Written by Nancy Miorelli
This meme – floating around FB. Fact? Fiction? Mix?
I’m starting to feel like we’re the Snopes of Entomology.
This has been floating around Facebook. So fact, or fiction?
The answer?
One of our most common identification requests are pictures of spiders and other arachnids. Nancy and I did a live video awhile back talking about arachnids. In the video we say that you can type the word “SPIDER” to receive a free PDF; however, that only works on Facebook. You can also download the PDF from here: Arachnid Bug Quiz Answers
What is an arachnid anyway? Like insects, arachnids are arthropods. Insects are a class of arthropods, and arachnids are also a class within Arthropoda. In biology we organize organisms based on their relationships (biological classification – think of Carl Linnaeus). A broad group is one that shares a lot of characters, while a more specific group shares unique character(s). Although insects and arachnids are related, they are different enough that they are placed in separate groups.
All arachnids have the following characteristics:
What is an order, you ask? Arachnids are organized into orders. Insects are also organized this way; for example, within Insecta (the name for the class of insects) there are beetles (Coleoptera), moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera), flies (Diptera), and so on. Check out Wikipedia to see a list of all arachnid orders!
Image: Big Bend Tarantula – October 2017
Bug Quiz image photo credits: Top left (A) jovengandalf, top right Daniel Llavaneras (B), bottom left Jon Richfield (C), and bottom right André Karwath (D).
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 get from your morning dose of internet. But today, we’re writing about a few examples of insect courtship that isn’t all stabbing, stalking, hooks, and graspers.
And this is thanks to Jedidiah for asking about the more civilized and respectful insect relationships.
So let’s look at a couple of examples where it’s all about love … and presents.
Written by Joe Ballenger
This question was very unique. We had a person in the AaE Facebook inbox reach out to us after she had been diagnosed with a meat allergy, most likely from a tick. After a conversation with her physician, she had wanted to know more about how ticks work. The physician wasn’t able to answer her questions about bugs, so she reached out to us.
The start of this week’s post: the Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma americanum. The females can be easily ID’d by the white spot on its back.
Unfortunately, since her query contains medical information, I’m not really comfortable posting it here. However, it’s important because tick-associated meat allergies allergies appear to be on the rise, and it’s a good idea for people to have a resource to understand what’s going on from the entomological side.
Researching for this post was an unexpected treat, as well. Normally, when I do a post, I have a pretty good idea of what I’m going to find. This was a rare post where, even though I knew the subject was interesting, the story ended up being a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.
What I feel makes this story really unique is how it bounces around a lot of disciplines. It starts with the first organ transplants, involves a lot of cancer biology, and then ends up talking about conservation practices in the Southern US.
Written by Joe Ballenger
Name: Shamus
You Question! Or Comment. =): Do you have any knowledge on insects in western Canada during/following wildfires? Do certain insects have protective measures they take during wildfire, or do they just leave the area?
Morning Commute pic.twitter.com/yAqZQjYLnp
— Nature is Scary (@NatureisScary) December 13, 2017
For the people living in California, it kind of sucks that this is a relevant question. It sucks that a lot of people have lost their homes, or their lives…and it’s really hard to write a post like this without acknowledging their tragedies.
However, at the same time, there’s an ecological reason for this. Wildfires, in many environments, are a normal part of life. Lots of plants are well adapted to occasionally catching on fire. There’s even an entire field of study for figuring out how and why the environment depends on fire-it’s called fire ecology. Some plants, like Lodgepole pines, need fire to keep existing. Some plants, like Cogon grass and some species of Eucalyptus, have even evolved to purposely catch on fire. There’s even a scientific term for that latter type of plant…they’re called ‘active pyrophytes‘.
The reason large swaths of land occasionally catch fire is pretty easy to understand. Some plants have evolved to snuff out the competition by burning out everything around them. This means that there will be both a layer of fertile soil and no competition for the next generation of plants.
Fire ecology is pretty cool, and we could dedicate an entire blog to how and why various plants use fire to their advantage. But this is a blog about bugs, and each of these plants which have adapted to fires have bugs which eat those plants.
So…how do bugs deal with fires in their natural environment?
Written by Nancy Miorelli Edited by Dylan Perry
My Dad has interesting hobbies and interests. One such interest is history – specifically during the age of tall ships. Tall ships are those ships that are cruising around in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Barque Europa
PC: Nancy Miorelli
It was an interest that I was soon dragged into – and while I’m not a history fanatic – I can be convinced to be interested in *most* things. So – one day last week Dad brought me to a lecture at Mystic Seaport in Mystic Connecticut – where three gentlemen talked about the the Mayflower II – a reproduction built from 1555-1957.
Mayflower II Restoration at Mystic Seaport in Mystic Connecticut.
The project is led by Plimoth Plantation.
PC: Mystic Seaport
Much of the wood is damaged beyond repair so the ship is being taken apart and restored. During the little tour – I had a chance to talk to Dylan – a Maritime Artisan for Plimoth Plantation – to talk about how they’re protecting the wood from future insect damage.
So let’s start off with the worm shoe.
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 Mimic Bug Quiz Answers
So, how can you tell mimics apart from ants? Here is a list of characters you can use to tell if a critter is an ant:
Why do other arthropods mimic ants?
Myrmecomorphy (a fancy word for “ant mimicry”) provides protection from a lot of predators or is a great way for predators to fool their ant prey. Therefore, the form of mimicry is either protective or aggressive. Most organisms do not want to eat ants (of course, there are some exceptions) because many (although not all) ants sting and/or bite, are aggressive, and/or taste bitter. In the case of a few predators, they have evolved to look and/or smell like their ant prey that they hunt. Ants are fierce, so being able to get close is an advantage to those organisms that want to eat them.
These are the ways in which organisms can mimic ants:
They are many examples of ant mimics! Many spiders, treehoppers, mantids, stick insects, katydids, etc. mimic ants. Happy hunting!
Photo credits: Top (A) & bottom (C) left = Alex Wild. Top right (B) = Daniel Llavaneras. Bottom right (D) = Muhammad Mahdi Karim.
Got a question? Ask us!
Beetle Shell and Tagua Nut Jewelry
