Tag Archive | "praying mantis"
Insects About to Kill Their Partners
“I love you to death” gets a whole new meaning with some of these insect pairs, which literally love to devour each other. Or to be precise, the female loves to consume the male before, during or after copulation. “Your Honour, he was so tasty, what could I do” is what she might say in her defense. We’ve picked five unusual insect mating styles, some of whose participants are true sexual cannibals…
Continue reading...Amazing Insect Camouflage
Friday, August 7, 2009
We’ve portrayed insects before whose survival strategy is to scare predators by making scary eyes at them (moths and butterflies) or by warning their enemies of their poisonous qualities (beetles and bugs). Today, we’re focusing on insects that stay still and blend in so perfectly with their environment that predators simply overlook them.
Continue reading...It’s a Trap! Amazing Ambushes from the Macroscopic Universe
Monday, July 20, 2009
It's a trap! The famous line, spoken by the admirable Admiral Ackbar, will bring a smile to the face of many a Star Wars fan. But what if the speaker weren't a fish-like, high-ranking officer in a galaxy far, far away, but a crawling little critter minding its own beeswax in the macro-scopic universe? Then a trap sprung by certain villains in the arthropod Evil Empire would have a more instant deadly impact. Read on for more traps – and more Star Wars references too.
Continue reading...Leaves that Literally Move by Themselves
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Katydids are fascinating little buggers, er, bugs. More than 6,400 species exist so it’s not surprising they come in a range of shapes, sizes and colors, or that they have adapted to blend with their habitats to avoid becoming lunch. Leaf mimic katydids are the most adept at getting lost in the undergrowth. Their bodies have evolved to look just like dead, dying or discoloured leaves, and the longer they avoid detection, the better their disguise becomes.
Continue reading...10 Most Alien-like Insects on Earth
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A common mistake when searching for alien life forms is to look up into the sky for something big. But alien life is right here, at our feet, in our backyards. Millions of tiny but frightening aliens, many just a few millimetres long. We’ve convinced the most cheerful of the lot to give us a tour…
Continue reading...Incredible Images of the Violent Death of Insects
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Death is often the domain of terror, darkness and torment but as these images would suggest there is also a surreal beauty captured, even for a split second, when the end finally comes. It takes a patient and talented photographer to capture images such as these. Look on while a young frog is striped to the bone by an army of spiders, never to be a prince.
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Friday, September 18, 2009
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