Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend.
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@ShaulaEvans Honey bee larvae grow in closed cells in the hive, and because they don't want to get that dirty by pooping all over it they have no anuses. After metamorphosis into their adult form they fly out of the hive, see the sun and the world for the first time and respond by taking a massive dump
this seems like a very sensible ay to view life to me.
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Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)
I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.
If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n
@ShaulaEvans Harvestmen* (Order: Opiliones) is a type of arachnid that has been around for more than 400 million years and they are one of the oldest known land-based arthropods that are still extant today.
(*To prevent or add to the confusion: in the US they are called daddy long legs, which is what we call crane flies in the Tipula genus here in the UK)
This paper includes images of the fossil of one that is 305Myr old: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1458
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@ShaulaEvans Harvestmen* (Order: Opiliones) is a type of arachnid that has been around for more than 400 million years and they are one of the oldest known land-based arthropods that are still extant today.
(*To prevent or add to the confusion: in the US they are called daddy long legs, which is what we call crane flies in the Tipula genus here in the UK)
This paper includes images of the fossil of one that is 305Myr old: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1458
@ShaulaEvans (Strictly speaking, not a bug but the colloquial use of the word covers it)
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there is the gall wasp, a parasite of oak trees
it manipulates the oak to make galls, growths that its larvae eat and grow in
but there is a parasite, of this parasite
tiny and trippy looking
its larvae consume the gall wasp larvae, and when it is ready to leave, it manipulates its host to chew almost out of the gall, just the tip of its head exposed, then the parasite of the parasite chews through the head, and emerges
the crypt-keeper wasp
ghoulish
@benroyce More fun facts about oak galls: they have highly nutritious tissue in the centre for the little wasp grub to feed on, but the outer layer is very rich in tannins (the bitter chemicals in tea) to discourage anything from eating them and the wasp within and these tannins can be used to tan leather or to make ink by mixing with a source of iron. @Pepijn has a series of posts on the process here https://mastodon.online/@Pepijn/112327794886191452
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Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)
I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.
If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n
@ShaulaEvans
I’m currently reading this book “Endemic” by James Harding-Morris which is all about endemic species found only in UK.It’s fascinating and contains lots of info about little UK critters like the Celtic wood louse which was discovered in Wales, but now is being found in other parts of the country. It’s tiny and looks white but is actually translucent and has no eyes.
I would recommend the book to anybody who has even a modest interest in wildlife.
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@benroyce More fun facts about oak galls: they have highly nutritious tissue in the centre for the little wasp grub to feed on, but the outer layer is very rich in tannins (the bitter chemicals in tea) to discourage anything from eating them and the wasp within and these tannins can be used to tan leather or to make ink by mixing with a source of iron. @Pepijn has a series of posts on the process here https://mastodon.online/@Pepijn/112327794886191452
@benroyce Different galls have different concentrations of tannin. @Pepijn used oak marble galls in the photos (named for obvious reasons) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andricus_kollari. Historically though in Europe the best ink was made from imported Aleppo galls from Syria - apparently Jane Austin was very particular about her ink and this was what she used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynips_quercusfolii I can't find the reference in the book right now, but a common name for Aleppo galls was apparently mad apple of Sodom!
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@ShaulaEvans Maybe not as cool as some of the other responses you're getting but one bug I genuinely love is the cinnabar moth.
They lay their eggs on the ragwort plant, which then turn into really beautiful stripy caterpillars. The caterpillars can completely destroy the foliage of a whole plant.
Many people consider ragwort to be a weed (it can be toxic to horses) and pull it up, but I always let any in my garden grow.
@statsguy @ShaulaEvans
We had a monster ragwort in our garden last year. It was stunning and was buzzing with insects all through summer. Hopefully, we’ll get another one this year
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@annehargreaves @jetlagjen @ShaulaEvans there are so many names for pill bugs in the English-speaking world (cannot speak to other languages on this)
Monkeypeas was the one where I grew up (SE England)
They also come in orangey/ginger variants!
@noodlemaz @annehargreaves @jetlagjen @ShaulaEvans In my part of the US, we call them roly-polies.
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Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)
I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.
If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n
Flies in the family Nycteribiidae are wingless parasites that live in the fur of bats. They look more like spiders than flies.
Also, "freeloader flies" (Milichiidae) are kleptoparasites that steal food from other animals. My favorite thing about them is that they have a friendly relationship with garden spiders. The spiders allow the flies to clean the spider's mouthparts, similar to the way cleaner wrasses clean other fish.
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@statsguy @ShaulaEvans
We had a monster ragwort in our garden last year. It was stunning and was buzzing with insects all through summer. Hopefully, we’ll get another one this year@robtherunt @ShaulaEvans They tend to spread. You may get several this year. And if there are cinnabar moths in the vicinity then you'll probably end up with loads of them once they figure out that you have their favourite food on hand..
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Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)
I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.
If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n
@ShaulaEvans Again, not strictly a bug but, hell, they're not only stunning to look at but male peacock spiders also dance.
More peacock spiders from Jurgen Otto: https://flickr.com/people/59431731@N05/
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1. The largest ant to ever walk the earth (that we know of) is the extinct species known as "Titanomyrma" The fossilized queens of this species were about the size of hummingbirds.
2. Carpenter ants sleep in a cuddle pile inside of their homes in rotting logs, like puppies.
3. Camponotus rectangularis is a carpenter ant with a wide head and simple black eyes. She gets her second name from her rectangle-shaped thorax.
4. The oldest verified ant queen lived over three decades.
@futurebird @ShaulaEvans @5ciFiGirl Ohhhhh, cooooooooool.
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@robtherunt @ShaulaEvans They tend to spread. You may get several this year. And if there are cinnabar moths in the vicinity then you'll probably end up with loads of them once they figure out that you have their favourite food on hand..
@statsguy @robtherunt @ShaulaEvans there's an Irish folk tale that a man caught a pixie, who demanded to be set free. The man said he would free him if he answered one question, where he had buried his hoard of gold. So the pixie pointed to the ragwort flower he had buried it under and the man let him go. "Haha!" said the pixie. "This field is full of ragwort! You'll never find one yellow flower in a whole field of yellow flowers!" "Not so!" said the man, and he took the orange and black striped
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Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)
I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.
If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n
@ShaulaEvans Gynandropmorphism, though very rare, is a real-world and highly visible example of animals being both a 'boy and a girl' at the same time. It is something observed in Lepidoptera and other bugs, in addition to many other animals:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gynandromorphism -
@ShaulaEvans Maybe not as cool as some of the other responses you're getting but one bug I genuinely love is the cinnabar moth.
They lay their eggs on the ragwort plant, which then turn into really beautiful stripy caterpillars. The caterpillars can completely destroy the foliage of a whole plant.
Many people consider ragwort to be a weed (it can be toxic to horses) and pull it up, but I always let any in my garden grow.
@statsguy
I always let it grow too. Apart from anything else the yellow flowers are nice and bright!
@ShaulaEvans -
@robtherunt @ShaulaEvans They tend to spread. You may get several this year. And if there are cinnabar moths in the vicinity then you'll probably end up with loads of them once they figure out that you have their favourite food on hand..
@statsguy @ShaulaEvans
I heard a podcast last year with a ragwort specialist on it who said that they actually don’t spread that dramatically. Most seeds don’t set and the ones that do are very close to the original plant. They grow back more from the root. And if you’re thinking then pull them up, damaged roots get stronger. It’s all very counter intuitive apparently.Anyway, here’s a shortened version of a video I took of ours. Sound up!
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@statsguy @robtherunt @ShaulaEvans there's an Irish folk tale that a man caught a pixie, who demanded to be set free. The man said he would free him if he answered one question, where he had buried his hoard of gold. So the pixie pointed to the ragwort flower he had buried it under and the man let him go. "Haha!" said the pixie. "This field is full of ragwort! You'll never find one yellow flower in a whole field of yellow flowers!" "Not so!" said the man, and he took the orange and black striped
@statsguy @robtherunt @ShaulaEvans handkerchief that was tied around his neck and tied it on to the ragwort stem and then went home for his supper, whistling a tune and feeling very pleased with himself. But the next morning when he came back with a spade to dig up the treasure he couldn't believe his eyes - every plant in the field was covered in orange and black striped caterpillars and he couldn't spot his handkerchief, and so the clever pixie kept his treasure.
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@ShaulaEvans the UK giant willow aphid is the UK's biggest aphid, entirely female and reproduces by parthenogenesis and lives on willow trees in the spring and summer but we still have no idea where they go in winter.
@afewbugs
Aphids are born pregnant. They are some of the most rapidly multiplying animals. If lady bugs (their primary predator) were to go extinct, we'd be up to our literal asses in aphids in a few months.Also aphids are one of the only animals to have been domesticated by non-human animals, as far as we know. Leaf-cutter ants raise them for food. They don't eat them, but lick their butts, where they secrete a sugary nectar.
@ShaulaEvans -
@ShaulaEvans Honey bee larvae grow in closed cells in the hive, and because they don't want to get that dirty by pooping all over it they have no anuses. After metamorphosis into their adult form they fly out of the hive, see the sun and the world for the first time and respond by taking a massive dump
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@StevenLawsonPhotography @ShaulaEvans Male scorpion flies offer a piece of prey (smaller insects) to the females. The females feed on it while mating takes place.
@biobaum @ShaulaEvans Great info!
