Bug Bytes: Recent Episodes
Glenn Marangelo
As described by Edward O. Wilson — perhaps the best known American biologist, researcher, naturalist and author — invertebrates are "The Little Things That Run the World." And indeed they do, in so many ways. In terms of numbers — while most invertebrates are pretty small, the sheer number of them is astounding. Together, they have more biomass than any other animal on earth.Learn more about the fascinating creatures that run the world, with Bug Bytes from the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium.
While some species are white, creamy, or black in color, most velvet ants are red or orange …a coloration that’s a warning.
Found in tropical rainforests from Mexico to South America, Blue Morpho Butterflies have a wingspan of 5 to 8 inches. In regard to their appearance, they seem to have a split personality.
Pill bugs. Sow bugs. Doodle bugs. Roly-polies. From around the world, there are at least another dozen nicknames for these small animals that are more scientifically referred to as terrestrial isopods, or woodlice.
The roaches are messy eaters, leaving bits of foo on their heads. The mites are like a tiny cleaning crew that eats any scraps of food left on the roach’s face.
Most Hairstreak Butterflies have hair-like tails looking like a pair of antennae and the colored marks looking like eyes. It appears that the butterfly has two heads!
Ouch, that really hurts! But in comparison to the sting of other insects, how much does it really hurt?
These six-legged architects regulate the mound’s internal temperature by opening and closing heating and cooling vents they constructed throughout their home, enabling them to adjust air currents to keep their insect skyscraper at the ideal temperature.
Instead of slipping on a cloak, two species of moths rely on the unique shape of the scales that cover their wings to go undetected by bats.
Male cicadas use their blaring sounds to communicate with other cicadas. Their songs are used as alarm calls, territorial calls, or ballads to woo the ladies.
Introducing, the Harvester Butterfly …the only species of butterfly in North America where the caterpillars eat meat. More specifically, Woolly aphids are on their limited menu.
While other beetles are known to make various squeaks and hisses, Bess Beetle adults and larvae can make 14 distinctly different sounds to convey danger to the rest of the family, attract a mate, and enable family communications.
Lemon Ants prefer to build their homes in the stems of the tree species that survive in Devil’s Gardens. As it turns out, this is not a coincidence. In the eyes of a Lemon Ant, other trees not suitable for housing their kin just get in the way and take up valuable real estate. To make their surroundings more suitable for the continued existence and growth of their colony, it’s the Lemon Ants that rub out any rival vegetation.
When choosing a mate, the females within a rather unique family of flies make their decision depending on whether the eyes have it or not.
Here in Montana, we generally see our first Orchard Mason Bees of the season by mid-April. Resembling a large fly, the males of these bluish-green native bees emerge first, waiting patiently for the females to emerge in a week or so to mate.
If you haven’t heard of the Asian Giant Hornet before, you might be more familiar with their other, more sinister, name …the Murder Hornet. As the world’s largest species of hornet, Asian Giant Hornets are fierce predators with a preference for honeybees.
With a body length of about 3 inches, these sizeable dragonflies can travel up to 900 miles. One migrating species that flies below most people’s radar is the Common Green Darner.
While some silk slingers make large, elaborate webs, there’s one species that might at first appear a bit lazy in the web-building department. But what it seemingly lacks in motivation is more than made up for with style.
No, bioscatter is not a gathering of confused biologists. And no, it’s not what happens when you turn on the lights in a cockroach infested apartment. It’s a phenomenon that’s been documented for well over a century, but is becoming more important with our changing climate.
The aphids survive winter in the egg stage and emerge with the return of warmer weather. Surprisingly, all of the hatching eggs produce females. So, with no males in the population, the ladies employ a different reproductive strategy.
To an arachnophobe, nothing is more terrifying than the thought of a spider. Despite efforts to convince them how amazing spiders are, more than a few times our conversation ended with something like, “Well, thank goodness they can’t fly.” I’m sorry to say, that’s not exactly true.
Lacking the ability of their larger counterparts to loudly profess their desire to mate, small tree crickets were observed chewing holes in the center of a leaf and sticking their head and forelegs through the opening. With their noisemaking wings now positioned at the center of this do-it-yourself megaphone, the diminutive tree crickets were able to double or triple the volume of their calls.
With the colony residing in tunnels, any openings are the primary line of defense against letting other invading ant species or potential parasites in. With their flat, saucer-shaped heads, Door Head Ant soldiers simply wedge their massive heads into the entrance of the colony, effectively plugging up the nest.
Instead of collecting pollen in “baskets” located on their hind legs like honey bees and bumblebees, leafcutters are a unique family of bees that really dive into their work.
As highly skilled predators, predaceous diving beetles can make easy meals of a wide variety of prey. But it’s their larvae that have the fierce reputation earning them the nickname “water tigers.”
Similar to other insects, like honey bees and some wasps, the ants store nectar during times of plenty. But instead of storing this excess food within the nest or in combs, honey pot ants employ a different strategy — overfeeding some of their nest-mates.
While out exploring during winter, you may come across an area of snow that appears to have been sprinkled with pepper. There are small black dots all over the place. If you take the time to look closely, you may notice that these dots are slowly moving — sometimes even jumping.
There are 3 species of black widows found throughout the United States — the southern, western, and northern black widows. Their appearance will vary depending on species, if it’s a male or female spider, and whether it’s an adult or juvenile.
These massive spiders are from the upland rainforest regions of northern South America and have the largest body size and mass of any spider. But despite their intimidating size and enormous fangs, biting is their last resort.
As the name suggests, Wasp Mantisflies look a lot like a wasp, but they have the head and front legs of a mantis.
Rather than actively hunting or catching their prey in a web like some spiders, Goldenrod Crab Spiders are sit and wait predators, waiting for their next meal to come to them.
Surprisingly, humans and honey bees are much the same when it comes to sleep. Whether it’s a bee after a full day busily attending to colonial duties or a human after a long day at the office, we both need sleep to continue to function at our best.
Burying beetles are often called sexton beetles since they perform duties similar to a sexton or gravedigger.
Learning to identify different wasp species can be challenging, but it’s not brain surgery.
If you’re lucky, it might be an annual occurrence in your backyard. For others, it may be a memory from a summer vacation. And for all the romantics out there, it’s the icing on the cake to a picture-perfect summer evening.
The more you learn about the insect world, you realize that the act of parasitism – where one species lives off of and feeds upon another species – is surprisingly common. This is especially true among wasps.
The deserts of the southwestern United States are home to some remarkable animals. One kind of creepy crawly often associated with this region is the tarantula. With several species growing to the size of an adult human’s hand, they are certainly impressive.
It was a cold, snowy New Year’s Day in western Montana. What better way to kick off a new year of meals than making a pot of chili?
It’s no secret that sloths move slowly. In fact, they move so slow, unique assemblages of insects can actually take advantage of their pace and align their lifecycle with these slow-moving hosts.
With over 900 different species, there’s a lot of diversity in the tarantula world. They range from the size of your thumbnail to the size of a Frisbee.
If you spend lots of time in the great outdoors, at one point or another you’ve likely encountered a tick. Certainly not the kind of animal encounter you we’re hoping for.