Good post. The mantis is indeed a bizarre animal. I like how they crank their head at you and regard you with those alien compound eyes.

Years ago I went to the insect museum at the Smithsonian and they had all these big arse Southern Hemisphere bugs on display, some were real monsters. At that scale you can really get a good look at them and they are freaky.

Like ants and wasps it's a good thing these frickers aren't three feet long or we would lose the great insect war.

Even seemingly benign bugs like lady bugs are vicious indiscriminate killers and cannibals. There's a whole micro war for survival going on at that level.

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Posted by sqerty

Member since May 2022

5308 posts

Posted on 9/10/22 at 3:16 am to Hondo Blacksheep

I call 'em trash bugs. Look like they little tiny pieces of stuff on their backs.

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Posted by LegendInMyMind

Member since Apr 2019

55435 posts

Posted on 9/10/22 at 12:29 pm to Hondo Blacksheep

quote:
Even seemingly benign bugs like lady bugs are vicious indiscriminate killers and cannibals. There's a whole micro war for survival going on at that level.

Ladybugs are cool as shite.

Here's the larvae form which voraciously feeds on aphids:

An older larvae or two will usually hang around eggs to protect them from predation. The adult Ladybugs lay the eggs and one of their older "children" guards them. They work together:

Larvae hatching. You can also see a Yellow Aphid in this pic:

Here's a larvae farther along in its lifecycle:

And after it shed and became an adult:

Just to complete the cycle, here are two Ladybugs trying to frick:

That vine they are on was covered in Yellow Aphids. The weather was perfect for Aphids last Summer, and as a result there were tons of Ladybugs and Green Lacewings out and about.

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