Litinsects

© Gail Sumway  Litinsects #39: Leaf cutter ants You’ve likely seen them in nature documentaries; countless individuals on a trail with abstract leaf cut-outs on their backs... these are LEAF CUTTER ANTS. They can carry impressively heavy loads on their backs, up to 20 times their body weight. But have you ever wondered what they do with all these leaves that they carry back to their nests? You might assume that they eat them but they don’t! What they actually do is way cooler than that. Leaf cutter ants participate in a MUTUALISTIC SYMBIOSIS with fungi, a close relationship that benefits all parties. Ants cultivate underground fungus gardens in their nests and it’s actually the fungi that eat the leaves as they decompose. The fungus in turn serves as food for the ant colony! Because the fungus needs the ants to stay alive, it is a mutually beneficial relationship. Ants actively groom the gardens by removing parasites and even secrete anti-microbial substances to prevent growth of o

Harvestman (aka daddy longlegs) Mite Spider   Litinsects #38: Arachnids Today we are taking a little excursion outside the world of insects into a neighboring class of arthropods, the ARACHNIDS. Most people think spiders when they hear arachnids but the group includes so much more than that! In addition to spiders , the arachnids consist of mites and ticks, scorpions , pseudoscorpions, tailless whip scorpions, and harvestmen (aka daddy longlegs which are NOT actually spiders!). The closest relatives of arachnids are horseshoe crabs Like insects (and all other arthropods), arachnids have jointed appendages and a hard exoskeleton and grow by molting Arachnids have neither wings nor antennae. They possess only simple and no compound eyes Unlike insects, which have 3 body segments (head, thorax, and abdomen) arachnids generally have two body sections, the PROSOMA, aka head, and the OPISTHOSOMA, aka abdomen (but the two may be fused into one in some groups) Arachnids are easily recognized b

© Scott Bauer   Litinsects #37: Termites   TERMITES might get a bit of a bad rap for causing damage but they are super interesting insects! Did you know that... Termites are actually considered to be a specialized group of cockroaches! They used to be classified in an entirely different order of insects but recent genetic studies found a closer relation to cockroaches Termites form EUSOCIAL COLONIES (just like ants and bees). Termite colonies have not only a queen but also a fertile king along with sterile workers and soldiers. All castes are anatomically different with specializations to their tasks They are found on all continents except Antarctica, though more species are found in AFRICA than anywhere else Termites go through INCOMPLETE METAMORPHOSIS, with nymphal stages that resemble adults Termite colonies live in huge and complex structures called mounds. COMPASS TERMITES build their mounds oriented north-south, which helps with THERMOREGULATION. With the large surf