Looking closer…

Oh, a praying mantis nymph. How cute!

Do you see praying mantids in the summer?

but what about the immature stages, the larvae and pupae?

Don’t they look bizarre? The larva in the third photograph (with the pupa) has attached itself to the leaf in preparation of becoming a pupa too.

These are the larvae and pupa of the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis . I took these photos on a recent trip to upstate New York. These lady beetles were intentionally introduced to the United States in the early 1980’s.

]]> http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2010/06/bug-of-the-week-lady-beetle-life-stages/feed/ 0 http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2010/06/bug-of-the-week-dragonfly-laying-eggs/ http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2010/06/bug-of-the-week-dragonfly-laying-eggs/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:35:13 +0000 Roberta http://blog.growingwithscience.com/?p=1817 Sometimes the unexpected events make the best stories.

I was taking photographs of some geese, when my mom pointed out this dragonfly.

Can you see the waves it is making in the water, like a helicopter?

It’s a female laying her eggs in the water.

Have you ever seen dragonflies lay their eggs?

]]> http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2010/06/bug-of-the-week-dragonfly-laying-eggs/feed/ 0 http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2010/06/bug-of-the-week-termites/ http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2010/06/bug-of-the-week-termites/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:08:41 +0000 Roberta http://blog.growingwithscience.com/?p=1794 Look what you can find under a rock in the desert:

Do you know what they are?

These are termites.

Most of us probably only think of termites as pests that eat our homes, but in reality termites are part of nature’s clean up crew. They are some of the few organisms that, in partnership with mutualistic gut fauna, are able to digest the cellulose component of wood.

These were apparently on the move, because they were gone when I checked the next day.

Have you ever seen termites?

We noticed these small brown insects on our hollyhocks.

It is less than half the size of the brown lacewings we usually have in our yard.

Do you see it’s long neck and protruding eyes? What do you think the light-colored object is that is sticking out from its head? (see below*)

Brown lacewing larvae feed on aphids, scales and other small insects. Their habits are similar to the green lacewing. They also lay eggs on a hairlike stalk.

* Those are the lacewing’s antennae. They were stuck in the plant hairs on the hollyhock leaf, but this one was eventually able to work itself free. Other insects are not always so lucky.

Post on green lacewing life cycle showing photos of all the stages.

But this one really caught my imagination.

I’ve shown you the beautiful, delicate green lacewing adult before.

Here’s a mystery:  How many lacewings do you see in the photograph below?

Edit: There are three lacewings on this carrot flower.
Post on green lacewing life cycle showing photos of all the stages.

This week we found one of the exceptions to this rule.

We found several earwig moms under bricks in the yard. They had each made a tunnel and laid eggs.

This one left for a minute when I disturbed her by taking her photo, leaving the eggs exposed for a moment. She came right back and I covered her up again.

Hopefully she’ll be able to produce some young nymphs as the mother under a nearby rock had done. The nymphs stay with their mothers for awhile.

Earwig mothers just in time for Mother’s Day

For more information about earwigs:

Earlier post

Which of these two beetles are lady beetles (also called lady bugs)?

Any guesses?

Edit: The answer is now up.

Flies,

and more flies.

Any idea what kind they are?

Typically a well-managed compost heap shouldn’t have flies. This time of year, however, I try to grow these small flies because the nesting hummingbirds love them.

Crane flies look like huge mosquitoes, but they are actually fragile giants. For more information and a peek at the larvae, check this previous post.