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01:41 am
[braunian]
[Link] |
Blood muscles
Hello everyone,
I would like to check my work.
A while ago--I must've read something or seen a nature program on television--I came under the impression that insects cannot extend their muscles using the muscle alone, because they do not have extensors. Instead, hemolymph is pumped or sluiced through an appendage in order to extend it. (This is why dying insects curl up into balls--because the heart stops working, they are unable to pump blood into limbs that have contracted in death throes.)
Is this information correct?
Thanks for any help,
Zack
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04:53 pm
[thingie]
[Link] | ( anyone out there an expert on ants and ant behavior? )
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02:15 pm
[east_side_patch]
[Link] |  
Anybody good at IDing butterflies?
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10:15 pm
[squid_ink]
[Link] |
okay I know pretty shiny spider is NOT an insect but ...
this cutie has been loitering by my worm bin for a few days. She's gorgeous, her legs look fluorescent green in the sunlight. I'm in northwest Connecticut, USA.
( and another view under the cut )
any ideas? if not, are there any active Arthropoda id groups on LJ?
Thanks!
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09:12 pm
[0nefivetwo]
[Link] |
ID Help
Could anyone tell me what this might be? I found it on an island on the Susquehanna river (south central PA) this weekend. It was in the dirt and dying before our eyes and didn't make it through the night. The picture is bad for scale reference, but it was was about 4" long.
ETA: closeup of wings
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11:56 am
[urbpan]
[Link] |
ID help: True fly and Damselfly
Anyone recognize either of these?
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12:06 am
[pedram]
[Link] |
Halp!
Saw this one in the backyard hanging around the rocks. I fail at identification...any help??
Thanks!
Current Location: toronto
Current Mood:  chipper
Current Music: hybrid - finished symphony
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12:44 pm
[dawnsong]
[Link] | Hi everyone, I've just returned from a camping trip and thought I would share some pikkychurs with you all. One of my favorite parts about camping is stalking all the bugs!
Also, I know there's kind of a lot here, but if anyone could help me identify what species some of these are (sans the honey bee and harvestman I think I've figured out lol) that would be wonderful. As much as I love insects and such, I fail at identifying them :{ And my collections of field guides only seem to help me so much.
These are all from Lafayette County in Southwest Wisconsin.
Danke schön!
( Photo dump yayyy )
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Korpiklaani - Pellonpekko | Powered by Last.fm
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11:33 am
[squid_ink]
[Link] |
"cotton candy" moth .. id plz???
I saw this cutie outside Bar Harbor, Maine (US). It was about an inch and a half long (4cm?)
I know it's a moth but I figured I'd post here, hope that's okay
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09:46 am
[east_side_patch]
[Link] |
Lord of the Flies.
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09:24 am
[ootwoods]
[Link] |
Wasp of some sort, building something.
a closeup of the wasp himself (fairly large pic, be warned)
( wasp face )
And the project he was working on. For several days, he diligently gathered pine needles and wove them together. This is in the leaf/stem joint of a purple coneflower plant.
( Wasp with construction project )
If anyone knows what kind of critter he may be, or what he was busy doing, I'd welcome the knowledge!
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03:51 pm
[ootwoods]
[Link] |
Found this guy today
I'm not certain what kind of bee/wasp this is, but that's a purple coneflower he's on, for a scale reference.
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11:24 am
[takwish]
[Link] |
Ponderous borer
Ponderous borer (Ergates spiculatus)
Idyllwild, San Jacinto Mountains, California
Yellow pine forest, el. 5300 ft
21 Jun 2009
Click to enlarge
( 2 more shots behind the cut )
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11:18 pm
[east_side_patch]
[Link] |
Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia)
Austin, Texas.
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07:57 pm
[nottied]
[Link] | 
Kay, obviously(or not?) it's some kind of cricket or grasshopper, but anyone know the specifics? It's in upstate NY and was about 1.5 cm. I found this little guy on a walk near a local boat launch and think he's totally adorable.
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01:34 pm
[squid_ink]
[Link] |
Found on the side of my beehive
surrounded by ants (and eggs, they love to hide under the inner cover, but not IN the hive thankfully!)
I found a 'mimic' a couple of months ago that turned out to be a Syrphid. Today's bad boy does NOT have wings (that I saw anyway) and just fell to the ground when I brushed off the ants
ID pls?
thanks!
I'm in northwest Connecticut, USA
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06:59 am
[east_side_patch]
[Link] |
Can anybody help me out with an ID on this little chap?
Some type of common blue?
I am in Central Texas.
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08:50 pm
[wirrrn]
[Link] |
Willows...er...Widows in Winter
Hi everyone,
Just a quick query. I'm doing my Masters in Forensic Science over here in Oz, specializing in Forensic Entomology/Arachnology. I have a mind to do my PhD report on a comparison of ecology/biology etc of Australia's own redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti) with its American cousins- the three varieties of American Widow (Latrodectus mactans, Latrodectus variolus, Latrodectus hesperus) plus the Florida Red Widow (L. bishopi) and the Brown Widow (L. Geometricus).
I have *plenty* of redback spiders in various nooks and crannies around my garage etc I can use for the study. I was wondering if any of you know of any reputable dealers in the US of A that could sell me some live specimens of the above 5 American widow species. "Reputable" being the operative word- this is a legitimate study for a legitimate research project at a respected university- the last thing I need is Customs knocking on my lab door and some kind of international incident revolving around smuggled venomous arachnids! The project is just in the planning stages at the moment, but I'd like to get a feel for the places that have the spiders on offer.
Current Location: hub of web
Current Mood: hopeful
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12:56 am
[overton_cat]
[Link] | 
Chrysomela populi.
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02:39 pm
[dr_nebula]
[Link] |
Moth Hitler
Welcome to Mothwitz
My friend J is perhaps the ultimate collector and packrat - and has accumulated impressive collections of fossils, coins (ancient and modern), meteorites, paintings, astronomical gear and now - insects. He collects in phases - throwing himself fully into that particular hobby until either his interest or money is exhausted before switching to something else.
A little over a year ago, I introduced J to insect macrophotography and entomology in general. Since that time he's taken over 20,000 images and has been a major contributor to sites like Bugguide and the Moth Photographers Group. His images are often stunning and are equal and at times considerably better than anything I've done.
Since early this spring, he has started to collect various insects (mostly moths) for pinning/mounting in large glass cases. Many years ago as a teen and later in college, I had collected and mounted over 500 different insects. I had considerable skill in the fine art of mounting and my collections had won top honors several times in the New York State Fair. So I was interested in his progress in mounting.
For a beginner, his mounting was pretty good and while the specimens were drying others were stored in the freezer for 'safe keeping'. I used to do this too, much to my mother's horror - with small bags and jars containing up to a couple dozen insects.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw in his freezer last night.
There were boxes of specimens filling one side of the freezer - including a LARGE FREEZER BAG filled with *over* two pounds of mixed dead, frozen moths.
Or if each moth weighed an average of 2 grams - we are talking of at LEAST 500 assorted moths in that bag alone. MASSED, random bags are *NOT* a typical way to collect - at least what I've seen at the private and university level.
It has gotten to the point that his daughter has nicknamed him as Moth Hitler - as he takes great glee in imaging, capturing then freezing the moths (and other insects).
I think the next time I visit he will get a sticker for that freezer with this inscription in Gothic Script..
"Fliegen Macht Frei"
*EG*
Current Mood:  WTF?
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entomology
