#Cute bugs

[creepincrawl]

More pics of my pet mantis Daffodil on my miniature, but now she's an adult!

:O that me!

This time she really, really wanted to just climb up high lol. Makes sense because she spends like 90% of her time upside down.

Ma'am, please, the door is not for climbing.

(look at her antennae moving!)

Oh my goodness I can't bring you anywhere Daffodil!! They have printed paper menus you don't have to climb up close to look!!!

I gave her a juicy cricket for her time! Everyone say thank you Daffodil!

:I :o

[futurebird]

[Image Description: An explosion of bugs that live in forest leaf litter. The colors are bright, graphic, yellow, blue, green, red, the insects and bugs are simply, but realistically drawn with clear black outlines. At the center is an isopod rolled up, around it are a fan of leaves, mushrooms, and twigs and among these are ants, a slug, two beetles, a millipede, a fly and two worms all facing away from the isopod as if in a burst of forest floor ecosystem joy. ]

Thank you for not leaving out the ants! They so often get left out of collections of fun bugs like this one. And I love everything about this.

Leaf Litter Lads!!

[definitely-not-several-bugs]

Why is she looking at me like I'm the one who left her and the kids.

[lucklessrat]

[mushrooms-and-millipedes]

[gina025]

Kallima inachus, a leaf-shaped butterfly

[heyhoneyfox]

Hey, don't cry. Little snail, ok?

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

The Oriental Blue Clearwing Moth: these moths were regarded as a "lost species" for more than 130 years, until they were finally sighted again in 2013

For more than 130 years, the Oriental blue clearwing moth (Heterosphecia tawonoides) was known only from a single, badly damaged specimen that was collected in Sumatra in 1887. There were no recorded sightings of this species again until 2013, when entomologist Dr. Marta Skowron Volponi unexpectedly found the moths feeding on salt deposits that had accumulated along the riverbanks in Malaysia's lowland rainforest.

These moths were observed by researchers again in 2016 and 2017, and research indicates that the moths are actually bee-mimics, as they mimic the appearance, sound, behavior, and flight patterns of local bees. Their fuzzy, bright blue appearance might seem a little out of place for a bee-mimic, but those features do appear in several different bee species throughout Southeast Asia.

When the moths are in flight, they bear a particularly strong resemblance to the bees of the genus Thyreus (i.e. cuckoo bees, otherwise known as cloak-and-dagger bees), several of which are also bright blue, with banded markings, dark blue wings, fuzzy legs, and smooth, rounded antennae. The physical resemblance is compounded by the acoustic and behavioral mimicry that occurs when the moths are in flight.

Cloak-and-Dagger Bees: the image at the top shows an Indo-Malayan cloak-and-dagger bee (Thyreus novaehollandiae) in a sleeping position, holding itself upright with its mandibles clamped onto a twig, while the image at the bottom shows a Himalayan cloak-and-dagger bee (T. himalayensis) resting in the same position

The moths also engage in "mud-puddling" among the various bees that congregate along the riverbanks; mud-puddling is the process whereby an insect (usually a bee or a butterfly) draws nutrients from the fluids found in puddles, wet sand, decaying plant matter, carrion, animal waste, sweat, tears, and/or blood. According to researchers, the Oriental blue clearwing moth was the only lepidopteran that was seen mud-puddling among the local bees.

Dr. Skowron Volponi commented on the unusual appearance and behavior of these moths:

You think about moths and you envision a grey, hairy insect that is attracted to light. But this species is dramatically different—it is beautiful, shiny blue in sunlight and it comes out during the day; and it is a master of disguise, mimicking bees on multiple levels and even hanging out with them. The Oriental blue clearwing is just two centimeters in size, but there are so many fascinating things about them and so much more we hope to learn.

This species is still incredibly vulnerable, as it faces threats like deforestation, pollution, and climate change. The president of Global Wildlife Conservation, which is an organization that seeks to rediscover "lost species," added:

After learning about this incredible rediscovery, we hope that tourists visiting Taman Negara National Park and picnicking on the riverbanks—the home of these beautiful clearwing moths—will remember to tread lightly and to take their trash out of the park with them. We also recommend that Americans learn about palm oil production, which is one of the primary causes of deforestation in Malaysia.

Sources & More Info:

Phys.org: Bee-Mimicking Clearwing Moth Buzzes Back to Life After 130 Years

Mongabay News: Moth Rediscovered in Malaysia Mimics Appearance and Behavior of Bees to Escape Predators

Journal of Tropical Conservation Science: Lost Species of Bee-Mimicking Clearwing Moth, H. tawonoides, Rediscovered in Peninsular Malaysia's Primary Rainforest

Frontiers in Zoology: Southeast Asian Clearwing Moths Buzz like their Model Bees

Royal Society Publishing: Moving like a Model - mimicry of hymenopteran flight trajectories by clearwing moths of Southeast Asian rainforests

Medium: Rediscovery in a Glint of Blue

re:wild.org: The "Search for Lost Species" Project

[maggotmuncher0]

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[baroueman]

Trilobite beetle Also known as Platerodrilus; these are a genus of beetles of the family Lycidae. The females retain a larval form as adults and are about 40–80 mm in length. The Lycidae are a family in the beetle order Coleoptera, members of which are commonly called net-winged beetles. Follow my page for more epic, silly and boomblu content; share so I can grow if you wish, and come visit my other socials at my Linktree [Just click the word Linktree, it's hyperlinked :)]. Check out the rest of my posts too!!! A lot of them are underrated. ;o Like everything you find interesting if you want. :3

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⇾ Follow my page for more epic, silly and boomblu content; share so I can grow if you wish, and come visit my other socials at my Linktree [Just click the word Linktree, it's hyperlinked :)]. ⇽

Check out the rest of my posts too!!! A lot of them are underrated. ;o Like everything you find interesting if you want. :3 Remember, you can find all of my socials here (click the word [here], it's hyperlinked (｡◕‿‿◕｡) For the plain link; here it is: https://lynkfire.com/Gliphel&Glyph%20LLC%20Incorperated Also; if you prefer Linktree, it's here.

[naturalist-journal]

[zoologica42]

Please pause to let this little guy across your dash (he has places to be)

[definitely-not-several-bugs]

Picture of me and my little brother when we were kids

[the-amethyst-artist]

Very different post of mine but recently I made some old teaching specimens into a art piece for my department!

[futurebird]

Wasps so tiny you will question everything.

Imagine being so teeny tiny that you are an endoparasite on *leafhoppers* Leafhoppers are already in the "so small they go unnoticed" category, and you're just a little pest on a minuscule thing.

Of course the group that's most likely to choose this life? The wasps Wasps are some of the smallest insects. There are "fairy flies" that are parasites of the eggs of certain insects.

They are so small that air is "thick" to them and their wings have feathered edges are are oar shaped.

Some fairly flies are so tiny that their neurons are cells without nuclei. They got rid of them to save space. They can still think though... presumably the tiniest little thoughts.

Photo by Alexey Polilov, 2012

They lay their eggs inside of the eggs of 1-2mm long crop pests.

And... read the article to see what the males are like... they are even smaller somehow, but it's ... disturbing.

[goatguyeddy]

Never saying yes to a marriage proposal, unless it’s like this