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WilliamFisherPhotography

Small Wonders

Insects and spiders (+ some other critters) close up
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HemipteraAuchenorrhynchaAcanaloniidaeAcanalonia spplanthopperanterior

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  • Oak sawfly larva, Caliroa sp, along with feeding damage on the underside of an oak leaf. If you're so inclined, you can easily follow the larva's food as it moves through the digestive system. The leaf tissue is taken into the body and remains green prior to digestion. During digestion the food turns brown as it's broken down by enzymes and nutrients are absorbed from the gut. Finally the food residue becomes darker and pellitized (water is reabsorbed) prior to excretion from the posterior end.
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  • Green stink bug showing the compound eyes and the two simple eyes just above. These bugs have scent glands between their second and third set of legs and can produce a very obnoxious odor for protection against enemies. Stink bugs suck juices from plants and can be economic pests. check
  • Transluscent cocoon of a green lacewing pupa attached to a pine needle. One component of the cocoon is made from minute threads of protein-rich silk woven together to form the outer structure. An inner layer of lipid material helps prevent the pupa from drying out. The adult chewed a circle around the upper part of the cocoon, pushed up the resulting lid, and climbed out. This cocoon is about 3 mm long. Adult and larval lacewings are important predators on a variety of pests such as aphids; the immatures are sometimes referred to as aphidlions, and look like miniature alligators. check
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  • Mites on the ventral surface of a passalid beetle.
  • Ventral view of the pigweed flea beetle 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.
  • The structure, texture, and color of a portion of the elytra from a metallic wood boring beetle. The two "shells" come together inside the parallel lines down the center of the image.
  • The ventral abdominal area of a beetle showing the variety of colors and texture that looks similar to a slightly tarnished piece of metal. The larvae feed in living trees and the chewing noise they make helps a wood pecker locate them. check
  • Recently molted immature bug standing over the exuvia of its' smaller self. When frightened by the camera, the bug did not run and hide under the leaf as I expected. Rather it remained close to, and nearly on top of, the cast skin. Did this behavior make the insect appear larger than it actually was in the face of danger, something that might scare off a potential predator? The fine, white, thread-like structures coming out of the cast skin are tracheae, part of the system that supplies oxygen to the insect. New ones are formed when the insect molts. check
  • Exoskeleton of a last instar leafhopper on the underside of an oak leaf. Similar to other exmples in this gallery, the mouthparts are imbedded into the main vein to anchor the insect to the leaf. In addition, the six legs are grasping the sides of the vein to further improve attachment to the leaf. This makes it easier for the adult to separate from the old skeleton. The split along the head and thorax is where the adult literally walked out of its' own skin. The oval structure lateral on the thorax contained the folded-up wings. The new adult was white, soft, and vulnerable until the body shell hardened and the wings were completely unfolded and ready to support flight. check
  • Frontal view of the head of a white-banded beetle. 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.
  • Simple eyes located on top of this wasp's head, between the multi-faceted compound eyes. The next image shows their location a bit more clearly. The simple eyes cannot focus but do detect changes in light intensity, as occurs during sundown and sunup. This triggers the insect's activity patterns - eg some insects are active at night, while others, during the day.
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  • Side view of a carpenter ant. One good way to differentiate an ant from a termite is to look at the antennae. If they are "elbowed" or bent in the middle, as in this image, it's an ant. If you have something that looks like an ant but has straight antennae, more likely it's a termite.
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