These are all the itty-bitty baby versions of common insects, those being (from top to bottom) Assassin bugNymph,Grasshopper Nymph, and a Stinkbug Nymph (I believe!)
I love seeing people learn for the first time just how mind-meltingly vast and ancient the arthropods are.
Grasshoppers as a group are around 250 millions years old. To put that in perspective, the first dinosaurs showed up 230 million years ago. Grass is a relative youngster and has only been around for an estimated 66 million years.
So, yes, dinosaurs are also older than grass.
What were grasshoppers (and herbivorous dinosaurs) eating before there was grass to hop on? Get ready for a very not-exciting answer; they were just eating other older plants that were not grass. Plants first took to land around 700 million years ago.
Luckily grasshoppers are not particularly picky about what they will put in their mouth-holes. Some are perfectly happy to dine on meat when it’s available, even the meat of other grasshoppers. The evolutionary pitch for grasshoppers was basically “make a very hungry wood-chipper and then give it legs to throw itself at food”.
Nowadays most grasshopper species do have a preference for grass though, so this reaction is pretty accurate:
Today I have received my copy of “Les Fabulés de La Fontaine”, a collection of pastiches of the famous fables written by Chloé Alibert and published by Vide Cocagne, and for whom I drew my version of “The Ant & The Grasshopper”. To order it, it’s just here : http://videcocagne.fr/…/les-fabules-de-la-fontaine-de-chlo…/
Scroll pics to read: . JK! Here’s my REAL top 9 of 2021. Now this is the stuff I’m really proud of! From storyboards, to stop-motion, to cosplay, to… well, its a lot of weird stuff. . Here’s to another prosperous year! . . #storyboarding #3dprinting #3dart #cosplay #roguestormtrooper #grasshopper #cyclopssamurai #edensandersart #2022 #2021 #newyears #newyearseve #newyears2022 https://www.instagram.com/creativemechanics/p/CYKrtWGraa9/?utm_medium=tumblr
“Hi everyone, I love and am very interested in insects, especially east asian ones. sadly I have no clue about any of them. All these photos I took in Japan would love to know what exactly they are. I have tried to search for insect identification websites (found but nothing comes up when I simply search for “cicada” for example) or a kind of lexica with photos of them all to identify them. no such luck. but i found this here fine website and hope you can help me.
most of them were shot in the island of kyushu, northern region of the island in fukuoka prefecture. some the shield bug is from iwakuni in yamaguchi prefecture
Thank you very much”
Hello, thank you for the very big submission! I’ll work on these as well as I can.
The cicada (Far Right) appears to be a Niiniizemi, Kempfer cicada, Platypleura kaempferi.
The green grasshopper is some close relative of the Atractomorpha genus, possibly Atractomorpha lata (オンブバッタ Onbubata).
The green and gray spider appears to be a male Neoscona scylloides , Comparison photo here.
The slim golden wasp looks much like a “Hosoashinaga-bachi” (Slim long-legged wasp) or Parapolybia indica.
The caterpillar might be a species of Cabbage Looper, but I’ll have to dig a little deeper in the world of caterpillars to find it for sure.
I suspect the shield bug is actually a nymph, but haven’t found a match yet.
The large grasshopper appears to be a type of locust, again they are tricky to ID!
I’ll have to ask around about the beetle too, but it’s very cute.
Here are some sweet little bug character designs for a project i’m on at the moment. I think my favourite thing to draw is cute bugs. I have this whole pitch idea I’d love to pursue one time, featuring all kinds of different buggins, but WHO HAS THE TIME??
TW INSECT FEEDING PICS: CHINESE MANTIS VERSUS GIANT-ASS GRASSHOPPER!! CAN HE DO IT?!?!
I keep forgetting to share these pics from like 2 months ago… I found a HUGE grasshopper when hunting for mantis food, and decided to give Motaro (F, L8, Chinese Mantis) the chance to take it down. And he did. Instantly. Before the grasshopper could even jump out of the cup. Those huge, powerful grasshopper legs were no match for the deathgrip of an adult mantis. RIP cute buggie.
I also wanted to test how much of it Motaro would actually eat, since the grasshopper was BIGGER than Motaro. In the end, I had to actually pull away the last leg of the grasshopper because I could see that Motaro reached his limit, but was still going to try and stuff it in, and I didn’t want to see my baby burst. I did make sure to check on him all the next day, too, and here I am about 2 months later, and Motaro just laid an infertile ootheca, so I feel good about giving him this grasshopper, (and about taking the last leg away - meaning, I didn’t injure him by giving him this BIG opportunity.)
It is truly amazing what these animals can do, (and it’s fortunate for humanity that they are no bigger than our hands.) … Also, why is grasshopper blood dark blue?!
I love seeing people learn for the first time just how mind-meltingly vast and ancient the arthropods are.
Grasshoppers as a group are around 250 millions years old. To put that in perspective, the first dinosaurs showed up 230 million years ago. Grass is a relative youngster and has only been around for an estimated 66 million years.
So, yes, dinosaurs are also older than grass.
What were grasshoppers (and herbivorous dinosaurs) eating before there was grass to hop on? Get ready for a very not-exciting answer; they were just eating other older plants that were not grass. Plants first took to land around 700 million years ago.
Luckily grasshoppers are not particularly picky about what they will put in their mouth-holes. Some are perfectly happy to dine on meat when it’s available, even the meat of other grasshoppers. The evolutionary pitch for grasshoppers was basically “make a very hungry wood-chipper and then give it legs to throw itself at food”.
Nowadays most grasshopper species do have a preference for grass though, so this reaction is pretty accurate:
How to tell the difference between grasshoppers (top), crickets (middle), and katydids/bush crickets (bottom).
Cerci are spikes at the end of the abdomen, and while all three have them, they are often longer and more noticeable on crickets. You might see a third spike between them, which is an ovipositor and used for laying eggs!
Also, katydids are sometimes much more dramatically leaf shaped than the one pictured.
What Happens When Architectural Designer Tries Baking Cakes by Dinara Kasko|via
Desserts can not only be delicious, but aesthetically pleasing too. That once again was proved by Dinara Kasko, a pastry chef, who baked and algorithmically-modeled cake in order to present new berry chocolate Ruby. Inspired by the works of artist and engineer Matthew Shlian, Kasko designed a dessert made out of 81 uniquely-shaped cakes layered with meringue, ganache, berry confit, a crunchy biscuit, and covered with deliciously pink Ruby chocolate.
Now, what would you give to get your hands on one of those pieces? More info: Dinara Kasko,Instagram
Spoilers galore! These are some of the highlights of the Ontario Science Centre’sBug Lab Exhibition. This travelling exhibition was created by Te Papa, the museum of New Zealand in collaboration with Weta. It’s mostly geared towards children but there’s quite a bit here for all to enjoy, and I’m very grateful I was able to go. Yesterday was actually its last day in the OSC. This is an exhibition that I really think people should go to see when it arrives to their neck of the woods, so I won’t be sharing everything I’ve seen. Since these are exhibitions created by others, I’ve labelled them with the mantis logo and only take credit for the photography; the hard work and effort of this collaboration deserves all the spotlight it can, especially with all the wondrous displays! There are even interactive elements to enjoy such as magnifying glasses, touch screens and game parts. For myself, it’s all about the insects and what we can learn from them. I begin this showcase with the tribute to the Māori people that highlights how all life is connected and how insects have inspired them. You’ll have to discover those inspirations and life for yourself, but I can promise you they are all beautiful.
The showcase mentions that insects were created alongside “ugly things” by the gods, and so have included an insect native to New Zealand: the Weta, which often has a reputation for being called “ugly”. It may not be as traditionally appealing like other winged Orthopterans, it brings something more primal, powerful and wild to the fold; not something angry, but more like a old friend to the more temperature Grasshoppers. Important as that display is, children and visitors may be more drawn to the insect displays on showcase containing pinned insects and models. The pinned insect exhibits highlight the most prominent parts of the insect world to us: their biodiversity (including differences within even an order such as with Coleoptera), their beauty as seen with the showcase of winged insects, their evolutionary trajectory (as seen with an ancestor of modern day Odonates: the Griffinfly; 70cm wingspan) and how they can be used to benefit humanity. Insect wings were lighted as a marvel of design for flight technology and for the financial sector using Butterfly wing iridescence as inspiration (yay nanoholes). Swarming of insects even provides inspiration for drone movement and coordination with themselves! With all ideas, it’s amazing how inspiration can strike!
My favorite displays here are definitely the large models* of insects in their natural environment! The level of detail and story-telling is astonishing, especially with the Hymenopterans which is what I’d like to share! While a bit terrifying, we have a realization of how the Jewel WaspcapturesRoaches for its offspring. We call it brain surgery and the Waspcalls it incubation! Next to that, an intruder has found a hive and is marking it for the swarm! Fortunately, the hive’s defenders are ready for this scout and mobilize. There’s no secret to the power of the Asian Giant Hornet (and is the first true Hornet to grace this blog), but the Honeybees that live alongside it have adapted against it: they swarm the large intruder in coordination, form a Bee-ball and vibrate their bodies to generate heat to roast the Hornet. This exhibit even includes an interactive element to help generate heat to help the brave Bees! Though a few workers may fall defending their home, the colony lives in gratitude. Not yet safe however, the worker Bees also have to clean up the pheromone markers left by the scout so that other Hornets don’t pick up the trail. These are all astonishing feats of the natural world!
*Note: Other large models featured include displays of Dragonflies in flight and the camouflaging abilities of the Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus). You have to discover those for yourself.
Pictures were taken on February 20, 2022 at the Ontario Science Centre using a Google Pixel 4. Thank you for the Bugs!
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