Insect Picture of the Day

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Jeremiah sent this in a couple months ago. I haven’t got a clue what it is. He has this to say about it:

“I think it’s kind of cool looking, and at the same time looks Photoshopped, but it isn’t!”

So, yeah; he doesn’t know either.

I see wings back there, and a really long dangly bit on her bu–on her posterior. (Let’s not start that again.) Ovipositor, maybe? Is this some species of wasp that overwintered inside the house? Or maybe some kind of mutant cricket?

Either way, it’s a gorgeous photo, Jeremiah. I’m tentatively filing it under wasps–no, wait.

Hmm.

Look at the antennae. They’re straight. They don’t show any fork or bend; this is more common with crickets and katydids and somewhat rare with wasps. Okay, change of plan. I’m tentatively filing it under crickets. Hopefully someone will jump right in and prove me wrong. That seems plenty likely, too; that thing doesn’t even jumping legs like a proper cricket or gr’opper. Any takers?

Thanks, Jer!

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I like caterpillars.

Filing this under “unidentified” for now, as I haven’t a clue what species this is, or what kind of moth or butterfly it will turn into. Anybody know what this one is?

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Earl brings us a mystery bug today. He sent it to me wondering what it was. I took one look at it and said “What the heck is that?”

Yep. That’s me, the consummate professional.

It’s about 3mm long. The background is Earl’s arm, which tells us that he was walking along, camera in hand. Furthermore, we know that he was walking along with his camera already set to macro mode, or he can fiddle his camera into macro mode with one hand.

If I were to hazard a guess for classification, I would have to say that in life this bug was probably a member of Class Insecta, but now it lives on in undeath as a skeleton bug, which puts it in a completely different kingdom and phylum, Kingdom Nosferati (Undead critters) and Phylum Hydradonta¹ (Skeletal critters).

¹ Yes, I made that up. Literally, “Hydra’s Teeth”. If you’re over 35 or have really cool parents, you’ll understand.

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Reader John B from Down Under sent in this photo a while back, capitalizing on the fact that it’s still Summer down there. Neither of us has a clue what it is, other than it being “about an inch long” (about 2.5cm).

I absolutely love the texture in this photo, both of the bug and of the sidewalk. If you’d like a wallpaper of it, here’s a 1920×1440 version that shows more of the sidewalk–perfect for a desktop background.

Excellent photo, John! Thank you!

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Every so often I screw up¹. Julia Faelt sent this photo to me months ago. It was awesome, I wrote it up and published it and then forgot about it. Last week Julia wrote again, giving me further identification on the picture and telling me that if I really wanted to use the picture on the website, it would be okay. Well, wouldn’t she be surprised to see that I had already published it? I laughed and opened up InsectPOD and began crawling the archives. And this brings us back to the part where every so often I screw up.

This amazing spider photo comes to us from Finland. And since I screwed up, we actually have some ID, thanks to Julia’s frustration. I would have gone with Lycosidae, one of the wolf spiders, due to the shape of the carapace and the general size of the beastie. Julia’s first guess was Thomisidae, one of the crab spiders. An actual spider expert from the University of Turku gives us the answer however: Philodromidae, the grass spiders. “The eye pattern,” she says, “is unmistakeable.”

What is also unmistakeable is the shocking green coloration on this spider. What kind of camouflage is that? Did this spider evolve in a green paint factory?

The color and composition of this photo is just wonderful. For those who want to see some of the amazing Finnish (sp?) flora, here is a 1920×1440 wallpaper that is cropped wider.

Julia: My apologies for screwing up. And THANK YOU for an amazing photo!

¹ Yes, yes, technically this sentence is also true when begun with “very often”².

² Shut up. You’re mean.

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I caught this little critter on the fence last October. The fence is vinyl, and it should be smooth, but I had just bought my first grass trimmer the week before and the fence was completely bespeckled with the copious detritus of my gleeful yard devastation. Man that was fun. It’s electric, but it’s got like a half-horse motor on it so when it goes, man it goes. None of that sissy “can’t cut through the tough grass” for me, no sirree. This baby takes out half-inch tumbleweeds with barely a pause.

What’s that? Oh yeah, the bug. I have no idea what it is. Some kind of green thing. Maybe a beetle. You got any ideas?

The grass trimmer has a curved neck on it, supposed to make it ergonomic but I dunno. Half an hour of trimming and there’s no way you’re getting out of a sore back, I know that much. But worth it. Lots of fun, and totally manly, so nobody can make fun of you for being a sissy about it later, you know?

Right, right, the bug. One thing the beetle did that I found interesting was land on the fence and sit still, all folded up for several minutes, and then start unfolding and refolding its wings. I caught this photo here in mid-refold. If you look closely, it looks like it only has four legs. This is because the back legs are tucked up under the shell, shuffling and scraping around the wing surfaces.

Why does it do that, I wonder? Is it cleaning its wings, or perhaps refolding them? Is it trying to dislodge mites the camera cannot see?

Maybe it’s trying to get dead grass out of its shell. Man that stuff was everywhere. That trimmer shoots shattered grass stalks six feet up, easy. Sometimes I sit at the kitchen table and stare out at the yard and make little “brrzzzmmmm…brzzzip!” noises. I wish I could use the trimmer on the snow. That would rock.

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Reader Jim Phillips dug through his photo archives and found a whole host of great photos for us. This one’s a little small, but I think it makes a great wallpaper. I am very familiar with this little beetle, but I honestly have no idea what kind of bug it is–or even, really, if it is actually a beetle.

This bug is common in Utah, and Jim got a photo of it in New England. I assume this means it is widespread across North America.

Any takers on what it is?

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This spider photo was sent in by reader Mark White, who has sent in spider pictures to us before. I don’t have an ID for this spider, but I feel like I should know it. The shape and coloration are somewhat distinct, and the web construction is very unique: It’s a well-organized sheet web, almost like an orb weaver, but organized in a net rather than a spiral. Then it is completely strung with tangling guy lines ascending to some off-camera surface. I have seen this kind of web construction before, but can’t for the life of me recall where. Furthermore, I seem to recall having seen it the other way up: with tangling descenders and the spider sitting on top of the web.

So it’s over to you, readers: what is it?

Also, I wonder what the white blurry shape is in the lower right. Another spider, perhaps? A discarded exoskeleton from this spider’s previous molt?

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This little larva cruised across my desk a few weeks ago. I’m not actually sure it’s a weevil; we just always called them that. If anybody has a better ID, I’d love to hear it!

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While I was photographing yesterday’s spider (seen here out of focus at lower left), this charming little fellow came calling. He’s also a theridiidae spider, and though the coloration is slightly different than the one in the web they very well might be the same species. If not, they are certainly close cousins.

He plucked the web a few times with a foreleg. In spider culture, this is akin to ringing the doorbell while holding a bouquet and wearing cologne. Sensing that a spider was indeed at home in the web, he let himself into the parlor, stepping completely into the web. You might think this very forward, but in spider culture it is accepted and even expected. He plucked the web again, which is spider language for calling up the stairs, “Hey baby, are you home …and sexy?”

The spider in the web (who I believe is another male) turned and charged through the web directly at the suitor. In spider culture, this is akin to running down the stairs screaming “I’m gonna eat you! I’m gonna eat you! I’m gonna eat you!” The suitor flung himself from the web to save his own life, which in spider culture is akin to flinging oneself from the web to save one’s own life.

I’m not really sure what spider language is for “Whoa, I didn’t realize you were a dude” but fortunately they have etiquette to cover it: the offended spider attempts to eat the suitor, and the suitor endeavors not to be eaten.