Category: Bug of the Week (Page 21 of 220)

What’s That on the Lacewing Egg?

Last week I spotted some lacewing eggs on a rush milkweed plant.

Lacewings are easy to identify because they lay their eggs on the tips of a threads of stiff silk.

The eggs looked really cool because they were backlit, but there was a strong breeze and it was impossible to focus properly.

So, I went out again a few days later.

It was much easier to focus.

But wait. What are those pinkish fuzzy things on the eggs?

The pink fluffs are lacewing larvae. In a stroke of what was entirely luck, I happened to catch the larvae hatching out of the eggs!!

The eggs that are white have hatched. The ones that are pinkish haven’t hatched yet.

It’s amazing what you can observe if you take a minute.

What did you see this week?

 

Dragonfly Obelisk Posture

The dragonflies are swarming my neighborhood this week.

Dragonflies are fun to watch because they often return to the same perch over and over, giving you the opportunity to observe them closely.

Watch the abdomen on this one.

It has tipped its abdomen up into what is called the “obelisk posture.”

It is possible that it saw my camera as a threat and this was a defensive move. On the other hand, it was a hot day and scientists have suggested the obelisk posture is a way dragonflies adjust their exposure to sunlight and keep from overheating.

Cool!

Bug of the Week: Challenges for Honey Bees

Life can be challenging for honey bees.

For instance, take the red bird of paradise flower.

These flowers have amazing long stamens.

See the red threadlike-structures towards the left. The bumps at the ends are the anthers that produce pollen.

Collecting that pollen from such a fragile structure can be a chore.

It requires some acrobatics, even with wings.


One honey bee is using other stamens as scaffolding of sorts.

Another tries a different approach.

It’s called the fly in and grab.

Grasp the anther.

And down it goes.

It would have been better as a video, but I saw a bunch of honey bees doing this.

It looked like a ride at an an amusement park. The stamen droops with the weight of the bee then springs up again when the bee lets go.

All in a day’s work, I guess.

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