Bug-Lover's Club

[Chocobo]

By species, you mean the butterfly or moth.

Usually, I would say the Monarch since it's the most commonly known. However, there are others just as well known. I just really don't feel like going through thousands of pages of butterflies to point out the more common ones. Then again, it also depends on Location since not everyone on Magistream is in the same location. But to save the annoyance, we can choose something other than a butterfly or a moth. I already gave a few examples.

[Byakugan01]

Why not just pick one that you like? Location, commonness or rarity have nothing to do with it. Just pick something-anything-without a backbone that appeals to you.

Anyway here's an interesting video as a discussion piece-a tarantula laying its eggs. Again, this video is from robc, tarantulaguy1976 on youtube:

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(I post spider stuff because that's what I REALLY know, and know well, and moreover it's the myglamorphs, and tarantulas in specific, that I know alot about. Not so good with insects...so sorry if my spider stuff bores the insect people)

[Cassowary]

Rather more drippy that expected Very interesting though! And don't bother about boring other people, if they're not interested they can just skip it :p

Random picture of one of my favorite bugs:

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[DoomedDaphnia]

I'm rather fond of click beetles. They're so derpy

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The ones I've seen where I live are generally only about 3/4 inches long, but they can get pretty freaking big:

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That one's probably 2 or 3 inches long And you can also see here why it is called a click beetle

[Byakugan01]

Oooh, isn't that a caddisfly larva? Very nice one-I assume it's dead though, because from what little I know about them I believe them to be aquatic. Did you take the pic yourself?


Frozen-now if that isn't one of the odder things I've seen. I assume that is a defense mechanism? I'd think the sound would draw attention to them though...and that's a big beetle. What eats them?

[Piney]

Caddisflies! I totally had an idea of a caddisfly dragon for DC. *shot*

[Kestrad]

What exactly do you use those larva to study anyway? I would figure that anatomy is well known, and the only things I can think of for starvation diets are lifespan (lower calorie intake=longer lifespan in mammals) and stress response. So what is it you study? Can you share? *curious eyes*

I'm not completely familiar with the manduca research, since I focus on tribolium, but we're a growth and development lab, so the main focus for the bugs tends to be factors that affect growth. Some of the research on manduca is about where certain hormones are expressed during what stages. I believe someone also did some research into leg regeneration, and two students did a project about amino acids that cause faster growth and molt cycles.

[DoomedDaphnia]

Frozen-now if that isn't one of the odder things I've seen. I assume that is a defense mechanism? I'd think the sound would draw attention to them though...and that's a big beetle. What eats them?

Yeah. If a predator flips over the click beetle, and the beetle feels like its in immediate danger, it can "click" and flip itself back over like so:

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As far as I know, no, this does not hurt the beetle.
That's a small one (the ones I usually see). They can also fly, so while the predator is startled, it probably gives them enough time to fly or run to a safe spot.

The larger ones are probably preyed on by small mammals or large birds. I'm not sure, really

[Cassowary]

Naw, it's a burmy bagworm. They make little sacs out of silk and leaves to live in. Very cute

Click beetles are fun too. Their flipping doesn't hurt them, no - they're stressing a spine that's been locked into a groove on their underside, which'll cause them to flip.

[Byakugan01]

So it works kind of like the clicker that's used to train cats, if I'm not mistaken. Interesting. Kind of tired right now, so I'll just drop off this tidbit: did you guys know it is possible to raise a wasp hive safely? As in to take a young queen, and let her build a hive in captivity, and to manage it so you do not get stung? Indoors, even. Kind of hard to believe, but people have done it and documented it.

Also, did you know that obesity is not uncommon in pet arachnids?