Category: Bug of the Week (Page 146 of 219)

Bug of the Week: Click Beetle

You would think that with over one million species of insects on the planet, it wouldn’t be difficult to come up with a new one each week. Some weeks are easier than others. This was not one of them.:-)

I did manage to find this small click beetle, though. I can tell it is a click beetle by the shape of the thorax (the middle segment of the body). It has two spine-like projections on each side.

I could also tell it was a click beetle because it does this when it is placed on its back.

Have you ever encountered a click beetle?

Bug of the Week: Damselfly in the Desert

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2.

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For those who want to learn more:

1. This delicate insect is a damselfly. It is perched, actively hunting other small insects.

2. It was jumping off the perch, grabbing an insect and then returning to the same position. In this photograph it’s wings are down. It is watching. Look at the wings in 1 and 3. I caught a photograph just as it was landing (1) and taking off (3). The wings are elevated, ready to fly.

3. Do you notice that it is brown on brown leaves? There were other objects to perch on in the area, but most were green.I wonder if this predator takes advantage of disguises like the crab spiders from last week. What do you think?

San Diego Zoo information page

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