The Secret And Slightly Evil Diet Of The Beefly

A little something for Halloween:

Clicky!

I wonder if all species of beefly larvae are like this? I must look into that. Enjoy! It's a PDF so get Adobe Reader or what ever the thing is called to view it if you don't have it.

Who knew something so cute could be so sinister?

Aphid Domination! *Eek!*

No wonder people have so many problems with getting rid of them.

Thank God for ladybugs and parasitic wasps!

Ants Are Amazing

Don't you think?

Parasitic Wasps

Just one problem I have with this.

Yes, this is a black wasp but that's not what kind it is. There are tons of black colored wasps and all of them are called "Black Wasps"?

I don't think so. That's my only problem with it. Other then that I enjoyed it. Now can anyone tell me what kind of wasps these are?

Angel Bees vs. Robber Bees

Must look these up further.

Angel bees huh? Wonder why they call them that.

Assassin Bug vs. Bat

A little something for Halloween. *Evil Laughter*

Hoverflies

BBC got this one wrong. The fly in the video is a type of Bee Fly ( Bombyliidae ).

Other then that enjoy!

Lasius nearticus

Saw about 50,000 today. It was amazing. Tons of queens to be and males like in the photo.

Photo isn't mine. Found it on Google.

Parthenogenetic Spiders?!

Apparently so according to here.

I'm Habibi18 on there. I too will do some Googling.

Body Invaders

OMG! I can't believe this!

Carnivorous Butterflies?!

The Harvester- Feniseca tarquinius

Every schoolchild learns that butterflies lay eggs on plants, the caterpillars feed on the vegetation, grow, form a pupa, and eventually emerge as an adult butterfly which will probably feed on flower nectar, but may instead feed on rotting fruit, sap, or some other organic matter. The Harvester does something different just about every step of the way, breaking all the rules.

Female Harvesters lay their eggs among woolly aphids (Neoprociphilus, Pemphigus, Prociphilus, and Schizoneura). These insects are interesting in their own right. They have both winged and wingless generations, nearly all of which are female, and they usually require at least two different hosts. For instance, the woolly alder aphid (Paraprociphilus tesselatus), a species in which Harvesters are frequently associated with, requires both alders and silver maples, with different generations feeding on each tree.

Harvesters are also members of the Lycaenidae (the plot thickens), but the dietary habits of their larva turn the typical ant/caterpillar alliance on its ear. When Harvester larvea hatch, they eat the woolly aphids – they are the only carnivorous butterfly larvae in North America. Aphid-munching puts Harvesters a bit at odds with the ants, and so the larva will sometimes conceal and protect themselves under a mat they spin from silk and festoon with aphid carcasses.

Recent research has also found that Harvester larvea can produce a chemical camouflage that mimics the species of aphid on which they are feeding.

- Source: Bootstrap Analysis

.....One example is the Harvester butterfly that will lay eggs in woolly aphid masses because the resulting caterpillars will feed on them. The Harvester butterfly (in the butterfly stage) can also pierce woolly aphids and drink their fluids (much like a spider eats its prey). The Harvester butterfly is an exception, however, as most caterpillars and butterflies are strict vegetarians.

- Source: BN & Victoria Butterfly Gardens

DAMN! And the photo isn't mine. Found it when I went to Google them. I found out about them via BN ( BugNation ). Wonderful wonderful forum that I'm a member of.

I never knew there was such a thing. Who knew! First we have blood sucking moths and then carnivorous butterflies! What has this world come to? XD

Butterflies Are Scarier Then You

I thought this was hilarious!

A Joke

This is something one of the members of Arachnoboards had said when we were trying to figure out what kind of roaches were being nasty in a vid someone posted:

Close. Judging by the behavour, I'd say E. prostitutus. Commonly known as the sluts of the insect world, these sleazy creatures will spread their wings for anybody who has a piece of over-ripe banana or crumbled dog chow. Many insects enjoy red lights for heat, but these bugs of ill repute prefer to use them as a sign that they are open for business.

Common names include "Ho Bugs", "Winged skanks" and in higher-class roach colonies, "Entomological Escorts".
Easily identified by their call alone, you will often hear them stridulate "Hey Mister! You want some company?" and "Me love you long time!" Whenever you encounter them, you can be sure that a related species, E. pimpus, is nearby.

LMAO!

Fire Ants!

I remember seeing some a while back........