Lyra Blue-striped Metalmark (Lyropteryx lyra), family Riodinidae, Napo, Ecuador

photograph by Chan Wah Choy

Needle felted giant leopard moth toy made from wool, with stiff recycled PET felt for wing support and suede cord for legs and antennae. Construction video (sped up) up on Patreon for followers.

Bug, Beetle, Insect Silkscreen Tshirt by GenaRawsonArt

Copidosoma floridanum is an Encyrtid wasp whose brood is a fascinating example of polyembryony, in which multiple embryos form from a single egg. It is primarily a parasitoid of Noctuid moths in the subfamily Plusiinae. The Encyrtid egg will produce thousands of clone embryos. The mother C. floridanum will sometimes lay one male egg per host, or one female egg, or sometimes both. What's even more fascinating is that the wasp larvae have a caste system: the reproductives and the (precocious) soldiers. The reproductive larvae emerge during the caterpillar's last instar, consume it, and pupate into adult wasps. The soldiers emerge earlier, but never molt and die when the host dies. Their sole purpose is to protect their reproductive siblings from other parasitoid rivals and to kill their own opposite-sex precocious siblings. Since male soldiers compete for resources (caterpillar), by killing some of them off, the sterile soldiers are helping their genes survive by securing more resources for their clone reproductive siblings. In mixed-sex broods, the male larvae will try to hide and encyst themselves in the caterpillar's fat body to escape their murderous sterile sisters. Copidosoma competes with Microgastrine species such as Microplitis demolitor and Glyptapanteles pallipes. C. floridanum demonstrates haplodiploidy where unfertilized eggs become haploid males and fertilized eggs become diploid females. There are both male and female soldiers, but male soldiers tend to be less aggressive towards competitors. However, C. floridanum isn't invincible. There is one competitor, Trichogramma, that is also an egg parasitoid, and only uses the eggs of the moths. The adult wasps emerge long before the caterpillars hatch. When Trichogramma and Copidosoma end up in the same egg, the former usually ends up victorious.

I spent many hours doing research on this topic, but if there are any mistakes, I welcome any corrections!

I spent many hours doing research on this topic, but if there are any mistakes, I welcome any corrections!

Pollinated

Unknown mining bee (Andrena sp.)

June 6, 2024

Southeastern Pennsylvania

The iridescent jewel in copper ✧✵✷

(F) Japanese flash - Spring adults (Rapala arata)

(。・∀・)ノ → Ventral view !

Source ~ Douglas Toys

Kady Grasshopper

Silly Hopper x Flik drawing based off a Tumblr post.

A Bug’s Life fanart.

🎤 thoughts and feeling on Myrmoteras iriodum

World's angriest gnarp gnarp, what's her problem

Mayflies dancing at a sunset in Florida By: Dr. J. Cooke From: Wild, Wild World of Animals: Insects & Spiders 1977

Trilobite Beetle (Platerodrilus paradoxus), female, family Lycidae, Sarawak, Borneo

The males are much smaller, and look like a typical yellow and black net-winged beetle. The females... look like this (retaining a larval form).

The females can grow up to 8 cm (3.15 in.) in length.

photographs by Nick Volpe

Suddenly A Butterfly

Butterfly.

I was recently made aware of this phenomenon, and my mind is blown. So cool. More art inspiration! Thank you for bringing this to my attention @revretch !

Atala (Eumaeus atala)

May 14, 2024

The Ringling Museum grounds, Sarasota, Florida