| General Discussion Undecided where to post - do it here. |
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05-10-2008, 04:49 AM
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#1 |
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 cool bug action on tickseed
I was at work last weekend and riding my bike down the truck road to one of the other ranges when I spotted some perennials that had escaped and were growing near one of our propagation fields. Was bored (hope boss or owners aren't reading...) so stopped to check them out. First I saw a bunch of inchworms hanging out on the flowers and some of the stems. Hadn't seen such a gathering before and when I looked more closely I saw that the ones on top seemed to be eating the pollen from the center of the blooms!
  there is another inchworm hiding on the lower stem, hard to see  After checking this out for a minute, I saw a fly-ish sort of bug sort of sideways on one of the flowers and a closer look revealed a mantis or mantid-like creature that was pretty small and was also camouflaged in a pretty cool fashion. It had brown and green markings on it's back, and two horns (actually almost four, two sets of two) looking like plant thorns side-by-side on it's lower back. I've only seen the green praying mantis' around but this was the first other type I've seen. Though it looked like it had a snout that was sticking inside of the fly instead of chewing it apart, it had the front legs that looked like the clasping type that praying and other mantises have. Does anybody know what these are? I have a feeling it isn't a mantis, but have no idea really what it might be.   the bug really wasn't too concerned with my being so close; I was bumping the flower around and though I saw it move a little I guess the fly tasted too good to leave behind! |
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05-10-2008, 05:08 AM
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#2 |
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I've been informed that the killer bug is called an Ambush Bug (Phymata fasciata), and the kind person who identified it for me informed me that if you try to hold it in your hand for any period of time, it will bite into your hand (ouch!)
thanks sandy for your i.d. and sorry you had to remember that bite 
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05-10-2008, 05:22 AM
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#3 |
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What a cool bug! Thanks for posting those pictures; they're great!
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06-09-2008, 09:53 AM
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06-09-2008, 03:16 PM
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06-09-2008, 03:18 PM
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#6 |
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Wild!
Our interns were desperately searching for mantids this week. Apparently the hatchlings didn't make it and our ebay purchase didn't come through. Stephen said to me on Thursday - "if you find one please let me know, we have advertised a live bug viewing but have no live bugs" I had to disappoint him by saying I've never seen a live praying mantis in the wild so the odds of me seeing one yesterday were pretty slim. Oh well. |
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06-09-2008, 04:58 PM
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#7 |
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I've seen 2, one was in my back yard on my dog agility equipment when I went to move it. Years prior to that I was at a stables, moving my agility equipment!
Hmmm ..... put out some dog agility equipment, they will come! 
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06-09-2008, 08:09 PM
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#8 |
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08-09-2008, 05:25 PM
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#9 |
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Sometimes if you buy the preying mantis 'cocoons' they take longer to hatch than advertised.
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08-10-2008, 02:55 AM
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#10 |
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"inchworm, inchworm,
measuring the marigolds..." Remember that song? |
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09-09-2008, 05:05 PM
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09-10-2008, 02:48 AM
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#12 |
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09-10-2008, 04:08 AM
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#13 |
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Dot,
I'm really giving away my age now....Danny Kaye in the 1952 movie Hans Christian Andersen. Had to look it up, but I remember it as a kid. charlie c |
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10-09-2008, 05:05 PM
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#14 |
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10-10-2008, 01:02 AM
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#15 |
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10-10-2008, 02:09 AM
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#16 |
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