Insects

Did you know...

The giant whip scorpion, Mastigoproctus giganteus, can stop predators in their tracks with one squirt from a pore near its whiplike tail. It sprays an 85% concentration of acetic acid up to a foot away, aiming for the eyes or nose of the attacker. Vinegar, by comparison, is about 5% acetic acid. Giant whip scorpions are also called vinegaroons.

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Are you ready for another insect identification challenge? You've got one week to identify the insect in this photograph. I've provided a few clues in the forum, if needed. When you think you know it, post your answer in a comment below. Next Wednesday, I'll give you the answer, as well as another challenge.

Last week's challenge was a tricky one. First, you had to recognize this larva as that of a sawfly (and not a caterpillar). And since I photographed this insect in Puerto Rico, it won't appear in many of the field guides my readers use. Knowing it was feeding on sea grape, Moni suggested it might be Sericoceros mexicanus, known as the sea grape sawfly. At first, that's what I thought it might be as well. But when I delved a bit deeper into some references, I learned that this species' distribution is from southern Mexico to Panama. I couldn't find a reference that confirmed it is found in Puerto Rico. I did find, however, that a related species, Sericoceros krugii, is known from Puerto Rico, and that it also feeds on sea grape. Based only on this distribution information, I believe that is what I photographed.

For those who might be interested, the main reference I used to unravel this mystery is a text called Forest Entomology by William Ciesla.

_{Photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org}

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Valentine's Day is tomorrow - do you have a gift for your valentine yet? No? Well, lucky for you, the Wildlife Conservation Society has just the thing for last minute shoppers.

For just $10, you can name one of the Bronx Zoo's 58,000 Madagascar hissing cockroaches after that special someone. They'll get an e-card informing them of your romantic gesture. Your gift will support the work of the Wildlife Conservation Society, a nonprofit organization that has been working to save wildlife and wild places since 1895.

And through tomorrow, you can also order chocolate roaches for your loved one, although they won't arrive in time for Valentine's Day now.

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I stumbled on this critter while vacationing in Puerto Rico last month. You'll probably need the clues in the forum to identify this mystery insect. Try to name it to the genus, at least. Post your answer in a comment, and don't forget to visit my site again next Wednesday for the answer.

Moni and Pramod_v003 recognized the tricky bug in last week's photo, despite its clever camouflage. The mealybug destroyer, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, is the larva of a beetle in the ladybug family (Coccinellidae). The mealybug destroyer is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Its waxy covering makes it look like a larger version of the mealybugs on which they feed. This species was brought to the U.S. from its native Australia as a biocontrol for citrus mealybugs, and is often used for control of mealybugs in greenhouses.

_{Photo: © Debbie Hadley, WILD Jersey}

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Well, this is a first, as far as I know. Scientists believe they have brought a long extinct mating call to life. Not the critter, mind you, the call of the critter.

It all started with an amazing fossil find. Some Chinese paleontologists happened upon a fossilized bushcricket that proved to be an exceptional specimen. Using an optical microscope, they could see every detail of the bushcricket's wings, including its stridulating organs. The 165 million year old bushcricket was dubbed Archaboilus musicus.

Two University of Bristol scientists, both experts in the biomechanics of singing in insects, examined Archaboilus musicus to determine what kind of music this ancient insect might have made. By comparing the stridulatory organs on the fossilized bushcricket with those of extant species, they concluded that Archaboilus musicus sang with a pure tone, using single frequencies.

And that's not all. Using biomechanical principles that he discovered in his years of studying singing insects, Dr. Fernando Montealegre-Zapato was able to recreate the love song of Archaboilus musicus. He says Archaboilus musicus sang a song pitched at 6.4kHzm, and that each note lasted 16 milliseconds. Montealegre-Zapato even reconstructed the song and recorded it for you to hear.

How cool is that?!

_{Source: Fossil cricket reveals Jurassic love song, Eurekalert, February 6, 2012}

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Did you know...

Hackled orbweavers, in the family Uloboridae, are unique among spiders for their lack of venom glands. These interesting spiders usually spin horizontal webs, sometimes shaped like a wedge of pie instead. They get the name hackled from the unusual silk they produce. Hackled silk has many fibers, and looks almost fuzzy rather than smooth like most spider silk. Though it's not sticky, hackled silk is effective for capturing prey, as small insects get entangled in the fuzzy, fibrous threads.

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Bug of the Weeeeeeek! (Sorry I have this little Bug of the Week song I sing to myself when I put this post together each week. You should hear it, it's a good song.) Here's your challenge for this week. Think you know what it is? Submit your answer in a comment, and come back next week for the answer. Your clues are in the forum.

If you participated last week, your mystery insect was a horned passalus, Odontotaenius disjunctus. You can find these beetles, alternately called bess beetles, bessbugs, or patent leather beetles, in rotting stumps and logs. Congratulations to Moni and Roy for their correct identification.

_{Photo: Jeffrey W. Lotz, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bugwood.org}

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One last look at the new articles published this month on About Insects:

• Gladiators, Order Mantophasmatodea
• Webspinners, Order Embiidina
• Angel Insects, Order Zoraptera
• 10 Myths About Bed Bugs
• Top 10 Myths About Bed Bug Treatment
• 10 Cool Facts About Caterpillars
• Clavate
• Aristate

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Did you know...

House flies are known to carry over 100 disease-causing pathogens. A single house fly can carry 1 million bacteria on its body. Keep these little factoids in mind the next time you're swatting flies off your burger at a barbecue!

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Okay, we're back in Bug of the Week action now! Here's your mystery insect to identify, if you so choose. If you think you've identified this insect, post your answer in a comment. You can also check the forum for a few hints. Come back next Wednesday to see your name in lights if you answered correctly, and to get another challenge.

_{Photo: Jessica Lawrence, Eurofins Agroscience Services, Bugwood.org}

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