Photo and caption by Joe Quinn
Tiny caterpillars consume a leaf. As they grow they slowly take on the color of the leaf.
Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA
Sizing Up, Behaviour: cold-blooded animals (commended)
A scattering of gecko droppings on the sunny veranda of Klaus’s holiday apartment near Etang-Sale-les- Hauts, on the French island of Réunion, had attracted some unusual-looking insects. They were neriid longlegged flies. Klaus settled down with his camera to watch as they interacted.
“Every so often, a couple of males would take a break from feeding and engage in a kind of combat dance that involved spinning around each other,” he says. “They would finish by stretching up to their full one and a half centimetres, then pushing with their mouthparts, shoulders and forelegs until one gained height, before flying away or mating with nearby females. I was so impressed by the harmony in the combat dance that I ended up photographing them for several hours.”
Photo Credit: Klaus Tamm / Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012
Photograph by Martin Oeggerli, National Geographic
Dryas iulia
Perched on the tendril of a Passiflora plant, the egg of the Julia heliconian butterfly may be safe from hungry ants. This species lays its eggs almost exclusively on this plant’s twisted vines.
“The sun had just come out after a brief shower of rain and caught the water droplets on this golden orb spider web at just the right angle to make her look even more spectacular as usual,” says Brad Warland.
Photo Credit: Brad Warland
There is obviously no love in the jumping spider species world, and competition for food is top priority. This one a female Green Jumping Spider. The poor little spider in her mouth, I had shot earlier, and watched in horror as he was consumed by the bigger spider, leading me to conclude that the larger is a ‘Big Meanie’.” Photograph by Flickr user AdamNoosa.
Harlequin Bugs Hatching: A mother harlequin bug watches on as her eggs hatch. She has spent the last week perched atop the cluster of eggs watching guard. The young bugs emerge looking like miniature versions of their parents and stay closely packed together for a number of weeks.
Photo Credit: Damon Wilder
THOUGH SPIDERS MAY SEEM safe in their nets, they can often fall prey to marauding ants. But thegolden orb web spider (Nephila antipodiana) has a secret weapon: a chemical repellent to ward off ant attackers.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne and National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered the chemical, which is spun into the spiders’ silk, is a type of natural insect repellent. The find could pave the way for a new insect repellent for humans.
“This study is among the first to show animals incorporating a chemical defence as a response to the threat of predation,” says Professor Mark Elgar of the University of Melbourne’s department of zoology. “It is particularly interesting that this only occurs in spiders that are large enough, and therefore spin silk that is thick enough, to expose them to this risk of ant invasion.”
A new bacterial insecticide that is deadly against a wide range of insects could be approved within three to four years, say researchers.
Structural biologist Dr Michael Landsberg, of the University of Queensland, and colleagues, report their findings on the bacteria Yersinia entomophaga MH96 this week inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Yersinia is quite famous because Yersinia pestis is thought to be the causative agent of the black plague,” says Landsberg.
“However, this particular strain of yersinia in all tests to date shows no toxicity towards humans but does show toxicity towards insects.”
Landsberg says Yersinia entomophaga was first discovered killing a native New Zealand beetle about 15 years ago.
The bacteria produces a protein called Yen-Tc which can kill infected insects within two to three days.
“It gets problems with feeding, and vomiting and diarrhoea,” says Landsberg.
Inbreeding may be the secret to the bedbug’s success, say US researchers.
After nearly disappearing in the United States, the bloodsucking pests have made a comeback in recent years, quickly infesting apartment buildings and stubbornly resisting common insecticides.
Actias luna, commonly known as the Luna Moth, is a lime-green, Nearctic Saturniid moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae. It has a wingspan of up to 4.5 inches, making it one of the largest moths in North America.
