These tiny planthoppers are included in a complex of arthropods who, by virtue of their wing markings and postures, are believed to be mimicking jumping spiders (Salticidae) (see image below)
This is the most in-depth article I’ve ever read on New Zealand bat flies and the exciting little science-drama of their discovery and research.
These are the first flies discovered to have such an advanced almost colonial social structure, and they’re the only flies known to live in such a deep beneficial symbiosis with a mammal. There are countless other wingless flies that feed on the blood of bats but this variety is genetically unrelated to any of them and only feeds on guano.
My favorite thing about them is that, instead of simply dying like in most other insects, males who can no longer mate will just grow a lot bigger and become specialized watchmen over the eggs and larvae. When they sense a bat flying nearby, the guard males emit a high pitched buzzing (audible to humans!) to drive the bat away before it mistakenly squishes or eats them.
My favorite thing about this story is that when they were trying to collect samples from a recently abandoned bat colony, thousands of the flies climbed under the clothes of the researchers to get out of the cold and even though it felt super freaky they all knew the flies were incapable of biting and just doing what they’d usually do to hitch a ride on bats, so they didn’t fight it and later they successfully raised all the flies they “caught” that way on a diet of mashed up bananas.
My second favorite thing about this story is learning that you could just keep these on a diet of mashed up bananas. WTF. Give me some.
Edit/ I also fucking love that their eggs have long spines on them and are laid all over the colony walls so densely they look like moss. I’ve always been enamored with “encrusting” organisms and “mats” of biota like moss and lichen and mold and the thought of one that’s entirely insect eggs is the coolest possible shit to me.
Chemera and Mosaic Insects Part 2-Butterflies and Moths
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.
Babies are growing so fast! Day 2 and they are moving much faster, eating more, and making a ton of little green poops (they look like leaf fairy dust).
They may not look much bigger at first, but compare the bottom photo (from yesterday) to the other photos (all from today). Look at how much longer the body is in comparison to the head. They are destroying these hackberry leaves!
I created a tag just for these babies. Check out the “tawny babies april 2017” tag for all posts featuring them. Having so much fun with them, I’ve been bringing them to work and showing them off to everyone. I also feel like I may be the only person ever to bring their pet caterpillars into petsmart. Needed to get a bunch of temporary terrariums for the Audubon sanctuary’s open house, where I will be telling unsuspecting birders all about how awesome bugs are. Excited to see what life stage the tawny emperors will be in at the event in two weeks.
Sounds like a cherry millipede or a similar species from the Xystodesmidae family! The cherry/almond smell is actually a combination of
benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, which the millipede secretes as a defensive mechanism when disturbed – wash your hands afterwards!
Isoamyl acetate is the distinctive smell of bananas… but it’s also used in the alarm pheromones of honey bees. Don’t use banana-scented lotions in places where you’re likely to encounter bees, ‘cause they might smell you and think you’re a marked man who needs to die.
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