Insectorium Thread.

[Faithfree]

Not entirely insects (some arachnids too), but some pretty damn cool closeups!

[Pappa]

And now, for the two Commas that turned up. Already, it's possible to see in this shot, why one of the specimens is a bit special, but I'm jumping the gun here. All will be explained shortly.

Cali, I suppose I could google, but...

What are the two shiny metallic areas on a comma pupa case? They have an appearance almost exactly like two small disks of iron pyrites.

[Calilasseia]

That's the point. They're patches of scales that don't normally appear on Commas, and I'm going to run this one past some people in the know, to see if this aberration has been observed or documented before. I have a feeling I might have hit upon a new aberrant.

[Pappa]

That's the point. They're patches of scales that don't normally appear on Commas, and I'm going to run this one past some people in the know, to see if this aberration has been observed or documented before. I have a feeling I might have hit upon a new aberrant.

Oh, sorry. I should have read the rest of your posts. I've seen comma chrysalides with stoplights on several times in my garden. I assumed they were normal.

[JimC]

That's the point. They're patches of scales that don't normally appear on Commas, and I'm going to run this one past some people in the know, to see if this aberration has been observed or documented before. I have a feeling I might have hit upon a new aberrant.

Oh, sorry. I should have read the rest of your posts. I've seen comma chrysalides with stoplights on several times in my garden. I assumed they were normal.

Maybe they look like eyes from certain angles, and make a would-be predator think twice?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Butterflies' astounding tale revealed in 3-D movie
New film captures insects' journeys over hundreds of miles

A new movie is bringing to theaters the tale of the discovery of monarch butterflies' astonishing migration — a journey that remained shrouded in mystery up until the 1970s.

Based on a true story, the 3-D film "Flight of the Butterflies," which will be shown at IMAX theaters, chronicles the groundbreaking work of scientist Fred Urquhart, a man who spent many years trying to figure out where the iconic butterflies went during the cold winter months. They simply seemed to disappear.

Yet Urquhart's investigations — and his invention of the first butterfly-tracking tags — eventually uncovered a tale so strange it seemed more like fiction than fact.

Cont'd.

[Calilasseia]

Just posted some photos elsewhere, but since they're relevant here, I'll provide the links.

Ladybird photos

Ichneumopn Wasp

Dragonflies

[Atheist-Lite]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19879379

Florida man dies after roach-eating competition

The winner of a cockroach-eating competition died shortly after eating dozens of the live insects and worms in Florida, authorities have said.

Edward Archbold, 32, became ill and collapsed at a pet shop where the contest took place in the city of Deerfield Beach on Friday.

About 30 others competed in the event at the Ben Siegel Reptile Store.

Officials are waiting for the results of an autopsy to determine Archbold's cause of death.

(continued, seemed relevant somehow...)

[Calilasseia]

And now, for an insect species that was tailor made for Ratz. I give you, the every which way swinging Diaprepes abbreviatus ...

Intrasexual Mounting In The Beetle Diaprepes abbreviatus (L.) by Ally R. Harari, H. Jane Brockmann and Peterr J. Landolt, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Part B, 267:, 2071-2079 (20th June 2000) [Full paper downloadable from here]

The weevil Diaprepes abbreviatus shows three kinds of same-sex mountings: males mount other unpaired males, males mount males already engaged in copulation and females mount other females. Four hypotheses were evaluated in order to explain same-sex matings by males: (i) female mimicry by inferior males, (ii) dominance of larger males which affects the behaviour of small males, (iii) sperm transfer in which smaller males gain some reproductive success by `hitchhiking’ their sperm with the sperm of larger males, and (iv) poor sex recognition. Data from mate choice and sperm competition experiments rejected the female mimicry, dominance and sperm transfer hypotheses and supported the poor sex recognition hypothesis.We tested three hypotheses in order to explain female mounting behaviour: (i) females mimic male behaviour in order to reduce sexual harassment by males, (ii) females mount other females in order to appear larger and thereby attract more and larger males for mating, and (iii) female mimicry of males. The results of our mate choice experiments suggested that the female mimicry of males hypothesis best explains the observed female mounting behaviour. This result is also consistent with the poor sex recognition hypothesis which is the most likely explanation for male and female intrasexual mating behaviour in many insect species.

Great. Not only do we have gay males in this species, but lesbians and threesomes as well!

For some reason, I find this fucking awesome.

[JimC]

This makes it even harder to choose the lesser of 2 weevils...

[Calilasseia]

Meanwhile, if you want something really strange from the world of invertebrate sex, try this. Not an insect, but an arthropod (in this case, a mite), so I reckon I can safely pop it in here in the absence of a thread for mites.

Ladies and germs, I bring you the mite species Acarophenax tribolii. This is a species in which the sex ratio is very precisely skewed. Each female produces 16 offspring, 15 females and 1 male. Moreover, every instance of mating is incestuous - the male inseminates his sisters. To make matters even more interesting, the male inseminates his sisters while all of the involved parties are still inside the parent female's body cavity. The male, having inseminated all of the females, then dies before being born. The now impregnated female offspring then burst through the body cavity of their mother, in a manner reminiscent of the gruesome John Hurt scene from Alien, killing her in the process. The impregnated females then go on to repeat this bizarre reproductive process.

All I can say is, if this was "designed", the "designer" was truly, truly warped.

[JimC]

Meanwhile, if you want something really strange from the world of invertebrate sex, try this. Not an insect, but an arthropod (in this case, a mite), so I reckon I can safely pop it in here in the absence of a thread for mites.

Ladies and germs, I bring you the mite species Acarophenax tribolii. This is a species in which the sex ratio is very precisely skewed. Each female produces 16 offspring, 15 females and 1 male. Moreover, every instance of mating is incestuous - the male inseminates his sisters. To make matters even more interesting, the male inseminates his sisters while all of the involved parties are still inside the parent female's body cavity. The male, having inseminated all of the females, then dies before being born. The now impregnated female offspring then burst through the body cavity of their mother, in a manner reminiscent of the gruesome John Hurt scene from Alien, killing her in the process. The impregnated females then go on to repeat this bizarre reproductive process.

All I can say is, if this was "designed", the "designer" was truly, truly warped.

An interesting example to analyse in a broader account in the genetics of sexual reproduction. They are even more inbred than folk in the Ozark mountains...

[FBM]

[Gawdzilla Sama]

That is GREAT!

[Calilasseia]

Love it. Miniature helicopter gunship wasp flying nap of the Earth.