Accueil / Albums / Natural History / Insects 209
- Calliphora erythrocephala
- Butterfly frame
- Butterfly and flower frame
- Butterfly
Butterfly - Brachinus Pursued by an Enemy
His Curious and Unique Method of Defence. But it is not so much his odd shape as a most extraordinary property he possesses, which is singularly unique in the animal kingdom, that makes him an object of interest and curiosity. Deep down in his most marvellous body a fluid, highly volatile in its nature, is elaborated, which the little creature can retain or expel at his pleasure. It is only, however, when alarmed that he utilizes this fluid in small quantities in defense, but its effect is wonderful, for in coming into contact with the atmosphere it immediately volatilizes and explodes, looking very much like a discharge of powder from a miniature artillery. In consequence of this phenomenon the insect which produces it is popularly called the Bombardier Beetle. - Body of an insect
Body of an insect (Hymenoptera), showing the principal divisions A, head B, thorax C, abdomen a, antenna c, compound eyes m, mandible s, simple eyes b, prothorax d, mesothorax k, metathorax 1W, fore-wing 2W, hind-wing n, coxa o, trochanter p, femur r, tibia t, tarsus 1 to 9 segments of the abdomen. - Blossom of Cucurbita
Mother-Aphis and Her Army of Children on Tube Whilst engaged some few years ago in the study of the species that affects the blossoms of one of our gourds—the Cucurbita ovifera of botanists—certain phenomena were observed, which promised an easy and speedy solution of the problem. Gathered in compact masses, like companies of soldiery preparing for a foray, hundreds of aphides were seen, busily feeding, all over the flowers. There were old and young, not an indiscriminate mingling of ages and sizes, but an orderly arrangement of families, each family preceded by its own appropriate head. First came the very young of each family, only to be followed by those that were older, leaving the oldest of all to lead up the rear. - Beetle louse
1) Beetle louse ( Gamasus coleoptratorum ), greatly enlarged. 2) Beetle lice on the belly of a Scarab; actual size. - Bees in Clover
- Bees
The figure is a very accurate representation of the Queen, the Worker and the Drone. - Beak of hemipteron
Several families of the true bugs include forms which, while normally inoffensive, are capable of inflicting painful wounds on man. In these, as in all of the Hemiptera, the mouth-parts are modified to form an organ for piercing and sucking. The upper lip, or labrum, is much reduced and immovable, the lower lip, or labium, is elongated to form a jointed sheath, within which the lance-like mandibles and maxillæ are enclosed. The mandibles are more or less deeply serrated, depending on the species concerned. - Auchmeromyia luteola
Auchmeromyia luteola, the Congo floor maggot. This is a muscid of grewsome habits, which has a wide distribution throughout Africa. The fly deposits its eggs on the ground of the huts of the natives. - Argynnis Aphrodite
- Argus persicus. Capitulum of male
Until recently, the ticks attracted comparatively little attention from entomologists. Since their importance as carriers of disease has been established, interest in the group has been enormously stimulated and now they `rank` second only to the mosquitoes in the amount of detailed study that has been devoted to them. The ticks are the largest of the Acarina. They are characterized by the fact that the hypostome, or "tongue" is large and file-like, roughened by sharp teeth. - Antennæ of Goniodes
- Anopheles quadrimaculatus mosquito
Anopheles quadrimaculatus mosquito, male and female - An American tarantula
n popular usage, the term "tarantula" is loosely applied to any one of a number of large spiders. The famous tarantulas of southern Europe, whose bites were supposed to cause the dancing mania, were Lycosidæ, or wolf-spiders. Though various species of this group were doubtless so designated, the one which seems to have been most implicated was Lycosa tarantula (L.). On the other hand, in this country, though there are many Lycosidæ, the term "tarantula" has been applied to members of the superfamily Avicularoidea, including the bird-spiders. - American Luna Moth
Larva on Branch Below, and Cocoon on Twig Just Above. No insect affords a better proof of high art in nature, and of the transcendent beauty of the Creator’s thoughts, than the Luna moth, which is as preëminent above her fellows as her namesake, the fair empress of the sky, above the lesser lights that dominate the night. Her elegant robes of green, set off with trimmings of purple, and jewelled with diamonds, added to her queenly grace and personal charms, will always distinguish her from the profanum vulgus of the articulata. - Agalenidæ
Long-legged, brown spiders, with two spinnerets longer than the others, and extending out behind the body. Figure is Agalena nævia, the common grass spider. They make flat webs, with a funnel-shaped tube at one side, in which the spider waits. - Agalena and Her Funnel-Web
Agalenidæ, as our funnel-web weavers are called, are long-legged, brown spiders, in which the head part of the cephalo-thorax is higher than the thoracic part, and distinctly separated from it by grooves or marks at the sides. The eyes are usually in two rows, but in Agalena the middle eyes of both rows are much higher than the others. The feet have three claws, and the posterior pairs of spinnerets are two-jointed and usually longer than the others. Agalena nævia, the technical name of our Common Grass Spider, abounds in all parts of the United States, but its very commonness is the principal reason why it is so little known except by the trained naturalist, its very familiarity leading the average man and woman to look upon it with contempt. - Aëdes calopus; larva
The yellow fever mosquito breeds in cisterns, water barrels, pitchers and in the various water receptacles about the house. In our own Southern States it very commonly breeds in the above-ground cisterns which are in general use. Often the larvæ are found in flower vases, or even in the little cups of water which are placed under the legs of tables to prevent their being overrun by ants. They have been repeatedly found breeding in the holy water font in churches. In short, they breed in any collection of water in close proximity to the dwellings or gathering places of man. - A. Head of a typical Moth
showing proboscis formed by flexible maxillae (g) between the labial palps (p);c, face; e, eye; the structure m has been regarded as the vestige of a mandible. B. Basal part (b) of maxilla removed from head, with vestigial palp (p). Magnified. - A whip-scorpion
The tailed whip-scorpions, belonging to the family Thelyphonidæ, are represented in the United States by the giant whip-scorpion Mastigoproctus giganteus, which is common in Florida, Texas and some other parts of the South. In Florida, it is locally known as the "grampus" or "mule-killer" and is very greatly feared. There is no evidence that these fears have any foundation, and Dr. Marx states that there is neither a poison gland nor a pore in the claw of the chelicera. - A true scorpion
The true scorpions are widely distributed throughout warm countries and everywhere bear an evil reputation. According to Comstock (1912), about a score of species occur in the Southern United States. These are comparatively small forms but in the tropics members of this group may reach a length of seven or eight inches. They are pre-eminently predaceous forms, which lie hidden during the day and seek their prey by night. The scorpions possess large pedipalpi, terminated by strongly developed claws, or chelæ. They may be distinguished from all other Arachnids by the fact that the distinctly segmented abdomen is divided into a broad basal region of seven segments and a terminal, slender, tail-like division of five distinct segments - A solpugid (Eremobates cinerea)
The Solpugida have long borne a bad reputation and, regarding virulence, have been classed with the scorpions. Among the effects of their bites have been described painful swelling, gangrene, loss of speech, cramps, delirium, unconsciousness and even death. Opposed to the numerous loose accounts of poisoning, there are a number of careful records by physicians and zoölogists which indicate clearly that the effects are local and though they may be severe, they show not the slightest symptom of direct poisoning. - A millipede
The Diplopoda, or millipedes, are characterized by the presence of two pairs of legs to a segment. The largest of our local myriapods belong to this group. They live in moist places, feeding primarily on decaying vegetable matter, though a few species occasionally attack growing plants. The millipedes are inoffensive and harmless. Julus terrestris, and related species, when irritated pour out over the entire body a yellowish secretion which escapes from cutaneous glands. It is volatile, with a pungent odor, and Phisalix (1900) has shown that it is an active poison when injected into the blood of experimental animals. This, however, does not entitle them to be considered as poisonous arthropods, in the sense of this chapter, any more than the toad can be considered poisonous to man because it secretes a venom from its cutaneous glands. - A medieval method of combating the plague. The persecution of the anointers in Milan in 1630
In Milan the visitation of 1630 was credited to the so-called anointers,—men who were supposed to spread the plague by anointing the walls with magic ointment—and the most horrible tortures that human ingenuity could devise were imposed on scores of victims, regardless of `rank` or of public service. Manzoni's great historical novel, "The Betrothed" has well pictured conditions in Italy during this period. - A flesh fly
A flesh fly - Normal position of the larvæ of Culex and Anopheles in the water
(a) Normal position of the larvæ of Culex and Anopheles in the water. Culex, left; Anopheles, middle; Culex pupa, right hand figure