Entomology

Little explorer

@entomology

#insects #ants #macro #photography #year2025 #SonyA7RIII #Laowa

I saw this while in a hike today. Wasp tried to take this beetle home but it wasn't having it.

My wife caught a video of this guy in our yard, I hadn’t seen one before, quite cool!

I'm still not sure of what the ant and plant species are.

At the edge of the world

@entomology
#entomology #neatobuilds #year2025 #insects #macro #Photography #sonya7riii #Laowa #california

cross-posted from: https://mastodon.neatobuilds.com/users/mrpistachios/statuses/114696277155986852

Baby on a flower seen on my lunch walk

@photography
#insect #cricket #NeatoBuilds #year2025 #macro #photography #SonyA7RIII #Laowa #nature #Bloomscrolling #darktable #zerenestacker

cross-posted from: https://mastodon.neatobuilds.com/users/mrpistachios/statuses/114676533117760653

little Wasp bouncing around our grape vine

@photography
#wasp #gilroy #california #year2025 #neatobuilds #SonyA7RIII #laowa #green #nature #macro #photography #darktable #insects

Asian lady beetles doing some stuff

Saw the hordes on a hike they were all along the side of the path

after learning that they weren't lady bugs and are an invasive species I'm not really sure what to think of them.
@entomology

#insects #macrophotography #Photography #neatobuilds #sonya7riii #laowa #ladybeetle #naturephotography #nature

cross-posted from: https://mastodon.neatobuilds.com/users/mrpistachios/statuses/114388239397145973

Little buddy scooting past my work area

@macrophotography
#macro #macrophotography #millipede #neatobuilds #insects

This bird poop caught my attention because it looked a bit too perfectly shaped, and when I looked at it closer its orange osmeteria came out.

Searching online, I suspect that this might be Papilio cresphontes. However, I see a lot of variation in the photos of Papilio cresphontes and so I am not sure if this the correct ID.

Found in Yucatan, Mexico.

Researchers in Mississippi have discovered a previously unknown species of parasitoid wasp that matures inside the bodies of living, adult fruit flies before bursting out of them like a xenomorph in the "Alien" movies.

The sneaky predator, which researchers have named Syntretus perlmani, is the first wasp found to infect adult fruit flies — similar wasp species are known to target flies during their younger, more vulnerable larva and pupa life stages. The wasps are parasitoids rather than parasites because they always kill their hosts, while parasites usually don't.

A team of scientists came across the wasp by chance while collecting a common fruit fly called Drosophila affinis in their backyards in Mississippi. They published their findings Wednesday (Sep. 11) in the journal Nature.

Southeast Texas, help is appreciated.

ghost archive

In North America, dragonfly migrations occur annually in late summer and early fall. Although it’s not clear what species of dragonfly caused a stir among sunbathers this weekend, Virginia “Ginger” Brown, the leading dragonfly expert in the Ocean State, told NBC 10 WJAR in 2021 that witnessing such an abundance of dragonflies along the coast is a miracle.

While about 130 species of dragonflies are known in Rhode Island, Brown told WJAR that the Common Green Darner comprise the bulk of those that migrate on a yearly basis, with others accompanying their flights.

The Common Green Darner is the “best-known migrant dragonfly,” according to the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. The large specimens are found in Rhode Island and are known for being fast travelers and “water-loving” insects striking in appearance, with translucent wings and green coloration, according to InsectionIdentification.org.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/15196046

Linked article is about Pennsylvania, but note that Cornell recently announced these lanternflies have invaded the New York grape-growing region of the Finger Lakes: https://cals.cornell.edu/news/2024/07/spotted-lanternfly-found-finger-lakes-region

Also, they are up in Connecticut now: https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2024-07-25/spotted-lanternfly-connecticut-grapes-crops

Researchers from Pennsylvania State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences used an economic assessment software program to estimate potential damage and said in the worst-case scenario the damage could climb to half a billion dollars annually.

“I mean, look, it made it to Pennsylvania from China in one shot,” Walsh said. Lanternflies invaded the U.S. attached to a stone shipment sent to a local landscaping company.

“The reality is that some of those assumptions have not played out as predicted. Far and away, lanternflies are not the fire and brimstone, doom and gloom situation that they were originally feared to be,” Walsh said. “Except for grapes — it’s been worse than expected for grapes.”

While extremely disruptive to the wine and grape industry, the spotted lanternfly is not as damaging to hardwood trees used for timber as previously thought, according to 2023 research from Penn State’s Entomology Department.

According to Penn State researchers, the heaviest hit vineyards lost up to 90% of their grapevines.

Grape growers can’t just immediately replace a grapevine either. Creato said it takes up to three years for grapevines to bear fruit and five to seven years to be ready for wine.

Walsh said there is a trend of lanternflies arriving in an area, growing in numbers rapidly for a few years, and then declining for another few years. “But in that sigh of relief, the question is then, ‘Why?’” he said.

“It’s a complex bug that still has lots of secrets that we’re slowly working out,” Walsh said. “Everyday citizens reporting back information and doing the ‘lanternfly stomp’ as they went about their daily travels absolutely had a positive effect in slowing the spread.”

TL;DR: This paper describes the finding that there is a specific type of bacterium (Symbiodolus clandestinus) that lives inside of the tissues of several different insects. This bacterium appears to cause no disease, and it is hypothesized that it provides some useful metabolites that the insects are unable to produce themselves. The bacteria can be passed from the mother directly to her offspring. So, this appears to be a widespread symbiotic relation between a bacterium and insects.

The article goes into a lot more depth and describes some other examples of bacteria <-> insect interactions.

Courtesy of @otterX