Regular Mark Sturtevant has sent in a passel of photos of insects and other arthropods. His captions are indented and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them:
Now that our host is back from his travels, I can share another set of pictures of arthropods from near where I live, which is in eastern Michigan. These were done over the previous season.
First up are early immature grasshoppers. The first two are a Coral-winged Grasshopper nymph (Pardalophora apiculata). This grows into what I think is the largest ‘hopper species in our area. Adults have lovely pinkish-orange wings, as the attached picture shows. The second is a Northern Green-striped nymph (Chortophaga viridifasciata) – another early-season species.
Next up is a small Aphid Wasp (Pemphredon sp.) that had emerged from winter hibernation. These solitary wasps provision their nest with aphids, and on one occasion while photographing a colony of aphids, I was approached by one of these that had flown near, snatched up an aphid right in front of me, and flew away. I swear I could hear the little aphid screams receding into the distance.
Here is a portrait of an Eastern Black Carpenter Ant (Campanotus pennsylvanicus). I am exploring more artsy modes of photography, and this black and white is an early attempt.
In the previous season I had the good fortune to find two species of Saturniid (giant silk moth) caterpillars, and one was shown here recently. Their cocoons spent the winter in our refrigerator, of course, and good luck continued since I was able to photograph the emerged adults before they were quite ready to fly. So here are pictures of a Luna Moth (Actias luna), followed by pictures of a Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus). The latter pictures were taken with a wide-angle macro lens, which is by far the most challenging lens that I have since you have to basically take pictures without being able to see if it’s in focus. Wide angle macro is a welcome change, however, since with this one can see much more the surrounding environment of the subject rather than the narrow field of view that is normally presented by a regular macro lens.
Finally, one subject I’ve been meaning to get back to are House Centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata). These fast-moving animals get pretty big, as shown in the attached picture, and they will at times run up and down our walls, usually near the fireplace, which is probably how they get inside. The hostility they inspire from nearly everyone seems unfair since their only reaction to us is to run away. So here is one, photographed while being contained in the bathtub (as one does of course), followed by a portrait. The latter is an attempt to show that they really are sort of cute. The things that look like fangs are called forcipules, and they are actually a modified pair of front legs. They don’t bite. I swear.
Incredible photos! I’ve never seen such detailed closeups of insects and arthropods.
Thanks.
That ant photo is scary. I despise ants (am I allowed to say that here?) Even those tiny piss ants (grease ants?) cause me to break out in welts with just one little bite. Your pictures are artsy, indeed, Mark. The thing you’re calling a house centipede doesn’t look anything like the centipedes I get in my house. Mine have pincers and are long and worm-like with zillions of legs (hence their name) of uniform length. They used to frighten me until I learned that they eat roaches (you go, centipede!) and that a bite from them would hardly be noticed. I was mostly worried about them biting my dog.
From anecdotes that have come my way, they are not seen in more arid areas and even in their range they may be patchy.
I’ve seen people go into hysterics over them, and I think it’s because of their zippie-ness up and down vertical surfaces, plus all those long legs.
I can confirm that house centipedes are in Oklahoma. I’ve been in my house for many years and had never seen one until a few months ago. I was quite startled when it streaked across the wall at incredible speed. Then I did some internet research and found out that they are, as you say, nothing to worry about.
Superb photos! The black ant is amazing. Thanks.
Great photos! I used to collect grasshoppers and crickets when I was a kid. There seemed to be about five species of grasshopper where I lived. Ants? I didn’t collect them. I left them for Ed (E.O) Wilson to deal with.
Fantastic picture of the face of a Luna moth. And of the (not so) scary centipede.
These are a treat – and we finally have proof for the Easter bunny!… on vacation, I guess… (7th photo down…)
Beautiful photos, Mark! Thanks for sharing these. The ant photo is stunning. I love the detail in the eye and the “whiskers”!
Great photos! Thanks!
Wow, Mark — your photography reveals the most unexpected sources of beauty and wonder — I mean everyone knows the wings of Polyphemus moths are lovely, but their faces? And the textures on those immature grasshoppers?? And who needs mythical monsters when you have ant faces?
Do you want to know why people are so hostile to house centipedes when we see them? Because we SEE them! Just look at them! It’s an act of aggression on their part just to look the way that they do. And don’t talk to me about evolution. The only reason they could possibly need such obscenely long and skinny legs – and such an obscenely excessive number of them! – is to inspire horror and revulsion in any poor creature that is forced to lay eyes on them. And I’m sorry, but if you’re trying to improve the public image of house centipedes, the last thing you should do is show people a close-up of their faces. It was all I could do to keep from throwing my shoe at the screen.
I jest of course (well, to be honest, not entirely). With the above-noted exception, your photos are fabulous, and I really enjoy the text. So thank you!
Also, I think the idea of artistic pics of insects is great. Your ant pic is a great start. It makes the ant look less like a generic picnic pest and more like an intriguing personality you might want to get to know better… Or maybe not.
Ha!
I still feel guilty for murdering the house centipede I found in my bathtub a year or so ago. It just gave me such an extreme case of the heebie-jeebies I couldn’t share the apartment with it.
I think those extra long legs are an adaptation for detecting and pouncing on prey in the dark. If an arthropod so much as touches one, they very quickly whip around and gather it up. There are several species, and many of them live in caves in total darkness.
Great pictures. Thanks!
I had an infestation of weevils. Accordingly, when a centipede showed up, I welcomed it. It’s a predator that eats, among other things, weevils. It lived under my refrigerator and rarely bothered me, except when I caught it out of the corner of my eye skittering back under the refrigerator.