Litinsects

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#59: Gynandromorphs

Litinsects #59: Gynandromorphs Ok people, pretty sure I’m gonna blow your minds with this one. No, these pictures are not some freakish cut-and-paste Frankenstein experiments. These animals are absolutely real and extremely rare GYNANDROMORPHS. Common blue gynandromorph (left male, right female) © Burkhard Hinnersmann This word comes from the Greek “gyne” for female, “andro” for male, and “morph” for form... meaning that these individuals contain BOTH MALE AND FEMALE tissues! Firstly, this is not the same thing as a hermaphrodite, which is an organism that contains both types of gonads or can create both sperm and eggs. Gynandromorphs literally have some body parts that are genetically female and others that are genetically male. So I’m sure you’re asking... how?! Malaysian stick insect (left male, right female) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heteropteryx_dilatata_0034b_L.D.jpg Many different genetic systems exist in the animal kingdom. In humans XX codes for female and ...

#58: Tardigrades

Litinsects #58: Tardigrades Anyone recognize these weird-looking little guys? They are actually not insects, as a matter of fact they are not even arthropods but they are cool enough to deserve a post. These are TARDIGRADES, also known as water bears or moss piglets. They are best known for their bizarre abilities to survive some of the most extreme conditions imaginable... © Science Faction Images -As always, the name’s etymology describes them a bit. It comes from the Latin “tardus” meaning “slow” and “gradior” for “step/walk”. Their common name comes from the fact that their walk looks a bit like a bear’s -Tardigrades are a PHYLUM of animals consisting of around 1,300 species. (Side note: the TAXONOMIC LEVEL of a group has nothing to do with how many species it contains. For example phylum Arthropoda, a taxonomically equivalent category consists of around 1 million described species and possibly millions more not yet described!). -These animals are all microscopic, ranging in ...

#57: Fireflies

Litinsects #57: Fireflies © Radim Schreiber You may know them as fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms depending on where you grew up… these glowing bugs are actually neither flies, nor bugs, nor worms but beetles. They are a special group known for their BIOLUMINESCENCE. So how does that work? Bioluminescence is light produced by an organism through a chemical reaction. In some animals light is produced by bacterial symbionts, in others the light is produced by the organisms themselves, as is the case with fireflies. (Side note: this is different than biofluorescence, which is the absorption and re-emission of certain wavelengths but it doesn’t involve a chemical reaction.) Fireflies have a LIGHT ORGAN in their lower abdomen in which a special reaction takes place; it produces light but no heat (thus often called “cold light”). A compound called LUCIFERIN, coming from the Latin word for „light-bearing“ (also the same etymology for the name Lucifer) is contained in t...

#56: Fleas

Litinsects #56: Fleas If you have pets, you may have already recognized this... It’s a flea! Fleas are wingless external parasites that feed on the blood of mammals and birds. They make up the order SIPHONAPTERA, from the Greek „siphon“ meaning “tube/pipe” and „aptera“ meaning “wingless” (I love it, another perfectly fitting name!) -Adaptations to the parasitic lifestyle include piercing/sucking mouthparts, claws to hold on to their hosts, and LATERALLY FLATTENED bodies (narrow when viewed from above), which makes it easier to move through host fur or feathers. They are also covered in tiny backwards-pointing hairs, which help anchor them to a host -Though they have no wings, fleas are able to jump a distance of 50-200x their body length, which is how they get onto a host. The jump is faster than any muscle is capable of contracting. Instead, energy is stored in an elastic pad of protein called RESILIN. The pad is compressed and held in place by a tendon and can be released to ra...

#55: Praying Mantis

Litinsects #55: Praying Mantis Here’s one you’ll probably recognize immediately: the praying mantis. These insects belong to the order MANTODEA and are most closely related to termites and cockroaches. And there are so many good fun facts to share about them so I will get right into it! All mantises are characterized by their triangular heads, bulging compound eyes, and instantly recognizable RAPTORIAL FORELEGS, which are adapted for catching and gripping prey Mantises are masters of camouflage, which not only protects them from predators but also allows them to avoid detection by prey. Flower mantises are camouflaged SO well to that they can wait undetected on a flower for an unsuspecting pollinator to come right to them. This is known as AGGRESSIVE MIMICRY Most mantises are AMBUSH PREDATORS and rely heavily on sight to locate prey, meaning they are often diurnal. They will eat pretty much any type of insect and arthropod and have even been observed eating small birds and liz...

#54: Tarantula Hawk

Litinsects #54: Tarantula Hawk Get ready for a fascinating yet possibly terrifying post... You are looking at a tarantula hawk, a wasp that hunts (you guessed it) tarantulas. There are a number of wasp species that hunt various kinds of spiders or other insects. These wasps engage in a PARASITOID lifestyle. © Joao Paulo Burini Parasitoids are a type of parasite but there are subtle differences between the two terms. While both benefit at the expense of a host animal, parasites live on or inside a host for an extended period of time and, since they have it pretty good, they want to keep their host alive while they continue exploiting it. Parasitoids on the other hand always kill their hosts eventually and it is often (in insects, at least) only the larvae that parasitize while the adults are free-living. So what’s this wasp’s deal? Here’s where it gets slightly disturbing... once adult female wasps are ready to lay eggs they go on the hunt for tarantulas. The wasp stings her vi...