Owlflies are closely related to Antlions, with the same kind of giant, hollow jaws for injecting toxins and sucking out the insides of prey.
And then they pupate and come out all dainty.
New ‘Fairy’ Insect Is Mind-Blowingly Small
“A new species of tiny fly named after the fairy in “Peter Pan” is mind-blowingly miniscule, with delicate wings trimmed in fringe.
Tinkerbella nana is a newly discovered species of fairyfly from Costa Rica. Fairyflies are a type of chalcid wasp, and almost all are parasites, living on the eggs and larvae of other insects. It’s a gruesome way to live, but it makes fairyflies useful for farmers, who sometimes import them to control nasty pests.”
A Stunning Collection of Beetles From Around the World
by Laura Poppick
Udo Schmidt, a retired researcher from Germany’s Federal Center for Meat Research in Bavaria, has been collecting beetles since his late 20s. Now, at 70, his beetle drawers have swelled to 30,000 specimens representing more than 6,000 species.
Schmidt is also a talented photographer, and has digitally archived his stunning collection on his website and Flickr.
“Since more than 350,000 species of beetles have been classified, and I have published photos of just 1,600 of them, there is absolutely no danger that I will run out of work,” Schmidt told Wired…
(read and see more: Wired Science)
(photos: T - Eupholus amalulu, Papua New Guinea, ML - Aspidomorpha miliaris, “Spotted tortoise beetle,” India, MR - Stolas mannerheimi, Peru; B1 - Mecynorrhinella oberthuri, Tanzania; B2 - Broxylus pfeifferi, Indonesia)
malformalady posted this photo, taken by Adrian Gonzalez Guillen, of an awesome Cuban Land Snail, easily one of the coolest snails we’ve ever seen:
“The Cuban Land Snail (Priotrochatella stellata) is critically endangered due to the exploitation of marble quarries, which is this species’ habitat.”
The Ladybird Spider (Eresus sandaliatus) showing significant sexual dimorphism. (Male on the right, female on the left)
(Image source: Encyclopedia of Life)
Lifeline
Geometrid Moth Caterpillar (Geometridae)
When caterpillars involuntarily or intentionally drop from the tree canopy, they can regain their original position by climbing silk lifelines spun out from the head spinnerets. They may utilise this feature when disturbed and as a means of escape from predators or when it comes time to relocate due to defoliation or to moult or pupate.
by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China
See more Chinese caterpillars on my Flickr site HERE…..
