Avicularia Spiderling in the Ecuadorian Amazon

I am finally digging my way through the stacks of pictures I took on my recent trip to Ecuador this past May. I recently started sorting through the photos from the Amazon. That means TONS more bug photos!

Here is one of the first species I encountered. It's a small spiderling in the genus Avicularia, also known as "pink toe" tarantulas. They are recognized by their pink-colored toe pads and are commonly kept as pets.

The genus Avicularia contains the first species described in the infraorder of Mygalomorphae. The species was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1818. The history of the taxonomy of the genus is an insight to the changing of the scientific understanding of arachnids through the last two centuries.  

Species in the genus are arboreal, and they build their webs in trees and vegetation as well as human-built structures. They are distributed throughout Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

I am unsure of which instar this spiderling was, but it was about 3-5 cm across. It was scurrying along a wooden foot bridge between the Sacha Lodge boat dock and canoe dock near the banks of the Napo River. The spiderling didn't seem too spooked by me, so I got to take my time with it and get some good shots.

In the near future I'll be adding in some photos of adults too, as there were plenty of them in the Amazon!

Moth Week: Syngamia florella

In May I visited The Galapagos Islands with a group of fellow college students. It was in the highlands, on the island of Santa Cruz, that I encountered this little beauty. With spread wings measuring only about 1 inch or so across, this Red-waisted Florella Moth (Syngamia florella) was photographed while foraging on an Indian Heliotrope (Heliotropium indicum). Syngamia florella is a moth in the family Crambidae. This species was likely introduced to the islands in 1906 on plants in the family Rubiacea. 

A special thank you goes to my friend Heather for helping me sleuth out an identity of this moth and to my cousin Alison for helping me id the plant. If anyone has additional info for this particular species I would love to learn more!

New Adventures in Mealworm Husbandry

I unintentionally started a mealworm farm. This is a video of some of the worms (Tenebrio molitor) I have already. I didn't realize I'd get so many from just a few darkling beetles. Wow! I'll be moving them into a bigger home this evening and making plans on just what kind of meal I'll be turning them into. I haven't intentionally eaten bugs before, I guess it's time to start!

Here's a link to some additional information on Tenebrio molitor:
http://insected.arizona.edu/mealinfo.htm

Welcoming any suggestions for future recipes!

Lola Lives On

Last week I was saddened to find my pet black widow, Lola, dead at the bottom of her jar. I had caught her on the edge of my bathtub one evening in the fall of 2012. At the time I was taking an entomology class. We were making collections of insects and the professor said he would give credit for one arachnid if we found a cool one. I was stoked to have such a beautiful specimen!

Lola: The Instagram Version

After getting Lola in the jar and observing her I was at a loss as to what to do. I wasn't looking forward to transferring her to a vile of ethanol. She was so pretty. I watched her for a while and then set the jar aside. 

A few weeks later I still didn't have the heart to kill her, but I was also starving her. I obtained some crickets and fed them to her. The first time I watched her drop down and immediately start to throw her web around her prey I knew I was in love. It was fascinating to watch her.

This is a video of Lola building a new web in a new jar after I decided to give her a little more than an empty jar to live in. 

Lola produced two egg sacs. One in the old jar and one in the new. The sac in the old jar never produced anything. It eventually dried up and fell to the bottom of the jar. Shortly after her move to the new jar she produced another sac. I didn't expect it to produce anything either, but I kept a stocking over the lid just in case. 

After Lola died I disregarded the eggs, thinking they were unfertilized. It wasn't until today that I found dozens of tiny spiderlings! 

Lola is now lovingly preserved in ethanol and her progeny will live on to carry her genes as far as they can go. I plan to find some open space nearby where I can free the little spiders and send them on to compete in the world. I'm so happy that her DNA will continue for at least one other generation. :)

Early Emergence of Louisiana's #1 Soybean Pest: The Red-Banded Stink Bug

Warm winters may be troublesome for soy crops. It has been reported that red-banded stink bugs (Piezodorus guildinii) are being found earlier than usual this year. In Louisiana, this species is the primary pest to soybean crops.

To deal with these agricultural tests, researchers will study 2 aspects of the problem. The first is to examine whatever traits may make soy beans undesirable to the pests. The second is to examine how the bugs survive in the winter and how they distribute into the fields with the crops:

“Clover appears to be a bridge species that harbors stink bugs until soybeans are growing,” Davis said. “Farmers who use clover as a cover crop should be aware that killing the clover could cause stink bugs to move into a soybean field.”

According to the LSU AgCenter's website, overlapping generations, the high mobility of the stink bugs, and the range of the host-plant are important things to consider as we try to control their populations. For example, up to about 8 generations can occur in one season. If spraying insecticides for adults doesn't affect the eggs, more pesticide would have to be applied at a later date.

Another possible solution could be to eliminate other host plants that stink bugs use to increase their numbers. One instance, in 2004, showed that destroying other host-plants, like clover, along ditches and field margins gave some control. More questions in this area need to be addressed.

http://tinyurl.com/jwnw8rj
http://tinyurl.com/nvkthbt
http://tinyurl.com/lzjhu7g

Photo: http://tinyurl.com/k2l4dx4

Pest Control Efforts for the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

From the order, Hemiptera, the hemlock woolly adelgid, or HWA (Adelges tsugae) is an invasive species wreaking havok on hemlock stands in the eastern United States. The nymphs of this species (pictured below in an S.E.M.) feed on tissues of the young twigs of the trees. This damages the tree by depriving it of the stored starches the young tissue would provide. The HWA gets its name from the woolly-looking substance that covers the insect and its eggs as it matures.

Management efforts to control this pest include selectively applying pesticides as well as introducing predatory beetles as a biological control.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/c5a74vz
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/hemadelgid.html
http://www.nps.gov/neri/naturescience/hwa.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemlock_woolly_adelgid

Photo: http://www.nps.gov/neri/naturescience/hwa.htm