All up in your grill with JUMPING SPIDERS

I have no memory of where I found these incredible close up pics of Jumping Spider faces (family Salticidae), but they're amazing and I wanted to share them with you. Let me know, if you know who the photographer is.

From WIKIPEDIA:

The jumping spider family (Salticidae) contains more than 500 described genera and about 5,000 described species,^[2] making it the largest family of spiders with about 13% of all species.^[3] Jumping spiders have good vision and use it for hunting and navigating. They are capable of jumping from place to place, secured by a silk tether. Both their book lungs and the tracheal system are well-developed, as they depend on both systems (bimodal breathing).
(Click here to read more...)

"Hair Pencils"? What?

CORRECTION!!!

So, in my ongoing attempts at blogging a growing interest in Lepidoptery... I GOT SOMETHING WRONG! The worst part is, I actually had learned years ago what the spots on the hindwings of a male Monarch Butterfly are called (Androconial Spots or Androconial Patches), and just plain forgot when I was writing about Monarchs earlier this year. I called them "Hair Pencils", which is a completely different structure, but in my defense, is also a structure used by male Lepidopterans to release scent chemicals, pheremones. Grrrrrrr.


Hair Pencil (image from TYWKIWDBI )

I could write a post about Hair Pencils, but MINNESOTAN over at TYWKIWDBI did a marvelous post on them back in October. CHECK IT OUT HERE


The black Androconial Spots are quite apparent on the hindwings of this male Queen Butterfly (Danaus gilippus).

Apiary Love vol. 1: GREEN SWEAT BEES (Agapostemon spp.)

For my really quite insane friend KYTE.


Agapostemon sp.

As is probably obvious from the name, some Green Sweat Bees of the genus Agapostemon are known to lap sweat from the skin of surprised and annoyed humans. This is not necessarily their favorite ingestible, but human sweat can be an excellent source of salts and other minerals. The entire family Halictidae, in which the GSBs are placed are referred to as Sweat Bees. Like most bee species, Sweat Bees subsist primarily on flower nectar and pollen.


Agapostemon sp.

Bees of this genus are found through out the Americas, and can be metallic green or blue, often with striped abdomens. They mate and raise their young individually , but live in large group nests in the ground with a common entrance gallery. There may be 2 - 25 individual nests with in the colony. Just to be clear though, they do not maintain a colonial social structure (with a queen and workers, as do Honey Bees).


A. splendens


A. splendens


A. splendens up close and interested in your point of view


A. obliquus


A. sericeus


A. sericeus all in your business


A. virescens mating in the common entrance of a group burrow


A. virescens with a heavy pollen load on its hind legs


A. virescens cleaning its antennae after feeding

Current Moth Obsession - Post 3 The family SATURNIIDAE

Luna moth (Actias luna)

Our friends, the Luna Moths are members of the family Saturniidae, which includes the world's largest moths. Saturniids are usually large moths with large feathery antennae that live for only short periods once they reach the adult stage (most of them lack mouths).

To find out more about this family, check out this WIKI article.


Small Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia)


Io moth (Automeris io)


Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis)


Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda)


Rosy Maple Moth relaxing after a night at the club


Citheronia splendens


Citheronia up close and curious about your new IPOD

Current Moth Obsession - Post 2 The Face of the Luna Moth (Actias luna)

This gorgeous and large moth (up to 4 1/2 in.) is fairly well known by people interested in nature in North America, but we seldom take the time to really look at their little faces. As with most of the Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies), most of us tend to gaze at the wings and not look much further. Here's a gallery of Luna Moths, taking a closer look beneath the wings. You will notice a complete lack of a mouth, as Lunas only live for about a week once they metamorphose into adults and therefore don't ever feed... concentrating on reproduction.


This Luna disapproves of your choice of St. Augustine grass. It really isn't enviro-friendly, and the concept of lawns is so gauche.


Moths rely on their extremely sensitive antennae for chemo-reception (smell). Males have larger and more expansive antennae, as exemplified in this photo.


Chemoreception needs to be acute, as moths attract each other (often over great distances) using pheromones released into the air.


As with most moths, Lunas are more active at night, as the large eyes attest. They may still be seen during the day, however.


"Dude, I'm not pointing at you, its just what they do!"


A freshly emerged (from its cocoon) Luna Moth pumps fluid into its wings from its body, so that they may expand to full size and be used for flight. The whole process may take 2-4 hrs.


2 Lunas discuss the newly emerging linguistic trends in social networking sites.


"Dude, this chick totally smells like pachuli (sp?) and cheetos!"


Love is in the air, in the whisper of the wind. Love is in the airrrrrr... or perhaps just the biological imperative to pass on one's genetic code. Who's to say?


Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Current Moth Obsession - Post 1 Moth Blog

North American Moths



* Really, come on, how many moth blogs are there? She does an exceptional job of covering a vastly under-appreciated group of animals.

Dream beasts of the eternal desert

unknown scorpion species

Hey! Did you know that when scorpions are illuminated with solely ultraviolet light that their exoskeletons glow an eerie blue or green? Well, they do.

BLIND VELVET WORM (Tasmanipatus anopthalmus) listed as ENDANGERED

"Another Tasmanian, this rare and remarkable all-white blind velvet worm Tasmanipatus anopthalmus is the latest animal to be listed by the federal government (of Australia) as endangered. It has been recognised as a threatened species in its home state since the early"

- from http://www.abc.net.au/science/

The Blind Velvet Worm faces problems from destruction of its forest habitat for agriculture, such as plantation farming. The fire regime in its habitat has also lead to population decline, as years of misguided fire suppression have lead to fires that are actually more intense and frequent now than the inhabitants of these forests can cope with.

For more info about Velvet Worms, see my earlier post.

IN THE PARK - Caterpillars

male

SPICEBUSH SWALLOWTAIL (Papilio troilus)

Though Spicebush Swallowtails have been plentiful in the park, we haven't really seen many of their caterpillars in the park. The host plants for their caterpillars are Spicebush, Sassafras, Bays, and Camphor Tree. We haven't had of these plants in the park. With the addition of a pair of young Camphor Trees (Cinnamomum camphora) last year, we were happy to find multiple caterpillars this Spring behind the house.


female


Camphor, a plant not native to North America, native to East Asia, is a host plant in residential areas, where it is often a landscape or garden plant.


Spicebush Swallowtails usually lay their eggs on the bottom of the leaves of their host plants.


The young, freshly hatched caterpillars resemble bird droppings, which is a trait found amongst a few species of Swallowtail butterfly.


As the caterpillar grows, it loses the bird dropping appearance and usually turns green with large false eye spots, somewhat resembling a small snake.


The caterpillars are often found in refuges made by curling the edges of the leaves of their host plants with sticky silk.


The caterpillar may less commonly also be yellow or orange.


Like most Swallowtail caterpillars, they have an Osmeterium, as scent gland that resembles a snake tongue or horns, and releases an chemical odor reportedly repellent to other insects, a strong mix of Turpenes.


the chrysalis, which is usually held against vegetation by a line of silk


Though usually brown in color, the chrysalis may also be green or yellow.


an adult Spicebush nectaring at flowers