Horseshoe crabs can lay between 60,000 to 120,000 eggs. These eggs are laid in the sand or mud in batches of a few thousand at a time, and take 2 weeks to hatch. Many are eaten by seabirds while incubating.
No idea what kind of bug these nymphs turn into but I do know that they made a beautiful display that I was not about to mess with. #arthropods #hemiptera #nymphs #insects #insectsofinstagram #arthropodsanonymous #CostaRica #CentralAmerica #rainforest #jungle #biodiversity #forest #ecology #evolution #bugs #truebugs #insectagram #gang #nature #travel #critters
Alright, y’all. Bug nerd here. Yes, this is real. This is Charidotella sexpunctata. It’s able change color like this by filling and emptying its elytra (the wing covers) with water. The mirror-like gold effect is caused by it forcing water into separate layers of its elytra, smoothing them out to the point where they actually reflect light. By drawing the water out, the red pigment beneath is exposed. They do this whenever they’re disturbed as a defense mechanism, likely to mimic foul tasting lady beetles.
Golden tortoise beetles can change color depending on the season or even their mood using the liquid beneath their transparent shell. Underneath the shell are three layers of cuticle, each covered in tiny nooks and crannies that appear smooth when covered with liquid, and reflect light perfectly like a mirror. But when a golden tortoise beetle is agitated or under attack from a predator, it contracts the spaces between the layers of cuticle and forces liquid out of the grooves — doing away with the iridescence and usually revealing a brownish-orange color.
Chimera and Mosaic Insects Part 1-Assorted Insects
A chimera (also spelled chimaera) (from the creature Chimera in Greek mythology) is a single organism composed of cells from different zygotes. This can result in male and female organs, two blood types, or subtle variations in form. Animal chimeras are produced by the merger of multiple fertilized eggs. If the different cells have emerged from the same zygote, the organism is called a mosaic. Chimeras are formed from at least four parent cells (two fertilised eggs or early embryos fused together). Each population of cells keeps its own character and the resulting organism is a mixture of tissues. Chimeras can often breed, but the fertility and type of offspring depends on which cell line gave rise to the ovaries or testes; varying degrees of intersex differences may result if one set of cells is genetically female and another genetically male. A gynandromorph is an organism that contains both male and female characteristics, authorities say. The term gynandromorph, from Greek “gyne” female and “andro” male, is mainly used in the field of entomology, though it has also been observed in arthropods and birds as well. Another way that chimærism can occur in animals is by organ transplantation, giving one individual tissues that developed from two genomes. For example, a bone marrow transplant can change someone’s blood type. Normally, chimærism is not visible on casual inspection; however, it has been detected in the course of proving parentage and may be more common than was believed before the advent of DNA testing.
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