What's in a Name? A Rose [Chafer Beetle] by any other name...

Rose Chafer Beetle
Cetonia aurata

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/collections/our-collections/cetonia-aurata/index.html

...would probably still not smell very sweet. However, the question is raised: what exactly IS in a name when it comes to insects? The answer might surprise you.

There is a quirky tradition in the organismal biology community whereby newly discovered species are named after famous people. Due to the overwhelming variety and the vast number of species that have yet to be discovered, it isn't surprising that a large portion of these creatively named creatures are in fact insects!

Over the years, insects have been named for actors and actresses (Charlie Chaplin, Harrison Ford, Kate Winslet, Liv Tyler, Arnold Schwarzenegger), political figures (Abraham Lincoln, George W. Bush, Benjamin Franklin, Adolf Hitler, Arnold Schwarzenegger), musical acts (rock bands and divas alike), philosophers, literary figures, composers, talk show hosts (Hi Ellen!)...if a profession has ever had any amount of power or prestige attached to it, it's included in this list. 

The full list of organisms named after famous people can be found here. Notable non-insect entries include a rabbit species named after Hugh Hefner and five trilobites named for each individual member of the Sex Pistols. Below are some of the more creative celebrity-insect namesakes.

Aleiodes shakirae
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleiodes_shakirae

Insect: Wasp

Namesake: Shakira

Fun fact: "Since parasitism by this species causes the host caterpillar to bend and twist its abdomen in various ways, and Shakira is also famous for her belly-dancing, the name seems particularly appropriate."

Preseucoila imallshookupis
http://www.greenerideal.com/lifestyle/entertainment/0126-celebrities-namesake-creatures/

Insect: Wasp

Namesake: Elvis Presley

Fun fact: The specific name is derived from the song "All Shook Up" recorded by Elvis

Nanocthulhu lovecrafti
http://www.waspweb.org/Cynipoidea/Figitidae/Eucoilinae/Nanocthulhu/Nanocthuhlu_lovecrafti.htm

Insect: Wasp

Namesake: H. P. Lovecraft

Fun fact: The genus name invokes Lovecraft's character Cthulu

Liturgusa algorei
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/
la-sci-sn-praying-mantis-bark-photo-gallery-20-001-photo.html

Insect: Mantis

Namesake: Al Gore

Fun fact: Named for Gore's "environmental activism including his efforts to raise public awareness of global climate change."

Scaptia beyonceae
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45990587/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/
bootylicious-horse-fly-bling-named-after-beyonce/#.VG4OhYvF9B8

Insect: Fly

Namesake: Beyoncé Knowles

Fun fact: The horse fly was named after the singer and actress because of its striking golden behind.

Honorable Mention: Campsicnemus charliechaplini, named for Charlie Chaplin because it dies with its midlegs in a bandy-legged position.

Fossils reveal giants from the past

Insects are a highly successful and incredibly diverse group of organisms.  Their success is due to a number of factors, one of which is the exoskeleton.  This adaptation provides support, protection, and allows for the rapid and efficient intake of oxygen. 

Although the exoskeleton provides several benefits, it also limits how large an insect can grow.  The molting process leaves it vulnerable and subject to bodily collapse until the new exoskeleton hardens.

Cicada Molting.  Source: T. Nathan Mundhenk (Own work)
GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), via Wikimedia Commons

As a result, insects are relatively small in size, which has led to their success at exploiting a great variety of ecological niches and resources.

But, insects haven’t always been small.

Fossil evidence from the Paleozoic Era shows that most insects were similar in size to their modern counterparts.  However, several early groups were able to reach “gigantic” proportions.

Cast of Meganeuridae on display at the Evolution Gallery of the
Museum des Sciences Naturelles, Brussels. The upper right corner shows the
relative size of a modern dragonfly.  Source:  Prehistoric Insects - ASU

Meganeuropsis permiana was the largest insect ever to have lived.  This early relative of modern dragonflies and damselflies lived during from the late Carboniferous Period to the Late Permian (320-247 MYA).

 A life-size model of Meganeuropsis permiana at the Technische Universitaet Clausthal
in Germany. Source: http://www.windsofkansas.com/meganeuropsiskraus.jpg

Sometimes mistakenly called a “giant dragonfly”, the impressive predator was actually a “griffenfly”.  Fossils have shown the wingspan of M. permiana could reach up to 28 inches (71 cm).  In comparison, the largest extant damselfly is Megaloprepus caerulatus 7.5 inches.

Source:  Prehistoric Insects - ASU

Fossils also show that several other invertebrate groups reached surprising proportions, including early mayflies, myriapods, and scorpions.

There are a number of proposed explanations as to why large insects were able to survive in the distant past, as well as why they disappeared.

The atmosphere’s oxygen concentration was much higher during the late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic, which corresponds with the existence of many giant insects.  

It may be that the hyperoxic conditions allowed an increase in size without a decrease in respiration efficiency.  The energetic demands of flight of insects the size of Meganeuropsis permiana would not have been possible without extra oxygen.  Over time, oxygen levels declined, along with the prevalence of large insects.

There are other explanations for the loss of the ancient giants.  In 2012, researchers proposed that the evolution of birds capable of agile flight corresponded with the timing of a decrease in insect size, indicating the importance of competition and predation in species evolution and diversity (Clapham and Karr 2012). 

Photo by Johnny Wee. Bird Ecology Study Group. www.besgroup.org

Despite ongoing research and fossil discoveries, it's clear there are still many unanswered questions remaining about the evolution and success of these ancient and fascinating organisms!

References:

Grimaldi, D., & Engel, M. S. (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press.

Clapham, M. E., & Karr, J. A. (2012). Environmental and biotic controls on the evolutionary history of insect body size. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(27), 10927–10930. doi:10.1073/pnas.1204026109

Prehistoric Insects | ASU - Ask A Biologist: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/big-big-bugs

Toxic Insects

Would you rather be stung by a yellow jacket or a bullet ant?  Just based on a gut instinct, most people would go with the ant, but unless you have a bee allergy, you are in for a surprise!  Justin Schmidt and some colleagues conducted a study in the 80’s in which the researchers were voluntarily stung by 72 hymenopteran species (mostly bees, wasps, and ants) to create a relative “pain index” for the various species.  The pain levels were ranked on a scale from 0 to 4, where 0 indicates no pain, and 4 indicates severe pain.  Let’s just think about this experiment for a second.  Can you imagine that there were people voluntarily being stung by insects for science?  That is some STRONG dedication right there. 

Photo credit: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/images2/BulletAnt2c.jpg

So based on this scale, the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) you see above was one of the most painful stings on the list!  Another interesting thing is that pain is not necessarily a strong indicator of the level of toxicity of a bite or a sting.  Even though the bullet ant has a whopping 4.0+ on the Schmidt sting pain index, it does not actually have the most toxic sting. The title of most toxic sting actually goes to a different ant species: the harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex Maricopa).  Just 0.12 mg per kilogram of body weight can bring down an average mouse!  So allergies aside, ants are really the ones you should be avoiding, rather than honey bees or the like, which, if you were wondering, would need 2.8 mg per kilogram body weight to kill an average mouse.  

Photo credit: http://insects.about.com/od/insects101/f/most-toxic-insect-venom.htm

Anyone noticing the trend where the people in the experiments are kind of getting the short end of the stick?  Researchers getting stung and mice getting poisoned, how dreary is that?  Well let’s end on something more colorful then.  Caterpillars!  Some insects do not generate their own toxins, but instead use the toxins supplied from their food.  These nifty little critters have developed enzymes over time to not only become immune to the toxins that certain plants have incorporated into their tissues, but can also store them in their bodies to keep them safe from predators.  The warning coloration of this cinnabar moth caterpillar clearly denotes to any predators it might encounter that it is not to be trifled with!

Photo credit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221090240.htm

Nasty Gnats

In the insect world there exists a bug I sometimes consider the bane of my existence. Consider this, you're standing on a pleasant river bank casting to some smallmouth, or maybe you're just lounging in a hammock catching some rays or reading a good book. Regardless of what you're doing you're enjoying it. When all of a sudden your blitzed by an onslaught of tiny little bugs, swarming your face; getting into your mouth and eyes. You swat some and swallow the ones unfortunate enough to go into your mouth but they harass you to the point of unhappiness. You can hold your hand up until its exhausted, take a bath in Deet, or stay inside. These evil creatures I'm talking about are called  biting midges but are also called local names such as sand gnats, sand flies, no-see-ums and punkies. 


In the Order Diptera, and the Family Ceratopogonidae is the nasty devils, The Genus Culicoidni.

This annoying insect is the subject of my post, but not because of my personal vendetta but because it is a vector for both Blue Tongue Virus and Eastern Hemorrhagic Disease. Both ailments are killers of whitetail deer and can infect other large ungulates including cows, red deer, pronghorn, mule deer, and others. Though they don't seem to have such an impact on other animals. In this Genus are species that carry pathogens and parasites that affect a wide range of animals, even humans. But the best documented and a case that hits close to home is this of EHD and Blue tongue.

A few years ago I read a little bit about it after seeing pictures of 5 bucks, all 8 points or better all still in velvet and dead beside the river back in Shenandoah county. As I researched it made sense that I hadn't been seeing the number of deer I was used to and when I checked a few farm ponds on friends properties they all had carcasses around them. It had been an unusually hot summer but a very wet spring. This led to an abundance of these biting midges as they rely on still water to breed in but as the summer got hot water was scarce and deer and the disease carrying insects congregated to the remaining ponds and slow moving parts of the river. Here they sucked the blood of the thirsty deer and transmitted the virus and disease to the unfortunate ungulates.


Both ailments cause the deer to swell in some areas and often become lazy or depressed, most deer that die will do so in or near water as their tongue swells are they are unable to drink and die from dehydration. Out west, and the eastern part of Virginia have this issue much worst and even in bad years most herds lose less than 25% of their total numbers but records show losses over 50% of populations have occured.

When frosting begins as temperatures drop these biting midges die, it is still unknown how the viruses exist over the winter without their hosts but they do, and are always laying in wait for the right circumstances to cause another outbreak. Attempts to control these midges with pesticides have proved unsuccessful and the only proven method of controlling its spread are to maintain a healthy deer herd, as in not too densely populated. Studies are being done now to determine the effect man made ponds and livestock pens have as they are breeding grounds for the Culicoidni.

Saying I hate these bugs may be a bit much, but they certainly don't have my appreciation. Culicoides Sonorensis is the main culprit here in the United States, sadly I haven't found one to put into my kill jar.

Insect Inspired Super Heroes!

It seems as though every year there is another superhero movie coming out from Marvel comics, and in 2015 insects are finally getting some representation on the big screen like Arachnids have  in Spiderman!




Ant-Man, featuring a superhero that has the power to shrink/grow in size and gain strength as you do, comes out on July 17, 2015.  The comic book superhero was created in 1962 as the character Hank Pym by Marvel Comics, and was one of the founding members of the Avengers team.



The quick and dirty of how his powers came to be: he discovered a sub atomic particle that allows for mass to be lost or gained to another dimension, and after a good deal of self experimentation he harnessed this power to manipulate his mass on command.  As he shrinks, his human strength stays the same; but as he grows, his strength and stamina increases (1).

The name Ant-Man comes from the idea that he can shrink to the size of an ant, and after a comical run in with an ant colony when he was first experimenting, Pym decided to make a helmet that would allow him communication with ants and control their movements.  This is achieved by a cybernetic means.

Now, what are the scientific similarities between Ant-Man and the actual insects?  To communicate, Ant-Man would have to use chemical signals between him and the colonies to get them to listen to his demands, which conceivably could be apart of his cybernetic helmet.  As for the strength disparity, ants can lift and carry things up to over ten times their own body mass, so as he gets smaller and the ratio of body mass to strength increases, it gets closer to that of ants.  To address this as he gets larger, Ant-Man's strength and stamina increase as his mass increases.

Ant-Man is not our only insect inspired superhero!  Ant-Man's partner in crime fighting and in his personal life was The Wasp, Janet van Dyne (2).

 

Pym used some of his technology to give van Dyne the ability to grow wasp wings, change in size as he could, and fire bio-electric bolts (which acted as her sting).  The interesting insect parts of her are her wings, which are sometimes drawn correctly being a singular continuous wing, or drawn as a split smaller wing underneath.  The class name for wasps is hymenoptera, literally meaning membrane wing for the way that their upper and lower wings are connected.  She was also a founding member of the Avengers, and in November of 2013, Marvel.com rated her at number five out of fifty of the top Avengers, beating Ant-Man who ranked at number seven (3).



(1) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Pym

(2) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Van_Dyne

(3) - http://marvel.com/news/comics/21526/the_50_greatest_avengers_of_all-time_pt_5

All images are the property of Marvel Comics

Butterfly Smuggling and the Disappearing Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing Butterflies

According to Jessica Speart, illegal trafficking of butterflies generates $200 million each year (Living on Earth 2011).  Speart is the author of Winged, a book about the take down of a butterfly kingpin.  If you haven’t heard, Yoshi Kojima, was the kingpin of the butterfly black market trade.  In 2007, Kojima was arrested and served a 21 month sentence in a Californian state prison for illegal trafficking of butterflies.  Kojima, a Japanese national, exploited butterflies all over the world.  He started capturing butterflies after college in US national parks.  He would capture legal US butterflies and decimate their populations.  The Apache Fritillary, Speyeria nokomis apacheana, is just one species he targeted.  The Apache Firtillary is one of California’s largest butterflies and resides on a restricted range in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Speart states Kojima apparently caught 500 individuals in 2 days, and shipped them to Japan to sell (Living on Earth 2011).  Check out this news video on the takedown of Kojima https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jt87Sthvb4

One of the major target’s in the international butterfly black market is the Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly, Ornithoptera alexandrae.  This species is the world’s largest butterfly, having a 1 ft wingspan.  Kojima sold many Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterflies.  Speart states that a pair can go for $10,000 (Living on Earth 2011).   Speart further states that it is not unusual for certain butterflies to go for $60,000 (Living on Earth 2011).

You may ask, who pays for these butterflies? Crazy collectors that’s who.

Edwardian naturalist Albert Meek started the collection obsession of Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterflies.  Meek first recorded collecting the species in 1906, while on an expedition in Papua New Guinea.  The Queen Alexandra only resides in Papua New Guinea (PNG).  Meek resorted to shooting the butterflies with a shotgun due to their fast flight.  Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterflies have substantial sexual dimorphism, thus it took a while to differentiate males and females as the same species. 

Queen Alexandra’s birdwings’ eggs are laid on the leaves of Aristolochia spp., which is a poisonous pine vine.  The caterpillars then eat the leaves with the toxins, and grow into toxic butterflies.

Habitat loss is a major issue with Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly.  The species has lost much of its range across the Oro Province, PNG.  Logging, oil palm expansion, coffee, and cocoa are the main drivers of habitat loss. (Stratton 2012)

Eddie Malasia, a wildlife officer in the Oro Province, states that weakening regulations to protect the butterfly might be the species best hope for increasing in population size (Stratton 2012).  Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly is currently classified as an Appendix 1 species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).  CITES prohibits trade to overseas collectors.  There is no legal trade with Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly, thus the black market fuels the demand.  Malasia thinks downgrading the species to an appendix 2 will allow a controlled limited trade of the species (Stratton 2012).  This controlled trade will influence subsistence farmers to protect the butterfly’s habitat, allowing them to sell a set number of specimens (Stratton 2012). 

Malaisa states, ‘What is worse? Legally trading a few butterflies or removing Queen Alexandra’s habitat forever.’ (Stratton 2012)

Photographs:

1. (O'Neil 2007)

2. (O'Neil 2007)

3.(The Guardian 2012)

4. (Living on Earth 2011)

Citations:

O’Neill. H. U.S. finally nets global butterfly smuggler. 2007 Aug 20 [cited 2014 Nov 17].  NBC News.  Available from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20283195/ns/world_news-world_environment/t/us-finally-nets-global-butterfly-smuggler/#.VGpFlvnF_eI

Stratton, M.  World’s largest butterfly disappearing from Papua New Guinea rainforests.  [Internet].  2012 Jul 30 [cited 2014 Nov 17].  The Guardian.  Available from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/jul/30/queen-alexandras-birdwing-butterfly

Tracking the Worlds’ Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler. 2011 Apr 15 [cited 2014 Nov 17].  Living on Earth.  Available from http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=11-P13-00015&segmentID=6

Is It Butterfly Or A Moth?

  Is It Butterfly Or A Moth?

Art by: Liz Climo

            Today most people are familiar with knowing that are two subgroups of the Lepidoptera order, Moths and Butterflies. However, most people are not able to distinguish the difference between moths and butterflies and can easily become confused if they have similar appearances. Following below, we will go over a number of general ID'ing strategies to help you indentify the 2 suborders from one another.

Basic I.D. based on color and body shape: While not always full proof, a general rule of thumb to ID moth against butterflies is that butterflies are usually colorful and bright in color, while moths are usually darker and more neutral colored. Most butterflies have bright colors in order to attract mates and warn predators about how toxic they may be. The colors are almost always patterned and the range of colors a butterfly can have is huge! Butterflies come in every color of the rainbow and even some after that! Moths on the other hand tend to be darker and shadier, or neutral colored. The colors can have patterns or are random and usually appear in the form of some type of camouflage. Body shape can also help you determine moths from butterflies. Butterflies have a more slender and narrow body with a mild to semi furry coating. In moths we find that most have a larger rounded body, and are usually completely covered in hair or fur like material.

Moth: (top) has a dull colored, camo patterned wing. The body is thick and appears very furry. Butterfly: (bottom) vibrant, patterned wing showing symmetry. Body is short and small, appears hairless in some areas.

Simon Cotton, chm.bris.ac.uk  (moth)

Activity Village, activityvillage.co.uk (butterfly)

Time: The time of day at which you see a moth or butterfly is also important. Butterflies are almost always diurnal (active during the day) to feed on flowers and other sweet substances while the sun is out. Moths on the other hand tend to be more nocturnal (active during the night) and crepuscular (active during twilight hours). Moths however can sometimes be spotted during the day along buildings and darker walls as they rest and wait for it to get dark again. Moths will also sometimes become active during the day in order to escape from predators or find better resting locations if the one they choose earlier was poor.

Antennae: If you ever get close enough to look at the antennae of a moth or butterfly it can also help you identify it! Moths tend to have large, fern or feather like antennae atop there head. In some moth species the antenna are clearly defined in shape, but not all moths share this easy ID'ing factor. Some species of moth have the hairs so fine and small that the antenna can appear to not have the fern like extensions and may just appear to be larger hairs of the moths face. Using an eye for close detail is key and it may help to use some sort of magnification tool incase it may bee too fine. In contrast, butterflies have longer and slender hair like antennae. Butterflies also have a rounded budge at the end of their antennae. Both species use their respective antennae to seek out food sources and to detect one another's pheromones to find mates.

      

Butterfly (top) vs Moth (bottom)

Thomas Marent/Minden Pictures (moth)

Dorling Kindersley 2007 (butterfly)

Wings: Wings are probably one of the most telling features between the two sub-families. When resting, moths' wings lay flat or are folded against their body. Butterflies usually will keep their wings up right when resting. However, slight flapping can also be observed in butterflies during feeding. Moths also have an anatomical difference that is only visible when u have a moth in hand. Moths have a hair like structure called a frenulum, which helps to tie the wings together. The hair like structure can be found under the wings between the forewing and hindwing.

Resting posture of Butterfly (bottom) vs Moth (top)

SantaBanta.com (butterfly)

John Bebbington, FRPS (moth)

Moth Frenulum

Hawaiian Tortricidae,  nature.berkley.edu

While all these factors help identify a moth from butterfly they are not always full proof. Many moths and butterflies can have traits that may fail one of the above tests or general outlines and so it is recommended that the above ID'ing factors be done as a whole. Based on a summary of the insects attributes as a whole you can be much better at distinguishing butterflies and moths. If possible, it is also recommended that the use of a good field guide to confirm your guess is good backup. Using a field guide many also give your more information about the specimen including the name of the moth or butterfly and its habits/lifecycles.

2008 HowStuffworks