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Category Archives: Behavior
Hitchhiking mites, yikes (maybe he should have brought a towel)
One of the emails we got this month led to an interesting answer. A nonprofit director asked some questions about an earwig for their kids they teach. They found an earwig one day and thought it was a mother carrying her … Continue reading
Do other bugs have anything similar to a hymenopteran’s stinger?
Question: I know that stingers on wasps, bees, ants, etc., are modified ovipositors, which helps them out in terms of defense […] this got me into thinking. Do other bugs have anything similar? This question emailed to us is quite intriguing and … Continue reading
Posted in Behavior, Evolution
Tagged antlion, cuticular spins, envenomation, Onychocerus albitarsis, Reduviidae, scorpion beetle, sting, venom, Venomous
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Deathwatch Beetles – Spooky Sounds
Tick, tick. Tap, tap, tap. These sounds are produced by a deathwatch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum). Old buildings can sometimes give us spooky vibes. However, for the deathwatch beetle, they are quite welcoming. This is because these beetles are woodboring and … Continue reading
A note on death in insects – pretending, surviving, and living
My undergraduate student that I’m mentoring this semester asked me a question about when an insect is dead. He pondered this because we read a paper were researchers infected carpenter ants with a fungus were considered dead after no movement … Continue reading
Email question: are fireflies attracted to CO2?
Back in June we received an email that stuck with me. A person had a question about CO2 attraction in fireflies. Their question pertained to an insect trap that emits CO2 to attract and capture insects. They were concerned about … Continue reading
Bugs With Fuzzy Butts: What are They?!
Spring and summer time bring out all the interesting bugs! Over the years (and recently) we’ve had a few people ask what these insects are and why they have “fuzzy butts.” These insects are broadly called planthoppers. Why do they … Continue reading
What’s putting bugs in pots on my windowsill?
Written by Joe Ballenger Does anyone know what kind of worms these are? They were in this mudlike ball stuck to the screen (second pic after it burst open) and when I flicked it to remove it, it busted apart … Continue reading
Caught on camera: A wasp…party?
Written by Joe Ballenger During the fall, we get a lot of questions about wasps…but not about wasps in nests. Often, these are from people who work in construction or otherwise around heights. I know the sizing of the pictures … Continue reading
Healthy Insect Relationships: How Insects Court Each Other
Written by Nancy Miorelli A while back I wrote an article about how insect relationships are a bit … non consensual. And these kinds of articles flood the internet because it’s all the hype and drama that you’d want to … Continue reading
Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Physiology
Tagged beetle, bug love, bug mating, cicada, gift, insect courtship, insect love, insect mating rituals, insect sex, katydid, mating, sperm packet
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Which of these arthropods is an ant?
Here is a video I did a while back on ant mimics. In the video I say that you can type “MIMIC” to recieve the free PDF; however, that only works on facebook. You can also download the PDF from here: Ant … Continue reading
Posted in Behavior, Ecology
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