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fisherwr2 > Cigarette beetle in the typical resting pose with the head rolled back under the thorax.
fisherwr2 > Ventral view of the pigweed flea beetle, Disconycha glabrata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) showing the huge femora of the back legs characteristic of flea beetles. They allow the beetle to jump like a flea. Not only does this beetle have the capability to jump a considerable distance, it also can stick tenaciously to smooth surfaces. For example, this beetle rode on my windshield at 60 mph for 5 miles before we stopped to collect it. Even more impressive, it was able to walk on the glass during the trip. The image was taken through a plastic petri dish and is not the best, but you can see two pads on the tarsi that allow the insect to stick so well (most clear in the first pair of legs). One pad is triangular and the other is more oval and divided in half by the tarsal claws. Both are covered in fine hair-like structures that either provide griping power through physical interactions with the surface or by producing a glue-like substance. In any event, the beetle regularly cleans these pads by wiping them on the stiff hairs of the preceeding pair of legs. The back legs also get cleaned when they are brushed over the end of the abdomen.
fisherwr2 > Ventral view of a bess beetle, Odontotaenius disjunctus (Coleoptera: Passalidae) showing the mouthparts including the mandibles with dentition, antennae, copious sensory hairs, and a "necklace" of mites in the lower portion of the image. Some species of mites are parasitic on insects, while others do no harm but hitch a ride to new habitats or feeding sites. The later mite species have evolved a relationship that benefits both, or benefits one and does not hurt the other.
fisherwr2 > Front view of the head of a bess beetle, Odontotaenius disjunctus (Coleoptera: Passalidae) showing the typical horn, antennae, and the rounded, chisel-like mandibles. These mandibles are perfectly located at the front of the head and enable the beetle to easily chew through dead wood. The compound eyes are located at the base of the antennae and are protected by odd projections of the integument. A colony of mites occurs around the base of the horn.
fisherwr2 > Frontal view of the head of a white-banded beetle, Eurymycter fasciatus (Anthribidae: Coleoptera). It belongs to the weevil family whose members often feed on fungi. In this image, you can see the mandibles at the bottom of the broad snout and the antennae coming out of the middle. I call this a "steer-head beetle" because this view resembles a Guernsey cow.
fisherwr2 > Tarsal claw of a beetle. The ridges on the claw help increase the strength of the structure while giving more "gripping" power to the insect, much as the texture of our finger prints does for us.
fisherwr2 > A scarab beetle in the subfamily Dynastinae, which contains some of the largest beetles in the world. This group includes the rhinocerus beetle, shown here, as well as the hercules and elephant beetles.
fisherwr2 > Ventral view of a scarab beetle showing the lamellate or plate-like antenna, and the compound eye. The white particles on the eye are grains of pollen. Pollen was found on all parts of the insect.
fisherwr2 > Antenna detail of an adult carrion beetle, American carrion beetle, Necrophila americana (Coleoptera: Silphidae). The adults and larvae feed on decaying flesh. This species can be used by forensics entomologists to help determine the time of death of an individual. The age of the larvae at the time the body is found plus the temperature for previous days can be used to determine how long the larve have been the body, and thus the approximate time of death
Cigarette beetle in the typical resting pose with the head rolled back under the thorax.
fisherwr2 > Cigarette beetle in the typical resting pose with the head rolled back under the thorax.
Cigarette beetle in the typical resting pose with the head rolled back under the thorax.
See photo in original gallery.
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