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Blog Archives
Resigned Parasitized Caterpillar
September 5, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
This caterpillar from a nearby park with head held low seems resigned to its fate as a parasitoid host. OK, I know that’s a normal position — allow me to anthropomorphise a bit.
You can see some white eggs on its back. I assume a tachinid fly left those, placing them close enough to the head that they couldn’t be removed.
In this next image, you can see there are also some already hatched eggs, sealing this little guy’s doom.
Closeup showing hatched eggs
I know tachinid fly larvae have breathing tubes that pierce the host’s skin. Could those long fibers amongst the eggs be those breathing tubes? I wouldn’t think they would be so long. I’m more inclined to think those are just bits of debris that maybe got stuck to whatever holds the eggs in place.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Assassin Bug Mimicking Bee
January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Tropical assassin bugs come in an amazing variety of forms. This one reminds me of a bee, though I didn’t see anything on my trip that might serve as a model. Despite extensive searching of the internet, I didn’t turn up any photos of a species resembling this individual.
A couple of my books do mention assassin bugs that mimic bees and wasps, so I think that’s probably what’s going on here.
[book:0962515019]
[book:0520078497]
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White-spotted Leafhopper
January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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Fuzzy Jewel Beetle
January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Quick! What is it? From this angle, you might mistake this jewel beetle for a bee.
The beetle was feeding on the purplish flowers. Purple in, purple out.
Side view
Posted in Featured Photos
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Black Fly with White Bands on Wings
January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Flies are a difficult order for me so I won’t pretend to know for sure what family this one belongs to. My guess would be a bee fly.
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White-marked Tussock Moth
I often encounter the easily recognized White-marked Tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma. I found this one feeding on maple at the end of May in my front yard.
May 31, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA | ~30mm
I grabbed it for some closeup shots and to attempt to rear it.
Tussocks
Head
Defensive glands
It must have been a final instar, because it pupated just five days later. It spun the cocoon at the top of a container, but I carefully removed it to take some photos.
Cocoon | June 6, 2010 | ~40mm
A flightless female emerged ten days later.
It's a female! | June 16, 2010 | ~15mm
Portrait
Females cling to the cocoon until mated. That night, I carefully pinned the cocoon with her on it to a post on my deck. When I checked an hour later, mating was already in progress. The male that found her was rough looking, having lost many wing scales.
Posted in Featured Creatures
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