{"id":22416,"date":"2018-05-08T22:38:12","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T04:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=22416"},"modified":"2018-05-09T10:32:42","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T16:32:42","slug":"bugbytes-a-close-look-at-some-baby-bugs-and-butts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2018\/05\/bugbytes-a-close-look-at-some-baby-bugs-and-butts\/","title":{"rendered":"BugBytes: A close look at some baby bugs (and butts)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Poo\"<\/a>

M.L. Kirst<\/p>

This is a tortoise beetle larva that was found under some leaves in eastern China. Billings-area golden tortoise beetle larvae look very similar: tiny (5mm), spiny, green-brown beasts shaded by shields made from their own poo.<\/p><\/div>\n

Welcome back, bug fans. With spring slowly suffusing back into the soggy, snow-flattened earth, and an army of winged, nectar-starved beasts in its wake, you might, rightly, be asking, \u201cHey, Bug Gal! where the hell have you been?!\u201d<\/p>\n

The answer: unofficial maternity leave. That\u2019s right. Last summer bore witness to the arrival of our own little bug, whom we affectionately refer to as the \u201clittle ‘wig.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moniker owes its origins to a moment of What-Would-David Attenborough-Do inspiration that compelled us to reveal the baby\u2019s sex by forcing our loved ones to study a photograph of an earwig\u2019s caboose. Earwig \u201cpincers,\u201d you see, differ in shape depending on the insect\u2019s sex (straight = female, curved = male).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Knowing we\u2019d compelled curious loved ones to Google phrases like \u201cearwig: anal forceps\u201d while at work brought us tremendous joy (#teachablemoments).<\/p>\n

So, in honor of our beloved (and straight-pincered) little \u201cwig,\u201d this month\u2019s column will highlight two Billings-area baby bugs: the larval stages of the antlion and golden tortoise beetle.<\/p>\n

And fair warning (on the off chance some of you are attempting to be adults today): the talk of butt stuff has only just begun.<\/p>\n

Golden Tortoise beetle larvae<\/h5>\n

Here\u2019s a phrase you probably thought you\u2019d never hear: fecal umbrella. You \u2026 are \u2026 welcome. How about crap canvas? Poop parasol? Shit shield? OK, I made up the last three, but the first is legit. Fecal umbrellas are defensive structures that the larval stages of certain tortoise beetles (family Cassidinae) build.<\/p>\n

One species, the golden tortoise beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata<\/em>), is particularly common. If, like me, you spend a good bit of summer battling bindweed, then you\u2019ve probably spied them, as the beetles are particular to plants in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\"Goldbug\"<\/a>

M.L. Kirst<\/p>

This golden tortoise beetle was found on some back-alley bindweed (Convolvulus sp.). Look for the adults as they fly from patch to patch, glinting in the sun as they wiz by. The larvae are most often found on the undersides of bindweed leaves.<\/p><\/div>\n

Like all tortoise beetles, the adults possess low-hanging, flanged wing-covers reminiscent of a tortoise\u2019s shell. What makes the adult beetles hard to miss, though, is their stunning metallic coloration, which the insect can quickly shift from a pure, molten gold to a rainbow-hued swirl to a dull red, depending on its \u201cmood,\u201d or if threatened.<\/p>\n

An example of structural coloration (as opposed to pigmentation), it\u2019s achieved when fluid secreted into tiny chambers in the beetle\u2019s cuticle alters the chambers\u2019 size and, thus, the refraction of incoming light. Sadly, these colors disappear with the beetle\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

The visual beauty of the adults is only enhanced, in my opinion, by the behavior of their caca-collecting young.<\/p>\n

To defend against backyard baddies, golden tortoise beetle larvae glue old, molted \u201cskins\u201d and dried fecal matter (frass) to a moveable structure at the tip of their abdomen called an anal fork. The larvae usually curl this fork and its fecal fan over their backs when at rest but will flick the shield up and down in the face of incoming predators.<\/p>\n

Research suggests the shield derives its defensive power from noxious compounds present in the beetle larvae\u2019s poop. These compounds occur naturally in the beetle\u2019s food plants and are sequestered for later use during larval digestion of the plant tissue. According to researchers, the fecal fan\u2019s toxic funk is enough to deter small insect predators like ants and aphidlions when they touch the shield but does little to repel larger enemies like assassin bugs.<\/p>\n

The mental picture this scenario conjures is too good not to indulge. Imagine: you, warning off a potential mugger with nothing more than a parasol generously smeared with your own feces.<\/p>\n

Hey, don\u2019t let waste go to waste, yo.<\/p>\n

Antlion larvae<\/h5>\n

If you\u2019ve ever seen the movie \u201cTremors,\u201d (a keystone of the horror Western genre), then you\u2019re already abstractly familiar with antlions, as they are the real, soil-dwelling beasts that inspired the creation of the film\u2019s fearsome foes, the graboids \u2014 huge, worm-like, subterranean monsters that use surface vibrations to locate their desert prey: Kevin Bacon and friends.<\/p>\n

Delicious.<\/p>\n

Real antlions, though, are even neater.<\/p>\n

\"Pit\"<\/a>

M.L. Kirst<\/p>

Myrmeleon antlion larva are affectionately nicknamed “doodlebugs” because of the scribbles they scrawl in the sand when searching for pit-digging sites.<\/p><\/div>\n

Unlike graboids, antlions are not worms but, rather, insects from the family Myrmeleontidae in the order Neuroptera (the \u201cnerve-winged\u201d insects). The peculiarities of these creatures begin with the fact that the babies are way more famous than their parents, which are often mistaken for pallid, weak-flying damselflies.<\/p>\n

Indeed, when people talk about \u201cantlions\u201d they\u2019re almost always referring to the insect\u2019s predatory larvae: fleshy, raisin-sized beasts with bristly backsides and flat, spade-like heads flanked by a pair of spiny, sickle-shaped jaws that the creatures hold open, to speed up the chomp.<\/p>\n

The best-known antlion larvae (especially in the arid West) are the pit-diggers from the genus Myrmeleon<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Most antlion larvae, you see, simply wait at the soil\u2019s subsurface \u2014 like jerks \u2014 for the arrival of passing prey. Myrmeleon<\/em> larvae take it up a notch. These diminutive \u201cdemons of the dust\u201d excavate cone-shaped traps in loose sand and soil by scooting rapidly backwards (the only direction they can scoot) in a series of concentric circles.\u00a0 At the same time, the creatures shovel sand up and out of the nascent pit with their flat heads. The result is the formation of a near-perfect pitfall trap. The beasts then bury themselves at the pit\u2019s base, leaving only their jaws exposed (and agape \u2014 as seen in this video\u00a0<\/a>filmed by media artist Ian Lyman.)<\/p>\n

The insects maintain this position until an ant or small beetle wanders heedlessly into the sandy snare. Often, gravity, grade and the slope\u2019s slippery shifting are enough to bully the little \u201cbug\u201d into the larva\u2019s monstrous maw. If not, though, the young antlion will use its shovelhead to fling sand at the escapee, forcing it, via landslide, back into the pit. Then snap go the jaws. At this point, the prey is pretty much screwed; even final, desperate struggling is usually for naught thanks to a crop of forward-pointing bristles on the antlion\u2019s body that help anchor the predator in place.<\/p>\n

\"Damsel\"<\/a>

Logan Hendricks<\/p>

This fantastic digital illustration by local architect and artist Logan Hendricks depicts an adult antlion from the genus Myrmeleon. Antlion adults can be distinguished from damselflies \u2014 for which they are often mistaken \u2014 by their long, curved antennae. Damselfly antennae, on the other hand, are short and hair-like.<\/p><\/div>\n

With its victim secured, the young antlion injects an enzymatic brew that both paralyzes the prey and turns its tissues to soup, which the antlion sucks up through hollow jaws. The victim\u2019s juiceless carcass is then pitched \u2014 like so much flotsam \u2014 from the pit, often landing near the trap\u2019s rim. The pits of well-fed larvae will often be ringed with a posey of departed prey; a welcome wreath gone wonderfully macabre.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, research on antlion pits suggests that while such detritus may attract more prey to the area, a trashy pit porch also slows down incoming critters, decreasing the chance prey will bumble into the traps. It helps, then, that antlion larvae tend to build their pits in close proximity to each other as the messy habits of one larva may benefit its neater neighbors.<\/p>\n

Compared to their ferocious spawn, adult antlions seem another species entirely. The lacy-winged insects, which hatch from a sand-covered cocoon buried beneath the larval pit, are delicate, short-lived creatures.<\/p>\n

In some species, (Glenurus gratus<\/em><\/a>, e.g.) the adults boast a canvas-worthy, mottle-winged beauty; mini Pollock paintings in flight. Most, though, are rather plain; resembling washed-out, weak-flying damselflies.<\/p>\n

Adult antlions are largely night-loving creatures that spend days camouflaged against the branches and grass blades to which they cling. Thus, they are rarely seen unless disturbed. They are also more omnivorous than their babies, eating both pollen and nectar in addition to small invertebrates.<\/p>\n

To find Myrmeleon<\/em> larvae in our area, look for their characteristic pits in sandy soil beneath overhangs or ledges on and around the Rims. If the pit is active, the little dirt devil will be just below the soil\u2019s surface at the pit\u2019s base. To catch one, scoop your hand under the pit, making sure to scoop a few inches below the pit\u2019s base and lift. Examine the scooped dirt for what looks like a dusty bean. If it starts scooting backwards, you\u2019ve got yourself an antlion, friend. And don\u2019t fret, these beasts are harmless to humans.<\/p>\n

To watch the creature\u2019s pit-making in action, just place one in a deep bowl of sand. Once the pit\u2019s constructed, throw in a couple of ants or small beetles or a Kevin Bacon mini-fig. And just remember, \u201cThat\u2019s how they git you. They\u2019re under the goddammed ground!”

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Welcome back, bug fans. With spring slowly suffusing back into the soggy, snow-flattened earth, and an army of winged, nectar-starved beasts in its wake, you might, rightly, be asking, \u201cHey, Bug Gal! where the hell have you been?!\u201d The answer: unofficial maternity leave. That\u2019s right. Last summer bore witness to the arrival of our own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":22418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[6958,6959],"class_list":["post-22416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diversions","tag-antilion-larvae","tag-golden-tortoise-beetle-larvae","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22416"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22433,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22416\/revisions\/22433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}