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

[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.

[jonnyt@mastodon.me.uk]

@ShaulaEvans Harvestmen* (Order: Opiliones) is a type of arachnid that has been around for more than 400 million years and they are one of the oldest known land-based arthropods that are still extant today.

(*To prevent or add to the confusion: in the US they are called daddy long legs, which is what we call crane flies in the Tipula genus here in the UK)

This paper includes images of the fossil of one that is 305Myr old: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1458

[jonnyt@mastodon.me.uk]

@ShaulaEvans (Strictly speaking, not a bug but the colloquial use of the word covers it)

[afewbugs@social.coop]

@benroyce More fun facts about oak galls: they have highly nutritious tissue in the centre for the little wasp grub to feed on, but the outer layer is very rich in tannins (the bitter chemicals in tea) to discourage anything from eating them and the wasp within and these tannins can be used to tan leather or to make ink by mixing with a source of iron. @Pepijn has a series of posts on the process here https://mastodon.online/@Pepijn/112327794886191452

[robtherunt@cupoftea.social]

@ShaulaEvans
I’m currently reading this book “Endemic” by James Harding-Morris which is all about endemic species found only in UK.

It’s fascinating and contains lots of info about little UK critters like the Celtic wood louse which was discovered in Wales, but now is being found in other parts of the country. It’s tiny and looks white but is actually translucent and has no eyes.

I would recommend the book to anybody who has even a modest interest in wildlife.

[afewbugs@social.coop]

@benroyce Different galls have different concentrations of tannin. @Pepijn used oak marble galls in the photos (named for obvious reasons) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andricus_kollari. Historically though in Europe the best ink was made from imported Aleppo galls from Syria - apparently Jane Austin was very particular about her ink and this was what she used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynips_quercusfolii I can't find the reference in the book right now, but a common name for Aleppo galls was apparently mad apple of Sodom!

[robtherunt@cupoftea.social]

@statsguy @ShaulaEvans
We had a monster ragwort in our garden last year. It was stunning and was buzzing with insects all through summer. Hopefully, we’ll get another one this year 😁

[hydropsyche@ecoevo.social]

@noodlemaz @annehargreaves @jetlagjen @ShaulaEvans In my part of the US, we call them roly-polies.

[catselbow@fosstodon.org]

@ShaulaEvans

Flies in the family Nycteribiidae are wingless parasites that live in the fur of bats. They look more like spiders than flies.

Also, "freeloader flies" (Milichiidae) are kleptoparasites that steal food from other animals. My favorite thing about them is that they have a friendly relationship with garden spiders. The spiders allow the flies to clean the spider's mouthparts, similar to the way cleaner wrasses clean other fish.

[statsguy@mas.to]

@robtherunt @ShaulaEvans They tend to spread. You may get several this year. And if there are cinnabar moths in the vicinity then you'll probably end up with loads of them once they figure out that you have their favourite food on hand..