Biollantefan54's Bug-Hunt Thread (PIC HEAVY)

[SpookySpooder]

Can't wait to see what you find next!

 

[Westicles]

Actually went out and bug hunted for the first time in a while. The next update in this thread will hopefully be interesting. I’m going to the Dominican Republic next week and will try to take lots of bug photos! As of right now, these are all from my yard in North Carolina View attachment 455713 View attachment 455714 View attachment 455715 View attachment 455716 View attachment 455717 View attachment 455718 View attachment 455719 View attachment 455720 View attachment 455721 View attachment 455722

Awesome pics

 

[Biollantefan54]

Went and explored my yard again. Found some cool stuff, these were all taken using the Laowa 25mm lens. First up is an oribatid mite
Next is my favorite mite that I’ve only found a couple of times over the years, Lasioerythraeus sp
Spider mite
Weevil with a missing foot
A new mite for me! Check out those sensory setae, Cunaxidae Ocrepeira sp
Tiny ant portrait taken with a Mitutoyo 10x

 

[Biollantefan54]

here are some recent images
Lasioerythraeus sp

Microdipoena guttata
Whirligig mite
Rabidosa punctulata
A moth

 

[Tentacle Toast]

There's a few guys on here whose photos I REALLY look forward to seeing, & your high on that list. You've a phenomenal instinct for it, it's as though they pose for you, LoL

Next is my favorite mite..

You WOULD have a favorite mite, LoL. That line belongs in the "Say Something Random" thread...

 

[Biollantefan54]

There's a few guys on here whose photos I REALLY look forward to seeing, & your high on that list. You've a phenomenal instinct for it, it's as though they pose for you, LoL

You WOULD have a favorite mite, LoL. That line belongs in the "Say Something Random" thread...

Haha thank you! It is not as easy as it looks, I delete over 70% of the images I take, these are just the few I thought looked good enough lol! And yes, that is very “me” to have a favorite mite, but look how pretty they are!

 

[Biollantefan54]

This isn’t a bug but I went outside and found a sporophyte from some moss and photographed it. The first image is the sporophyte glued to the end of a tiny needle, for size reference. The second is the sporophyte at 10x

 

[DustyD]

This isn’t a bug but I went outside and found a sporophyte from some moss and photographed it. The first image is the sporophyte glued to the end of a tiny needle, for size reference. The second is the sporophyte at 10x View attachment 460753 View attachment 460754

Amazing such great detail. Almost looks like something you would find in the ocean.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Found this beautiful lace bug and these super tiny iridescent springtails

 

[DustyD]

What would be the advantage or benefit of the iridescence for the springtails? Any thoughts?

 

[SpookySpooder]

What would be the advantage or benefit of the iridescence for the springtails? Any thoughts?

They're probably not iridescent to other bugs as their vision doesn't function like ours.

I don't know this for a fact, but I'd take a guess that perhaps the iridescence is a side effect of the springtail's exoskeleton's ability to reflect light. Perhaps this is an evolutionary mechanism for camouflage or protection from the sun, and we are just seeing it as shiny.

Just my guess.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Globular springtails and some mites I don’t see globular springtails that much, but during the rain they were quite easy to find. Underneath pretty much every fallen leaf was around 4-5 springtails. I love their patterning. The two mites I found are interesting also, the first one is very “robust” with stuff setae. The second is a pretty winter grain mite. These come out every year and are extremely common. During the right time of year, a single blade of grass might have 10 of them on it. It is staggering to think how many are just chilling in your yard lol.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I recently made a berlese funnel and was able to find all sorts of cool bugs! These were all taken by connecting my camera to my AmScope t340b microscope. Part 1

 

[Biollantefan54]

Annnnnd part 2!

 

[Biollantefan54]

Here’s a few things I found after a rain storm.
Rhagidid mite, my best photo of one of these since they almost never stop to rest for even a second. This one was sitting on a leaf for a few minutes and I was able to get this photo.
Some spider mites I found on a shrub outside
This whirligig also was staying still which doesn’t happen often. It was too busy grooming itself.
This is some sort of Oribatid mite, it’s upside down here
And the last 3 are globular springtails covered in little water droplets!

 

[Biollantefan54]

Found this one under a log in 40 degree weather, never found one this way and was happy to see it was different than the usual ones I see. I find Chthonius tetrachelatus easily under boards and bricks and I see another species under bark every once in a while. I brought it home hoping to keep it but it died really fast, I’m assuming it got to dry? I was able to use my microscope though and key it out. Using the Photographic key to the Pseudoscorpions of Canada and the adjacent USA, this easily keyed out to Syarinus. It says there are 5 North American species, and it says S. enhuycki are in eastern USA, unsure how to confirm. I was able to get to this genus because legs 1 and 4 have the same number of segments with the tarsus divided, the movable finger of the chelicerae has teeth, and the pleural membranes are longitudinally striate.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Even in the dead of winter, there is plenty to find if you look in the right places! First up are some springtails!

 

[Biollantefan54]

Up next are is a an isopod I’ve never found, Haplophthalmus danicus, some more springtails, a mite, and then the baguette looking bug is a pauropod. They are myriapoda related to centipedes and millipedes but are much smaller and less well known! It was my first time seeing this kind!

 

[Biollantefan54]

Some from a hike today

 

[Biollantefan54]

I found these in pond water, water flea, planarian, ostracods, and a copepod. Taken using a Laowa 25mm lens at 5x