All of my Stick Bug girls on my Evolution textbook…seems appropriate since they are an incredible example of Natural Selection.
Bugs That Break the Rules: predatory caterpillars in the Genus Eupithecia
Most Lepidoptera (moths & butterflies) caterpillars are vegetarians that munch on a variety of plant foods. This is not the case for one group inhabiting the Hawaiian islands. Caterpillars in the genus Eupithecia have adapted new means of acquiring food- predation. This new take-over of a resource is common when species relocate and evolve in isolation from its common ancestors- these caterpillars had taken advantage of previously unoccupied niche- fly eating!
Bug Facts: Mantises’ closest relatives are:
Cockroaches and Termites! Yup, that’s right- the beloved Mantis is a close relative of the loathed Cockroach. It is easy to see upon closer inspection: the triangular head, ootheca egg case, leathery wings… Sometimes all three are even lumped together into a superorder. I try to remember this when I am combating my my phobia of the American Cockroach… I tell myself “it’s just a Mantid’s cousin!” It doesn’t work though.. oh well .
Bug Facts: The beautiful Luna Moth has no mouth.
Luna Moths along with many of the other Saturniidae Moths only eat in the caterpillar phase. They eat, eat, eat and fatten up and after they pupate turn into the majestic adult; whose only purpose is to mate. They mate, pass on their genes to the next generation and since they have no mouth they eventually (usually within a week) starve to death. A romantic end to a beautiful creature.
*In response to many of the comments: Yes, it does seem sad and some of you asked why do they even exist? Some said God created them just for us to look at.. These are all interesting hypotheses. If you follow me, you are aware that I am a militant atheist so I disagree with the latter however I am able to supply you with the biological reason for their existence. If you understand it from more of an evolutionary standpoint it seems less tragic. The “point” of any creature’s existence is to pass on that particular individual’s genes. Because of this, many adaptations have driven the evolution of said creature’s morphological traits. Luna Moths, just like all other animals have competition, predation and other factors inhibiting only the strongest to reach the ultimate goal of passing on their genes. In many insects, the adult form is the shortest lived and main goal is for procreation. Actually, in many animals, once maturity and siring of offspring is met, the adult phase comes to a close not too soon after the possibility of more offspring is over. Even in humans, technology and medicine has enabled us to live well passed that age, but biologically speaking most animals are not supposed to outlive the age where they can no longer procreate because that is the biological purpose of ANY creature. Luna Moths just take it one step further and have evolved adult forms without mouths because they were no longer needed. They still lead interesting lives, eat in one form and mate in another. In insects especially, it is just the goal and purpose of the adult phase.
I wonder what causes this to happen? It can’t possibly be advantageous to the individual… the orange color of Monarchs is what advertises their distaste to predators.. I’m guessing the white color variation is rare in the wild because those individuals with the trait would get eaten first and therefore be less likely to procreate. I’d be interested in knowing if this is the case…
Homework help!
My lab question is:
Why are the Chilopoda and Diplopoda placed with the insects in the same subphylum?
But I feel like I’m missing a simple answer.
I wrote:
Similarities: exoskeleton, jointed limbs, antennae. Shared evolutionary ancestor.
Differences: Chilo/Diplo have many segments w/ multiple appendages from every segment.
Insects possess 3 tagmata while Chilo/Diplo have 2 tagmata.
Can anybody think of anything else?? I hope my lab instructor doesn’t see this. haha
The incredible story of the roundworm parasite and ‘ant berries’
It might sound a bit sick, but I love reading about parasites, and especially brain-controlling parasites. They’re a fascinating phenomenon arising from evolution, and they are very clean examples of the awesome power of natural selection. I’ve decided to write about a few neat parasites for today.
The above picture shows a C. atracus ant infected by the roundworm Myrmeconema neotropicum. The infection causes the ant’s abdomen to turn bright red, resembling a berry. The worms also affect the ant’s brain, causing the ants to move slowly and waive their rear in the air. The result is a perfect recipe for birds, thinking the ant is a berry, to swoop in and eat the infected bug. This plays directly into the roundworm’s hand, which needs the bird to eat it in order to be spread in the bird’s droppings. It’s a convoluted life cycle, but it fits right in with one of my favorite quotes about evolution, by Samuel Butler: “A hen is only an egg’s way of making another egg.”
