Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Oh, just some more entomologizing...

It's been fun learning to identify the country bugs because once you know their names, you've sort of been introduced so....you're almost friends, sort of...

Hello soldier beetle (soldier beetles get their name from their wings which make them look like they're in uniform).

See? It's like he already knows me because he knows how to scramble away from a camera.

Hello ladybug pupa. That's right. A pupa. They can't go anywhere until they're adults...which is probably a week from now. Ladybug pupas can still shake their heads if they want you to go away but this one didn't.

Hello........oh wait a minute....just how many wings are there in there? Five? Six? Oh that is just wrong. Wrong. Shame.......(I poked my finger at them but the three end-band net-wing beetles were locked together pretty tight. Eeeugh. Eeeugh. Eeeugh)!

Hello little flower eating fly (the BugGuide guys say it's a "tachinini" which is a pretty cute name for a fly)...

Hello......Franz?

Or are you Hans?

Good grief. Those are some big thighs. Apparently those big legs are used to kick other male leaflegged beetles but wouldn't you think they could just kick outwards?

I think those leaflegged beetles would probably look like a bunch of girlie men if you ever got the chance to watch them fight. >:-)

6 comments:

Maureen said...

Ah yes, country bugs. Watch out for the dreaded Brown Recluse Spider, girlfriend. Got bit on the ankle by one in the Ozarks and it almost killed me. Also got attacked by a red hornet who tried to kill me too. Now I've just deal with NY roaches, who will out live us all.

Maria said...

Yeah. I know. I try to be as careful as I can out there, I spray up but I still come home with bug bites. I need to get some big slippery-sided rubber boots for that very reason. Protect the ankles, you know?

Leenie said...

Bug bites---give a whole new meaning to "Pump You Up!" Haha I make myself laugh. An entomology lesson with close ups of ALL kinds of activity. woooo!

Mental P Mama said...

LOL. I'd call him Ahnold;)

Maureen said...

When I was hippie living in the Ozarks (Well, yes I was!) we used to wear rolls of making tape like bracelets for the chiggers and ticks, and flea collars on our ankles for obvious reasons and occasionally we'd tie jingle bells to them to scare off snakes.

Maria said...

Leenie-Ha ha ha. I know. Did everybody think it was spring or something?

Mental-Definitely. First thing I thought of when I saw that bug was "Ahnold."

Maureen-Oh my......... That's quite a collection of accessories. Gawd.