Insect Picture of the Day

Gang,

I hate it when sites go on hiatus, so I haven’t wanted to do one here. But I hate it even more when a site silently goes dark without telling anyone what or why, so I figured I should post a note.

Life is crazy for me right now, and something’s gotta give. Right now, that something is InsectPOD. I’ve been debating with myself over whether or not to just shut down the site, but I just can’t bring myself to kill my baby yet.

I’m going to put the site on hiatus for now, to return on January 1st. Hopefully by then I’ll have figured out how to juggle a crazy life and a fun website. Thank you all, and I hope you all have a happy holiday.

David

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Sometimes David and I don’t communicate for a while, and I forget that he doesn’t have my newest, most awesomest, fantastical picture that I took the other day. For my Thursday slot he puts up one of the pictures he does have that I sent him, and I’m really surprised.

Why surprised? Well, let’s take this picture, for example. It’s obviously a cricket. It’s black and, judging from that end of a peanut shell next to it*, relatively small. Kind of a cool picture because the cricket seems to be looking at me, saying something along the lines of “Greetings from planet Bug. I can take you to our leader.” At least, that’s what I think it’s saying.

All that would be great, and no reason for surprise, except I don’t remember ever taking this picture. Once I figured out that was a peanut shell** I can say with certainty that I did take the picture because my neighbor litters the yards with peanut shells by feeding the squirrels, but actually taking the picture? I’m drawing a blank.

So, here’s a new picture. It’s just as new to me as it is to you. Enjoy!

*I only just realized what that was while I was beginning to write “judging from that…whatever it is next to it.”
**About, oh, 30 seconds ago.

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Now, this may look like a European Paper Wasp, but it’s actually an Australian European Paper Wasp. You can tell because if you lean down close and listen real hard, it will sting you in the ear with a distinct accent.

This great pic comes from Tim Pollard, and to be honest, I’m not at all certain it’s a European Paper Wasp at all. Can’t see enough of it to be sure. Also, she might be trying to lay an egg in that clothespin, which is solitary-wasp behavior—decidedly non-EPW behavior.

Either way, it’s a great composition. Thanks, Tim!

I just can’t win for losing in the update race, it seems. Real Life has intruded rather forcefully this past week. I’m still not out of the woods, and I don’t think I’ll be able to backfill—InsectPOD posts take about an hour each to process the image, research the bug, and write up.

I’m tentatively going to try to get the site back on regular posts starting tomorrow. Apologies for the inconvenience; I know some of you were expecting your daily bug fix here.

If any of you are interested in submitting guest posts—meaning a photo AND a writeup, please contact me at the usual address (it’s on the About page).

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Jumping spiders have such expressive faces. Here’s a zebra spider, Salticus scenicus, gazing off into the sunrise, thoughtfully meditating as she eats a mosquito.

What do you think she’s thinking? Maybe it’s something really deep and zen, like “What is the sound of four hands clapping?” or “If a tree falls in the forest, and no spiders were around to hear it, what was wrong with that tree?” Or maybe she’s got a poetic soul, and is simply reveling in the sunrise as she dines on her prey.

And then again, perhaps she’s just thinking “nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom.”

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This is probably one of my favorite pictures that I took over the summer.  Granted, it’s of a very common Blowfly, which is definitely not something I’d consider a very cool insect, but I still want to think it’s a nice picture.

I’m just having a problem getting past the fact that when I was growing up my father had a special name for these shiny little flies. Let’s just say he called them “Excrement Flies.” Not very flattering, and very evocative of certain feelings.

So, here’s what could have been a cool picture, ruined by a smelly fly.

Enjoy.

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Today’s picture comes from Brian Lyles, who took this photo in Mississippi. Meet Gryllus texensis, the Southwestern Field Cricket… or… wait. Maybe it’s Gryllus rubens, the Southeastern Field Cricket. Sometimes I get those mixed up.

And so do you. Today’s picture comes directly from the “only they can tell the difference” file.

Male crickets, like this one, of G. texensis and G. rubens can only be told apart by listening to them! According to the bug folks at the University of Florida, males of the two species cannot be told apart morphologically (by looking at their shape), but the pulse rates of their mating songs differ slightly between the two species. (G. texensis has shorter, more regular pulses).

The definition of a species is whether or not two groups of animals will remain genetically distinct in the wild. This does not necessarily mean that they are genetically incompatible; in fact G. texensis and G. rubens will “readily hybridize in the laboratory”. But in the wild, female Southwestern Field Crickets go for the pulsing techno beats while female Southeastern Field Crickets swoon for the jazz improv. Or, as the UFL guys put it, the two species “maintain their integrity in the field”.

I suppose that’s another way you could tell what kind of cricket he is: follow him around and see what kind of cricket he hooks up with. Just remember, if the girl cricket shows up with a friend, you have to show her a good time. You’re the wingman. You’ve got a job to do. Don’t break the cricket bro code.

Thanks, Brian!

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I know it isn’t Friday, but this little gal didn’t care that it wasn’t Friday when she posed for this photo.

I sold my car last month, and I went out to take pictures of it. As I walked past the hood, I noticed this tiny speck stuck to the side of the hood. I leaned in for a closer look.

I love grass spiders. They have awesome camouflage. They are colored a brownish golden-green, to blend in with any color of grass. They fold their front and back legs together to become a long, thin line so that you can’t tell where the blade of grass ends and the spider begins. They have a stripe down their back to mimic the striations of grass. Their crypsis is nearly perfect, and I just love it.

And I especially love how none of that really works when you’re hiding on the hood of a red Toyota.

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Well, it’s time to get the holiday season kicked off right, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than with candy canes!

Um. Would you settle for sticks? …what if they’re walking?

Michelle Reynolds sent in this photo last Spring and I’ve been waiting for just the right time to spring it on you all. It was in the lineup for the October story but the story changed and went in a different direction. It’s probably for the best, since this photo really deserves its own run.

I think it’s interesting to find another picture of multiple walkingsticks in which all of the participants seem to be… um… racing, I think we decided is what they’re doing? Yes. Racing. I have several theories, but no data to back them up so I’ll keep them to myself for now.

Thanks Michelle! Awesome photo.

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Okay, this little critter wins hands-down for cool names. Athena Fritz sends in this photo of a “Devil’s Coach Beetle” she took this Summer in Seattle, WA. You can’t see it in this picture, but their jaws hinge at the base of their head and are capable of opening very wide to deliver an astonishingly harsh pinch.

The picture is not retouched; it came washed out by the flash in the photo. I find this very artistic and wallpaper-worthy.

The Devil’s Coach Beetle is not to be confused with the Devil’s Business Class Beetle, which has more legroom and a place to plug in your laptop.