what seems to be a rare 6-legged talking spider. Examples of mimicry, predation, and sociality between flies are included.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT4M2UrDFUs

-Rex

Spooky Bugs

Nothing better than when your students come to entomology class dressed up in insect themes for Halloween!

Thanks to Justin for taking and posting these photos, of me, Rex, and Melissa

-AY

The Eagleman Stag Animation

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5K2HUg11sQ

9,000 butterflies killed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/18/damien-hirst-butterflies-weirdly-uplifting

-danielle

hexapod fashions

 

AY

bug ink

I came across this specimen on a Tumblr site. Quite beautiful, no? Can you name the Order of this critter - or perhaps this demands the creation of a new on?   Insect tattoos are popular among the inked folk, and as you might expect, Lepidoptera and Odonata abound... Some other examples:

http://pinterest.com/griffinpest/insect-tattoos/
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/insect-tattoo

AY

human DNA from maggots ~

 

A report just came out on grubs doing that much more in helping identify the circumstances and details of death. Sure, different flies' life cycles might help with the timing and location of death, but what about those really tough cases when you might not be able to even ID a body, or the body is gone but the grubs remain?  

Turns outs since maggots ingest the human cells, they also obviously ingest the human DNA as well, and scientists have just been able to isolate such DNA for the purposes of identifying a mystery body!

Read the press blurb here

AY