Found a fat caterpillar outside, and he turned into this big boy. I set him free as soon as he could fly, as these dudes only live long enough to mate. I’d love to see more of them around 🍂 #polyphemus #moth #big fat precious moth (at Castle Rock, Washington)
why does Australia get all the pretty ones :((((((
Because we’re the Death Continent and everything wants to advertise the fact 🙂
Actually, I don’t know if Ellipsidion roaches are noxious to the taste, but bright colouration is usually offered as a warning, even if the warning is a bluff.
TIL the Dung Beetle is the only known insect that uses the Milky Way as a reference to move in a straight line despite not being able to see individual stars. Scientists initially thought they were using the moon, however they still moved in a straight line on moonless nights.
I fucking hate space, I hate the universe, I hate science and I hate when shit like this happens. how in the fuck does a wholr species of fucking insects know to look up at the sky at all let alone actually follow the direction of a whole fucking galaxy. why the shit was I even born. why do I exist. this pisses me the fuck off. I wish I was dead
A Picasso bug, Sphaerocoris annulus, from Mlawula Nature Reserve, Swaziland.
Also known as Shield-backed bug, Sphaerocoris annulus (Heteroptera – Scutelleridae) is an African shield bug reported from Kenya, Cameroon, and Namibia.
This bug, beautifully decorated, is well known to science for its role as the cotton pest in Africa and the study of their pheromones.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the amazing real-life monster that is Sagapedo. Why makes this fierce Amazon cricket so amazing? Let’s find out!
(Note: none of those photos are mine and all have been correctly credited to the best of my knowledge. If there’s any problem with them being here let me know!)
1. Let’s face it, the Latin name Saga pedo read in English could be interpreted very poorly in a number of ways. Just wanted to get that out of the way.
3. Why “magician”? Because of the way it holds its front legs, much like a mantis. In fact…
4. Saga pedo is a tettigoniid, a bush cricket (or katydid to you Yankees), and is part of the larger family of grasshoppers, crickets, and such. Tettigoniids are generally omnivorous, and Saga pedo is a cricket taking predation to the next level. You could say it’s converging on mantids.
5. It’s huge, one of the biggest European insects. It’s also wingless and can’t fly. This size and winglessness has led to it being called a “lobster” in some names.
6. See those spines on the inside of its forelegs? They’re used for the exact same purpose mantids use their raptorial forelimbs: grabbing and impaling prey. For that matter note that they don’t have the defensive hind-leg spikes.
7. They will eat anything they can catch, and that includes their own kind. Prey is killed by biting through the neck. They don’t appreciate being manhandled either, and can bite hard.
BettSplendens Tumblr Evac 