#dicondylia

[systemtermz]

Any suggestions for names related to moths or bugs in general?

Lepidoptera (Lepid, Optera, however you want to slice it) - the order moths belong to (along with other bugs like butterflies) (second source)

Moððe - a moth (second source) (from same source, Motti, Mot, and Motte)

Insecta - class for insects

Dicondylia (Dicon, Delia, once again however you wanna slice it) - apparently all insects except for jumping bristletails??? Which are this

Entomo - insect

Skoros - moth (edit -)

Feel free to suggest more or correct us!!

-Clown

[imperatorium]

This is so random but do you have any Thoughts on Copia and his rats?? Just general headcanons or anything lol

Oh, yes! The way I always conceive of Copia's rat business is based heavily on the setup that a friend of an old friend who lived in a converted theatre space had. Just a sprawling, apartment complex of a cage, filled with huts and hammocks. It's not crowded, though - obviously he would love to play parent/host to All The Rats, but I think he actually understands restraint and can manage to keep only a few at a time so they all get the attention and time with him that they deserve.

A thing I always think of as like...a half-written scene in something I'll probably never write all of is an interaction, also heavily based on things said by aforementioned friend of an old friend, between Copia and the Ghost AU of an "OC" of mine who likes insects the same way that he loves rats.

She goes by Sister Dicondylia in this AU and when they first meet, it's when she's been tasked with bringing him some supplies for his pets and he's like, "Ah. Yes. Insects," at her, when she introduces herself. "Rats," he says, indicating himself, before plucking some of the pet snacks off the tray she's brought. He tips one of the paper condiments towards her so she can see its contents, then offers it to one of the buddies on his shoulder. "Yogurt. They just go apeshit for it."

[animalids]

Snake mantis (Kongobatha diademata)

Photo by Steve & Alison1

[wtf-triassic]

Gigatitan

By Ripley Cook 

Etymology: Large titan

First Described By: Sharov, 1968

Classification: Biota, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Asgardarchaeota, Eukaryota, Neokaryota, Scotokaryota Opimoda, Podiata, Amorphea, Obazoa, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Choanozoa, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Parahoxozoa, Bilateria, Nephrozoa, Protostomia, Arthropoda, Mandibulata, Pancrustacea, Hexapoda, Insecta, Dicondylia, Pterygota, Metapterygota, Neoptera, Polyneoptera, Anartioptera, Polyorthoptera, Orthopterida, Panorthoptera, Titanoptera, Gigatitanidae

Referred Species: G. extensus, G. magnificus, G. vulgaris

Status: Extinct

Time and Place: 242 to 227 million years ago, from the Ladinian of the Middle Triassic to the Carnian of the Late Triassic. 

Gigatitan is known from Kyrgyzstan. 

Physical Description: Gigatitan was a very large insect, with a wingspan of 33 centimeters (13 inches). It’s one of the better-known members of Titanoptera, an extinct clade of large predatory insects. It would have looked a little like a giant mayfly, but with a katydid-lke head and much lnger antennae. The forelegs were large and bore sharp spines, similar to those of praying mantises. The wings were large and had distinct fluting. The ovipositor of Gigatitan has sharp ridges, similar to the earlier Carboniferous insect Gerarus.

Diet: Gigatitan was a predator, and its diet potentially included other insects and even small reptiles.

Behavior: It is likely titanopterans had similar lifestyles to modern praying mantises, living as arboreal predators. Their large wings would have allowed them to fly, but their relatively small hindlimbs wouldn’t have allowed them to leap very far. The fluting on the wings could be rubbed by the hindlimbs to produce sound, similar to the chirping of crickets, but if I had to wager, it’d be even more abrasive to the ear. The cutting ridges on the ovipositor were likely used to cut holes in plant material, so that it could lay eggs inside.

Ecosystem: Gigatitan’s fossils were found in the Madygen Formation, which is probably more famous for harboring the bizarre reptiles Longisquama and Sharovipteryx. The Madygen Formation environment was a forested submontane region, with rivers leading out to a large lake. The lowland forests were composed of lycophytes, seed ferns, cycads, gingkos, conifers,  and horsetails, with many aquatic plants by the swampy coast. Titanopterans such as Gigatitan preferred the upland regions, which were also home to the cynodont Madysaurus. The environment was flourishing with insects; other insects known include other species of titanopteran, mayflies, cockroaches, hymenopterans, flies, beetles, notopterans, caddisflies, orthopterans, cicadas, and true bugs. The rivers and lakes harbored the amphibian Triassaurus, mollusks, worms, crustaceans, and many fish such as Oshia, Saurichthys, the lungfish Asiatoceratodus, and hybodont and xenacanthid sharks.

Other: Gigatitan is one of the largest insects to have evolved beyond the Carboniferous.

~ By Henry Thomas

Sources under the Cut 

Bethoux, O., Galtier, J., Nel, A. (2004). “Earliest Evidence of Insect Endophytic Oviposition”. Palaios 19: 408-413.

Carlton, R.L. (2018). A Concise Dictionary of Paleontology. Springer International Publishing.

Grimaldi, D. (2009). “Fossil Record”. IN: Resh, V.H., Carde, R.T. eds. Encyclopida of Insects. Cambridge Academic Press.

Voigt, S., Spindler, F., FIscher, J., Kogan, I., Buchwitz, M. (2007) “An extraordinary lake basin - the Madygen fossil lagerstaette (Middle to Upper Triassic, Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia)”. Palaontologische Gesellschaft 2007, Freiberg.

[animalids]

Thistle mantis (Blepharopsis mendica)

Photo by Igor Siwanowicz

[animalids]

Pill roach (Perisphaerus sp.)

Photo by Budak

[animalids]

Leaf insect (Microphyllium pusillulum)

Photo by Thierry Heitzmann

[animalids]

Madagascan marbled mantis (Polyspilota aeruginosa)

Photo by Igor Siwanowicz

[animalids]

Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina)

Photo by Matthew T Rader

[animalids]

Bladder grasshopper (Bullacris membracioides)

Photo by suncana

[animalids]

Hooded mantis (Choeradodis stalii)

Photo by Gil Wizen

[imperatorium]

Ghost OC Week, Day 1

A whole-ass day late, but....

Introductions - Who is this character? What do they look like? What inspired you to make them?

Sister Dicondylia (née Cora Hollis). She/her. Late 20s when she joined the Church, now in her mid-30s. Small, delicate and doll-like, translucently pale.  Warm brown eyes, always lined in heavy black eyeliner/shadow.  Long dark hair, so thick and straight that it almost looks fake (because it used to be a wig before Sister Imperator gave her the more comfortable and consistent glamour to utilize).  There's a Victorian flare to most of her personal fashion and, honestly, her clergy fit is just some Lolita bullshit like this. Also wears a lot of insect-themed accessories!

Joined the congregation and, shortly thereafter, the Sisters Of Sin in 2014 (rumoured to have been personally delivered by that nasty, little zombie punk, Mary Goore but how those two became connected is anyone's guess!). 

Her file mentions an abusive father and a horrifically mismanaged childhood illness, but other than to contextualize its lasting effects on her health, this is not a subject she speaks very openly on.  On the whole, her past is not a very hot topic of discussion - although she has been known to spit the occasional curse against an ex, a nuisance since documented by the Church as a wannabe occult leader of no true significance.

Subjects she would enthusiastically rather cover include care of both pet and pinned bugs (she has an impressive collection of both), music appreciation (passionate supporter of the Ghost project), and demon taxonomy (as if they were another precious species of insect).

Here are a few stupid but pretty picrew I made of her because I cannot draw.

I have one single "OC" who I can slot into just about any AU and this is she, the Ghost-branded edition.  Obviously my favourite in-fiction part of Ghost is Sister Imperator and I absolutely consider her my point-of-view character within the story.  I'd hesitate to call what I can do with her in writing/roleplay/art/etc. "limiting" because I'd consider my fanworks experience with her incredibly rich and rewarding, BUT she is someone whose story is pretty spelled out in a certain way.And...while I have a very fulfilling fantasy relationship with Nihil through Sister, at the end of the day, Tobias made some other OCs I would like (Cora/Shilo) to kiss also. Anyway, excited for this @ghostbcfandomevents​ week and tomorrow I’ll post what should have been today & tomorrow’s stuff bc I think what I want to write will flow nicely into each other. ♥