Hey, Fedi. I have a favour to ask you.

[mudlark@bark.lgbt]

@ShaulaEvans oh, oh I have two:

isopods are one of my favourite creatures, but I can’t tell you about them because they’re not bugs - they’re actually crustaceans!

Jumping spiders are the only spiders that can look without turning their heads, but unlike most eyes which look left and right and the retinas stay put, the jumping spider has fixed eye lenses, while the retinas move around behind them!

[afewbugs@social.coop]

@ghouston @jetlagjen @ShaulaEvans yes they can! https://simonleather.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/living-inside-your-grandmother-the-wonderful-world-of-aphids/

[patrickobeirne@mastodon.ie]

@ShaulaEvans
Sign them up to https://mastodon.ie/@thebeeguy

(I assume you're not talking about software ;))

[amenonsen@mastodon.social]

@AnAutieAtUni @ShaulaEvans Oh, and this is a jumping spider too. It might not exactly be a "fun fact", but still…

https://mastodon.social/@amenonsen/115699005033414203

[grammasaurus@mastodon.social]

@GeekyTeaKitty @ShaulaEvans @futurebird or @AlexWild

[jetlagjen@gts.phillipsuk.org]

@afewbugs @ghouston @ShaulaEvans they really are amazing little things!

Ants farm them on some of my fruit bushes, so at the right time of year I get to see babies, adults, and winged adults up close. It's fascinating to watch how the ants care for their herd.

[grumpyoldtechie@hostux.social]

@ShaulaEvans The first computer bug was an actual bug

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper#Anecdotes

[exxo@nrw.social]

@ShaulaEvans I mostly love other kinds of animals, but this one is really interesting for me as a mathematician 🙂

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodical_cicadas#Predator_satiation_survival_strategy

[kay@mastodon.nz]

@ShaulaEvans Another bug related fact is New Zealand's competition to be elected as #NZBugOfTheYear!

Voting is done online so probably determined by humans but I guess New Zealand Entomological Society are open to any votes that meet their criteria.
🗳️ 🦋 🐛 🐜 🐞 🐝 🪲 🪰 🪳 🦗
https://bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/2026-bug-of-the-year-nominees/

[lucky@mastodon.nz]

@ShaulaEvans BUG FACT: at least a few times a year I see a cool beetle, go "wow!!! Cool beetle!!!", grab it and let it walk all over my hands and arms for several minutes, and then realize I forgot what blister beetles look like yet again

[biobaum@bildung.social]

@ShaulaEvans
Some leaf beetles produce toxins which they can secrete through glands on their back.

...other leaf beetles feed on poisonous plants, "collect" the toxins and secrete them (sometimes chemically modified).

... and *some* leaf beetle larvae keep the toxins of the plants inside their digestive tract making their feces toxic. Their anus is at a position where they shit on their own back producing a protective "fecal mask". No shit.

#BugFacts #fecology

[biobaum@bildung.social]

@StevenLawsonPhotography @ShaulaEvans Male scorpion flies offer a piece of prey (smaller insects) to the females. The females feed on it while mating takes place.

[afewbugs@social.coop]

@emmadavidson @ShaulaEvans oh wow we also have a blue butterfly symbiotic with ants in the UK! It never occurred to me that this sort of relationship could be happening with species across the world! https://www.dorsetbutterflies.com/species/chalkhill-blue/

[tayfonay@beige.party]

@MurmeltHier @ShaulaEvans 😳

[stevejb@beige.party]

@ShaulaEvans Probably already knows about this, but it's always good for chuckle:
The Tarantula Hawk is neither a tarantula, nor a hawk. It's a wasp. It's the only wasp who's venom does no tissue damage. It's attacks the nervous system and paralyzes it's prey: the tarantula. The venom's action is so specific that it does not kill the spider, but renders it helpless. The wasp drags the spider to a prepared nest where she lays eggs inside the spiders body. When the the eggs hatch, the larvae use the living spider for food, being careful to avoid vital organs, keeping the spider alive as long as possible.

The sting is harmless to humans, although it's known as the most painful sting of any insect. According Matt Simon, of Absurd Creature of the Week: "There are some vivid descriptions of people getting stung by these things,” says invertebrate biologist Ben Hutchins of Texas Parks and Wildlife, “and their recommendation was to just lie down and start screaming, because few if any people could maintain verbal and physical coordination after getting stung by one of these things. You're likely to just run off and hurt yourself. So just lie down and start yelling."

Oh, and these lovely ladies are big!

[mostlytato@mstdn.social]

@ShaulaEvans
Dragonflies spend far more of their life under water in their larval stage. The nymphs have an extending, spear like mandible to capture prey. They also have jet propulsion!

[biobaum@bildung.social]

@futurebird @ShaulaEvans
Ants are so incredibly cool that other arthropods just want to be like them: "ant mimicry" is a treasure chest full of amazing bug facts.

My favourite: in order to look more similar to ants, some jumping spiders walk on their six hind legs, the remaining front legs lifted to the side of their head to resemble ant antennae.

[noodlemaz@mstdn.games]

@Akki @KaraLG84 @stevegis_ssg @ShaulaEvans surely it's because fly wings beat really fast and butterflies' are much slower?

[noodlemaz@mstdn.games]

@annehargreaves @jetlagjen @ShaulaEvans there are so many names for pill bugs in the English-speaking world (cannot speak to other languages on this)

Monkeypeas was the one where I grew up (SE England)

They also come in orangey/ginger variants!

[thebratdragon@mastodon.scot]

@afewbugs @ShaulaEvans

this seems like a very sensible ay to view life to me.