Clipmarks | michellezm's 'insects' clips

Exploring the Wonderful World of Mantises

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:39:54 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Jul

Exploring the Wonderful World of Mantises

Mantises, Mantes, Mantids or whatever term you prefer to use for their plural form, are among the most fascinating and at the same time scariest insects in the world.The 2,300 species of praying mantises comprise an order of insects called Mantodea.The word ‘mantis’ is Greek, and means prophet or fortune teller. Praying prophet? Very appropriate. Mantids so often look like they know something we don’t.

Mantids can turn their heads 180 degrees to scan their surroundings with two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them

Typically green or brown and well camouflaged on the plants among which they live, mantis lie in ambush or patiently stalk their quarry. They use their front legs to snare their prey with reflexes so quick that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Their legs are further equipped with spikes for snaring prey and pinning it in place.

Tags: mantises, pictures, picture

Multi-coloured grasshopper-like bugs found in Japan

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:47:04 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: www.forteantimes.com

Multi-coloured grasshopper-like bugs found in Japan

"When Osaka resident Kana Yamaguchi’s neighbors cut the grass in a nearby field, a number of fleeing insects sought refuge in her flower bed. Among them was an odd pair of grasshopper-like bugs — one pink, one white.

Osaka Museum of Natural History entomologist Itaru Kanazawa identifies them as the larvae of Euconocephalus thunbergi (”kubikirigisu” in Japanese), a close relative of the katydid. While he says it is normal for these insects to change between green and brown to match their surroundings, pink and white are considered abnormal.

Speculation is that the pink is an extreme variation of the brown coloration, and the white specimen is believed to be an albino, though nobody will know for sure until it becomes an adult. Regardless, says Kanazawa, “It is quite rare to find three different colors at the same time.”

Watch your feet when you walk on the beach

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:16:55 GMT

clipped by: tanyamm
clipper's remarks: This is some ugly worm and it gets quite large.

Clip Source: uglyoverload.blogspot.com

Dune. Arakis. Desert Planet. Fish Bait.

You're looking at what must have been Frank Herbert's inspiration behind Dune.

Behold the Atlantic sandworm (Eulalia viridis). This creature is commonly found burrowing in the mud at low tide along the New England coastline. Herbie, the photographer and Mighty Worm Hunter (Paul Atreides would be so proud), has found specimens as large as 10". He says they make for good fish bait. And Herbie knows his fishing (that's a hint at "stay tuned for more...").

Check out those pincers (which aren't even fully extended) and think twice the next time you take off your sandals to enjoy a barefoot stroll down the shores of Cape Cod or Rhode Island.

Thanks for the photos, Herbie.

Labels: Insects and Friends

Tags: worm

Eat more insects, scientists say...:)

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:54:32 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: bonn a'petit

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Eat more insects, scientists say

Eating insects such as wasps and grasshoppers has health benefits and should be encouraged in the Western diet, scientists have said.

The bugs are rich in protein and some minerals and are lower in cholesterol than beef or pork.

Research carried out at the National Autonomous University of Mexico found that 1,700 species are eaten in at least 113 countries across the world, usually as a substitute for meat.

Huge moth stuns family

Sun, 18 May 2008 14:26:31 GMT

clipped by: corwot
clipper's remarks: WOW,ITS A BIG UN!

Clip Source: www.cairns.com.au

Behemoth: Mitch Ralston has a great story for school after this Hercules moth took up residence in his Port Douglas home," />

Friday, May 16, 2008

Measuring 26cm wing tip-to-wing tip, this Hercules moth stopped in at Sue and Iain Ralston’s home near Port Douglas, north of Cairns, for two days, fascinating their nature loving sons Sam and Mitch.

The giant insects have a 10-day lifespan and are attracted to veranda lights, Australian Butterfly Sanctuary manager Anja Bakker told The Cairns Post yesterday.

Tags: insects

Huge moth stuns family

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:47:29 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz

Clip Source: www.cairns.com.au

Huge moth stuns family

Behemoth: Mitch Ralston has a great story for school after this Hercules moth took up residence in his Port Douglas home," />

The giant insects have a 10-day lifespan and are attracted to veranda lights, Australian Butterfly Sanctuary manager Anja Bakker told The Cairns Post yesterday.

Click here for pictures of other famous Cairns animals: frogs, snakes and crocs

"We’re really lucky that we’ve got the largest moth flying around here," she said.

"They come out throughout the year but they are more frequent in summer months."

The nine and six-year-old brothers were disappointed when they awoke to find the moth gone from the family’s bi-fold door on their Spring Creek property.

Mrs Ralston said the boys would have liked to preserve the insect at the end of its short lifespan.

"They were slightly disappointed," Mrs Ralston said.

"They wanted it to stay here but they understood it was nature."

Tags: huge moth

The Phobia list

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:48:16 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Quite comprehensive...

Clip Source: phobialist.com

NAVIGATION

The PHOBIA LIST FAQ's Page-
The Indexed Phobia List-
The Phobia List Poster-
SITES TO LOOK FOR HELP WITH A PHOBIA-
How Phobias are Named-
Phobia Notes, Credits, & Whatever-
Phobia Categories-
Phobia Treatment-
Fear or Fearless Quotes-
Privacy & Legal Stuff-

---------------------------------------------------------------

A-

Ablutophobia- Fear of washing or bathing.
Acarophobia- Fear of itching or of the insects that cause itching.
Acerophobia- Fear of sourness.
Achluophobia- Fear of darkness.
Acousticophobia- Fear of noise.
Acrophobia- Fear of heights.
Aerophobia- Fear of drafts, air swallowing, or airbourne noxious substances.
Aeroacrophobia- Fear of open high places.
Aeronausiphobia- Fear of vomiting secondary to airsickness.
Agateophobia- Fear of insanity.

Bacillophobia- Fear of microbes.
Bacteriophobia- Fear of bacteria.
Ballistophobia- Fear of missiles or bullets.
Bolshephobia- Fear of Bolsheviks.

Cacophobia- Fear of ugliness.

Tags: fear, phobia, phobia treatment, phobia help, phobia categories

Frogs Found Inside Rocks

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:51:32 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: believe-or-not.blogspot.com

This mummified corpse of a frog was found in a hollow flint 'geode' which was cracked open in 1899 by workmen in a quarry in England. There have been many reports of frogs found inside rocks; some still living in a kind of stupor but which revived once exposed to the air

In 1910 a living toad was found when a piece of coal was broken open; another was found in 1906 six feet underground in a solid layer of clay. The most commonly found seem to be stuck in limestone

The theory is that a small tadpole somehow enters a crack in a forming nodule or pocket and gets trapped in there as it grows. As it does, the smell attracts tiny insects which feed the toad and keep it alive. Through this crack also comes water and air. This is fine for some of the many examples that have been found but makes no sense in cases where live frogs have been found in totally sealed or deeply buried pockets.

Tags: geology

Colourful beetles

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:03:49 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Clip Source: www.zin.ru

Clip Source: www.photographyblog.com

Clip Source: images.etsy.com

Clip Source: www.living-jewels.com

Clip Source: www.bugman123.com

Clip Source: www.trp.dundee.ac.uk

Clip Source: thumbs.photo.net

Clip Source: www.rdps.co.uk

Tags: insects, entomology, beetles

Crazy for Cockroaches

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:41:42 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Clip Source: www.nhm.ac.uk

They are disgusting pests aren't they? Well there is more to 'roaches than meets the eye.

One of the most adaptable creatures, cockroaches exist worldwide, with the exception of the polar regions and in elevations above 2,000 metres.

Over 4000 species

There are about 4,300 species of cockroach and less than 30 of these are considered pests. This is amazing when you consider there are only about 5,400 species of mammals.

Roach record breakers

the world's smallest cockroach is only 3mm long (see red arrow) and lives in ant nests.
the heaviest cockroach is the huge Australian Rhinoceros Cockroach at 80mm in length (left).
the cockroach with the largest wingspan, of up to 185mm is the Megaloblatta blaberoides.

orn and bred

Britain only has three native species of cockroach, none of which are pests (the pests have been accidentally introduced from overseas), they are the tawny cockroach, the lesser cockroach and the dusky cockroach (left).

trange variations

Greatest survivors

Tags: insects, entomology

Insects as food

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:33:16 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Clip Source: www.thatsweird.net

Crickets on sticks - snacks in Beijing

Entomophagy is the habit of eating insects as food. While it is common for many insects, birds and animals to indulge themselves, did you know that people in some parts of the world consider insects a very tasty delicacy?

If you live in Beijing or Bangkok, for example, you might fancy a taste of crickets. Or maybe you would prefer baby nestling sparrows, mice, snakes, or maybe a bowl of scrumptious scorpion soup?

These are all on the menu, as you can see from our pictures here. One man's meat is another man's poison, as they say. So, have a nice day. And enjoy your lunch.

More Beijing snacks - mice

Beijing - baby nestling sparrows

Beijing snacks - snakes

Deep fried insects food stall in Bangkok

Bangkok insect food

Cooking insects - scorpion soup

Insect food for sale

"Poop Vanilla and Endless Soup" & and other weird research topics

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:05:33 GMT

clipped by: Brimstone
clipper's remarks: Also, vanilla fragrance can be effectively extracted from cow dung, and hamsters given Viagra cope better with jetlag.

Clip Source: improbable.com

"Sword Swallowing and Its Side Effects."

studying how sheets become wrinkled

Wrinkling of an Elastic Sheet Under Tension

doing a census of all the mites, insects, spiders, pseudoscorpions, crustaceans, bacteria, algae, ferns and fungi with whom we share our beds each night

for showing that rats sometimes cannot tell the difference between a person speaking Japanese backwards and a person speaking Dutch backwards

for her study of the word "the" -- and of the many ways it causes problems for anyone who tries to put things into alphabetical order

for instigating research & development on a chemical weapon -- the so-called "gay bomb" -- that will make enemy soldiers become sexually irresistible to each other

for exploring the seemingly boundless appetites of human beings, by feeding them with a self-refilling, bottomless bowl of soup

discovery that Viagra aids jetlag recovery in hamsters

for exploring and explaining why woodpeckers don't get headaches

showing that dung beetles are finicky eaters

Tags: research, humour

World's largest moth ...

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:36:09 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: ...& i can safely say, also the most beautiful! Guess it derived its name from Charles Atlas?!

Clip Source: www.odditycentral.com

World’d largest moth

Who knew moths this big even existed?

The Atlas moth (Attacus Atlas) is is a large moth found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia, southern China, common across the Malay archipelago, Thailand to Indonesia.

These moths are considered the largest in the world in terms of total wing surface area (65 square inches). In Hong Kong the Cantonese name translates as “snake’s head moth”, referring to apical extension of the forewing, which bears a passing resemblance to a snake’s head.

Another interesting characteristic of the Atlas moth is that it doesn’t have fully developed mouth-parts, so it can’t feed…ever. It survives on the larval fat reserves, throughout their entire 1-2 weeks adult lives.

Tags: moth, insects, entomology, s.e.asia, atlas moth, atlacus atlas, malay archipalego

Giant Walking Leaf

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 05:57:36 GMT

clipped by: silvercowboynz
clipper's remarks: This insect is amazing

Clip Source: www.formandpheromone.com

GIANT WALKING LEAF (SO-1)

Malaysia

The Walking Leaf is nearly impossible to spot as it feeds on Guava trees in the Malaysian highlands. It remains motionless unless there is enough wind to move the surrounding leaves. The much smaller males can fly giving them an extra line of defense, but the females’ only defense is to remain undetected.

Many specimens have varying amounts of "decay spots" to resemble an insect-damaged or diseased leaf. Hence, no two are alike.

The largest species of Walking Leaf is around 4 to 4½" (above).

Tags: insects

Australian Ant Safari

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:39:16 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Entomologists say Australia has the highest ant biodiversity in the world. In other countries, there may be 30 different species per hectare, in Australia there are more like 100. The text in the clip continues below the pictures. At the site there are details of how ants play an important part in the environment.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

As summer reaches its height and the wattles shed their seeds, Australia’s ants get really busy. Although some might consider them a nuisance, researchers are discovering that the bush couldn’t do without ants.

Ant watching Feeling seedy Ants at a glance

Bullants with weevil
Image: Bob Taylor

Australia, entomologists are proud to say, has the highest ant biodiversity in the world. In other countries where ants thrive, you might find 30 different species per hectare. In Australia, says ant expert Dr Alan Andersen, it’s more like 100 species.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

“Only about 20-25 per cent of all ant species have been described,” he says of how little is known about this enormous group on insects

There are probably up to 300 new species being discovered every year!” For anyone wishing to pursue a career in biology, ants are truly unexplored territory. Imagine if 300 new marsupials were still being discovered every year!

Why does Australia have so many ants? One reason, suggests Alan Andersen, is our diverse soils