I really wish I had a better camera to take a picture of the fly orgies that occur on my back porch. There's a dairy farm not too far from us, so the flies get a little ridiculous...of course, instead of taking a picture, I just wack them with the fly swatter and end their existence.
September 22, 2008
Anonymous said...
Those grasshoppers are really pretty and I approve them mating. Nice pics.
September 22, 2008
Image Source [Image]This post is dedicated to one of the primary drives of all creatures. No, not eating, sleeping, or finding shelter. Not checking your email or CrackBerry. Mating.
Emily sent me this article from Scienceray.com. It's full of good photos (check out the dragonflies), but I've cherry picked it for the ugliest bugs.
This first one is of a pair of amorous Lixus angustatus, aka Snout Beetle, aka weevil. They are the bane of flour and baked goods the world over, and come in such a wide variety that scientists are having trouble keeping them all straight. Suffice it to say you don't want them.
Image Source [Image]
Here we have the diminutive but lethal ambush bug. This insect pounces on its prey, which is often much larger than itself, grips the hapless victim in its forearms, pierces it with its beak, then sucks out its innards. I'm so pleased that we'll have more of these in the world thanks to this pair.
Image Source [Image]
Last but not least, we have a grasshopper pair. Could a post about ugly mating bugs be complete without a picture of mating grasshoppers? Probably, but I liked the colors and the sexual dimorphism here. I never would have thought the pink bug and the yellow bug belonged to the same species. But then, no doubt my wife and I get the same reaction. What's that pretty thing doing with that ugly thing?
Thanks, Emily.
posted by Raging Wombat at 8:00 AM on Sep 20, 2008
6 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formThey look like a couple of little insect robots.
September 20, 2008
I think those ambush are both the same gender. Whenever I've caught these things in the act there is always one black head one and one green head one.
September 20, 2008
Hey! Most of the time I check your site on my Crackberry! But it's awesome, keep up the great work.
September 20, 2008
Thanks Cat.
September 22, 2008
I really wish I had a better camera to take a picture of the fly orgies that occur on my back porch. There's a dairy farm not too far from us, so the flies get a little ridiculous...of course, instead of taking a picture, I just wack them with the fly swatter and end their existence.
September 22, 2008
Those grasshoppers are really pretty and I approve them mating. Nice pics.
September 22, 2008