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

[connynasch@mastodon.social]

@StevenLawsonPhotography @ShaulaEvans this is an amazing insect! Made my morning brighter, thanks 😁

[pixdigit@layer8.space]

@ShaulaEvans Beds are filled with mites that feed off of dead skin cells. This prevents harmful mold to grow and means there is no hygienic reason to wash your bed. Unless you're allergic to dust mites that is.

[karalg84@dragonscave.space]

@stevegis_ssg @ShaulaEvans Something I've wondered for ages now is why do only certain insects buzz? Housefly's can be annoyingly loud whereas butterflies don't make a sound.

[shaulaevans@zirk.us]

Thank you for these cool replies -- I'm so glad I asked!

I'm trying to get to bed so I will reply properly tomorrow.

And my friend is okay -- not in distress, just a full plate at the moment. No cause for alarm. I didn't mean to worry you all! xo 2/n

[benroyce@mastodon.social]

@ShaulaEvans

there is the gall wasp, a parasite of oak trees

it manipulates the oak to make galls, growths that its larvae eat and grow in

but there is a parasite, of this parasite

tiny and trippy looking

its larvae consume the gall wasp larvae, and when it is ready to leave, it manipulates its host to chew almost out of the gall, just the tip of its head exposed, then the parasite of the parasite chews through the head, and emerges

the crypt-keeper wasp

ghoulish

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euderus_set

[akki@toot.lgbt]

@KaraLG84 @stevegis_ssg @ShaulaEvans Butterflies do very softly make a sound in a quiet enough butterfly house.

[shaulaevans@zirk.us]

@Pixdigit I am in fact allergic to dust mites! But I've been experimenting with vacuuming my bed to extend the use life of bedding.

[connynasch@mastodon.social]

@growfediverse @ShaulaEvans Wow, I had forgotten those bee facts 🤔 😃

[akki@toot.lgbt]

@ShaulaEvans There's a moth in the UK where the female is just a fat fuzzy thing with no wings that waits for the male.
https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/belted-beauty

[benroyce@mastodon.social]

@ShaulaEvans

ps:

the latin nomenclature for the crypt-keeper wasp is "Euderus Set"

The ancient Egyptian god Set trapped his brother Osiris in a coffin, then killed him and chopped him up into pieces

[dmakarios@theres.life]

@ShaulaEvans I don't know if stick insects are Officially Bugs or not, but there's a species in Papua New Guinea which sprays when agitated, and the locals use it as an Antibacterial Spray Insect.

Other interesting stick insect facts here: https://deborah.makarios.nz/2019/10/29/the-weird-and-wonderful-stick-insect/

[akki@toot.lgbt]

@ShaulaEvans There is a kind of moth that can feed on human blood like a mosquito https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calyptra_(moth)

[sturmsucht@mastodon.social]

@ShaulaEvans @lavievagabonde 👀

[karalg84@dragonscave.space]

@Akki @stevegis_ssg @ShaulaEvans Oh they do don't they now you mention it. I remember holding one near my ear when I was little.

[connynasch@mastodon.social]

@stevegis_ssg @ShaulaEvans I had always wondered about how insects breathe. Thank you for this enlightening explanation. 😊

[akki@toot.lgbt]

@KaraLG84 @stevegis_ssg @ShaulaEvans They're quieter because everything wants to eat them, I think. Also the size-shape-material of the wings. Fly wings are small and firm, butterflies are more flappy.

[connynasch@mastodon.social]

@afewbugs @ShaulaEvans 😂

[mossesandbees@scicomm.xyz]

@ShaulaEvans rove beetles (Staphylinidae) are not only (one of) the largest family in the animal kingdom, but they use their abdomen to fold their wings under the shortened elytra.
In fact, their wings have distinct folding lines, but it doesn't matter if the left or the the right wing is on top of the other while folding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhU9NhHIYQc

[connynasch@mastodon.social]

@benroyce @ShaulaEvans 😮 I love ghoulish...

[tattooed_mummy@beige.party]

@ShaulaEvans I used to have pet stick insects. They are really fun and I know they can go without food for a week because a baby one escaped, and we thought it was dead and then we found it a week later wandering about the ceiling. when we popped it back in the tank.You've never seen a creature eat leaves so fast.Poor little starving thing.
They are all female, but they lay eggs anyway and have babies. I'm slightly envious.