Arthropods and Insects
Bugs and spiders of any kind.
Images 1 to 5 of 66
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West Peak / Metacomet Trail - Spiders at Play Two spiders enghage in mysterious activity - they may be orb weaver or an argiope species. It seems likely that they are mating. See also… 5/28/2005 |
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West Peak / Metacomet Trail - Wavy Lined Heterocampa Caterpillar Heterocampa biundata is a large but rather non-descript moth, whose caterpillar is certainly distinctive. The caterpillar will turn red prior to pupating. Like many insects, caterpillars shed their skins as they grow larger, though their skins are thinner than most adult or non-caterpillar larvae. When young, this caterpillar sports rather strange looking "antlers" through their third molt. See also… 5/28/2005 |
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Harts Pond / Fall - Tiny Flower, Tiny Insect An unidentified insect perches on a white flower, probably some type of aster. See also… 10/29/2005 |
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Harts Pond / Fall - Part of an Wasp, Yellowjacket or Hornet Nest A piece of a nest in the trail shows the characteristic hexagonal cells. The cells are not magically precise - they actually represent the tightest possible packing of paper cylinders. The paper from the nest comes from many sources, and this can be seen in the stripes of color. The insects chew wood into pulp and bring it back to be shaped into the nest. The founding queen who establishes the nest raises the first offspring and exerts dominance over them through aggression. In the fall, all of the insects except the newly produced queens die. These queens overwinter in hibernation after mating, hiding in piles of wood, vegetation or in holes, to found a new nest the next spring. This is a somewhat risky survival strategy, but wasps, yellowjackets and hornets are very successful despite the risk.ne This nest is most likely to be a hornet nest, since it is found in the trail, where it probably dropped from a tree. Most yellow jacket nests are built underground. See also… 10/29/2005 |
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Harts Pond / Fall - Leaf Miner Tunnels These markings show the activity of a leaf miner larva. These minute worms are small enough to fit between the top and bottom layer of a leaf and they eat away at the leaf as they move. The dark lines and specks are excretion from the larva. The larvae drop from the leaf to the ground to pupate for a couple of weeks and emerge as small files, wasps or beetles (any of these are possible), and then repeat the cycle. Parasitic wasps can find these larvae and lay their eggs in or next to the leaf miner. The wasp larva then feed on the leaf miner larva. Chickadees and other small insectivorous birds aklso feed on them. See also… 10/29/2005 |
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