#43 - Moth Fly
Also known as Slime Fly, drain fly, filter fly, sewage fly, or bathroom fly. The genus that turns up in most complaints is Clogmia, which is the most awesomely appropriate name for a fly that breeds in drains EVAH.
Hooded Grasshopper (Teratodes monticollis)
…is a species of grasshopper found throughout India and Sri Lanka. Despite their flashy hoods, hooded grasshoppers are pretty normal insects, as they are usually found in vegetation where they feed on leaves. Their hoods are in-fact camouflage to make the insect look more like a leaf.
Phylogeny
Animalia-Arthropoda-Insecta-Orthoptera-Acrididae-Teratodes-monticollis
The eye shape makes them look angry.
You could say they’re hopping mad.
Great shots of Cepahalotes clypeatus, the golden turtle ant, taken by Alex Wild. Turtle ants have a special subgroup of workers with broad flat heads which can be used to plug nest entrances. Some species of Cephalotes are also called glider ants and can use their flattened bodies to glide through the air and return to the trees they dwell in should they take a tumble.
The black beauty stick insect (Peruphasma schultei) is known to exist only in a tiny area of 12 acres, in the Cordillera del Condor region of northern Peru. It became known to science for the first time just six years ago, being named after an amphibian expert called Rainer Schulte, who originally discovered the species.
Newly Discovered Species of Moth Mimics a SPIDER!
photo: John Horstman
Now this is an example of mimicry at its finest! This newly discovered species (2005) of moth dubbed the Lygodium Spider Moth (Siamusotima aranea) is so named for its preference of feeding on Lygodium species, an invasive Old World climbing fern, and has markings on its wings that make it look just like a spider with orange, spindly legs! This moth mimics a spider so well that I couldn’t even tell what it was at first when I saw the picture from far away!
Not only is this moth significant for its unique mimicry behavior, which is believed to help it ward off potential predators, but also because of its voracious appetite for the Lygodium ferns, which have developed as an invasive weed that threatens Florida’s wetlands. Its discovery gives rise to potential biological control of the ferns in the United States.
The moth has other unique features, as well. For one, its caterpillar form looks more like some beetle larvae. The adult moth also has armored segments on its rear similar to those on beetles but unlike anything seen before in a moth. (source) Then of course, the uncanny resemblance to a spider which gives it the aranea part of its scientific name.
All in all, this is one fascinating ‘new’ creature!
Source: thefeaturedcreature.com
