Update: Today Just Wasn't My Day

Today didn't go well. A lot of drama distracted me from writing today and soon my brother and grand mother will be visiting. so i will be very busy. my idea about writing about food, obesity and school will have to wait until after i get my newer computer in a couple days. thanks everyone for reading. pleas have a nice day.

Minor Anouncement

I'm okay.. well for the most part. I was planning on writing about a few things today; but i woke up with an untimely visitor. my back hurts, my stomach hurts, i'm groggy, food makes me nauseous. give me four or five more days and i'll be able to concentrate on  writing a bit more. I just don't feel well enough to concentrate at the moment. thank you for your time and patience; pleas have a nice day.

Enter Freeto

With every life lost; there is a new beginning.

I'm glad I stayed up until four in the morning to watch

freeto shed his pupae skin.

it has given me the absolute pleasure of watching this

insect from larvae to adult.

 still a bit upset about my cat dieing.

it will take a couple more days for me to be able to 

think about how to phrase "for the love of larder beetles"

pleas forgive me for being late.

but enjoy the video above in the meantime.

Rest In Peace Kinsley

1997-2014
Rest in peace my beautiful handsome brave protector; Kingsley.

You were the best cat I have ever had.

It was a pleasure to be your owner.

You were the best photo model.

You made the best memories.

...Most of all... 

You saved my life.

I am both honored and saddened

that you choose to die in my arms

in my bedroom.

Kingsley, you will always be my baby boy;

but I hope where ever God puts you

in heaven- I hope you get to be a kitten again

in the arms of God.

(forgive me if I don't write for a little while)

Meet Freeto and Brutice

My boyfriend named this one Freeto.

He burrowed in one of them plastic CD spacers

i put in the tank as an experiment. 

and i named this one Brutice because he seemed big.

Larder Beetle Update: Life Cycle Complete

Pleas join me now in welcoming my newly formed adult Larder Beetles

in their new home.

It started off with Herman meeting Roman and Ambrose (Rollins is still pupating).

but after that I noted more and more babies

in the other items they burrowed into. soon i will tape how i cleverly 

get them out of their holes.

But for now enjoy this clip of my setting some newbies in the freshly washed tank.

also I've noted two babies have came out reddish.

i wonder what make this pigment and if it's normal.

I will most likely ask Eric when he comes back possibly.

but here are some more photos.

(Note that these photos where only cropped in photoshop; not colored in any way)

My Small Insect Collection

This is my small collection of insects- with the exception of two insects I found today.

I though i would share with you my ever growing insect collection.

most are insects found in my house that could not survive the night in the container.

Let me explain each insect here and new additions.

This is a Magicicada Septendecim Exoskeleton.

Also known as Periodical Cicadas; these specimens often look like giant locusts.

Although they are said not to bite or cause harm to plants; they only eat sap from deciduous trees.

These insects often lay their eggs deep in tree stems and it is advised not to destroy these insect eggs

because the larvae only eat sap and sense these insects burrow into the ground and sleep for seventeen years; they are not as abundant. Their absence in nature almost seems as if they went instinct.

 This is a Amphipyra pyramidoides Carcass i admittedly and sadly destroyed it's luster.

Luckily i took some decent photos before hand because this used to be my favorite peace.

( Lesson Learned: Don't glue moths to preserve them)

The Amphipyra pyramidoides is also known as the Copper under-wing.

these Pyramid Headed larvae are a result of a once a year brood.

They eat shrubbery such as including apple, basswood, hawthorn, maple,

oak, walnut, raspberry, and greenbrier.

This is a sugar ant that happened to be searching my monitor for sugar.

I was going to return it to the ant colony outside our house the fallowing day.

but the the poor bloke didn't survive sadly; so i preserved it.

This is a Toe-Winged Beetle.

these beetles live in rotten vegetation and rotten wood.

They do not bite and are quite harmless.

 These are the tiny unidentified insects that are just too tiny to decipher.

along with these  beetles below that may or may not be death watch beetles.

The next is the complete evolution of the Larder Beetle.

Note that i accidentally killed a pupae cause i thought an adult was in it.

a Larvae died most naturally as well as the adult Larder beetles i have.

it's starts with two adult Larder Beetles.

( I know; I have to figure our a better way to preserve them other then glue)

from the bottom left; that's a larvae in which produce a tune of molts which is on the bottom right.

when larvae is ready to pupate; it burrows into almost anything and becomes a pupae on the top left.

after a week or so they molt their larvae skin found on the middle left side.

a month later; they molt out of their pupae skin found on the middle right and become adults again.

This Folks is a Black Larder Beetle; a different species then the ones i have bread in the tank.

you can't see it by camera; but you can see a faint barely visible band over it's back

just like it's lighter cousin.

too bad this poor little one was found dead because i would have put it in the tank with the others.

founded today while hanging out clothes.

 Lastly; I believe this is a Phyllophaga Crinita.

Also known as a May or June Scarab Beetle.

Not much is known about these little critters.

But i'm so happy to own a Scarab Beetle.

Sadly i found him dead in a pale outside.

enjoy the rest of the photos.

This marks the end of my small bug collection.

I've Got Ants!!

But they're not in my pants. lol

I sent in a photo to fellow expert entomologist Walter Hintz

asking if these ants were carpenter ants.

 silly me forgot to add the photo as i generally do when i'm highly busy.

But when Walter received  this photo;  he had informed me that he could not

identify the suspects by photo. which was fine. So i asked curious questions

as i always do. 

this is my conclusion for ants that I've learned.

"keying ants down to species from a photo is difficult since fine details have to be observed and requires an expert in the Formicidae. You can also tell by their behavior and where they are found. Ants have varied appetites. Most are scavengers feeding on dead bugs. Leaf Cutters use three leaves to grow fungus that they eat. Army Ants are among the most dangerous animals in the jungle. If you were to fall incapacitated in front of them; they would eat you. There are also warning tribes that attack other colonies and take slaves and kill and eat others. Black ants in houses are sugar eaters and smaller red ones are grease eaters."
(Click To Read Actual Conversation Here)

So all and all; ants are rather difficult to decipher- but fun to watch.
so kick back, take a look and have fun watching
one of the scavengers in the insect world.

PSA- Your actions DO affect children.

I'd like to share a video with you first in which i happened upon.

Post by Funny Videos.

So many people forget that their actions DO affect the ulterior of a child. Children only learn by our example and the examples around us. I never said i was perfect; but if you can take the time to watch this- you can change your self or at least buffer your behavior in front of your child.

i can speak from experience when i used to watch my father and mother fighting over bills and such.

so pleas; just think.

Happy Independence Day!

So, I was about to go out and enjoy some fire works tonight. but i guess nature wanted to give us a very different set of fire works. i have no idea if fire works have been delayed or canceled. but we had a wonderful slightly tornadic thunder storm suddenly appear from across the US. 

here's a lovely short video and a bunch of pictures.

and if that's not enough to suffice you until i get to the ants, an update on the larder beetles and the next chapter on "For The Love Of Larder Beetles;" enjoy this twenty minute video of random clips I've collected.

Black-shouldered Spiny leg Dragonfly

(picture courtesy of  bugguide.net @ Hitching a ride)

Okay, my mother and I were going to the store and we stopped to rest like we normally do.

all of a sudden this insect randomly landed on my mother's arm.

Her first reaction was to panic and tell me to get it off and ask me it it bites. ( like i'm some entomologist; right?)  Non the less; instead of shooing the insect off her arm; I reached for her wrist and held it up to look at it closer until it flew away. I told her it was a baby dragon fly (even though i didn't know what it was). She thought it was a wasp and the day went until i was able to my computer.

I could have kicked my self though; because i had a feeling i should take my camera with me this morning. but as luck would have it; unfortunately i didn't take it with me.

But anyways; as i got to my computer i was going over the looks and size of this insect. I had never seen a dragon fly or damsel fly to be THAT short. usually they are about four to six inches long, right?

but this one was a tiny version. what on earth could it be? was it really a fly or some sort of  mockery?

I looked through the dragon fly pictures  and came to the one above. thank heavens it was marked and so i was able to learn the name of the species of dragon fly called  Black-Shouldered Spiny Leg Dragonfly. (Dromogomphus spinosus )

This species have long spines on their legs that help in the capture of prey. True to their name their shoulders are black. The dorsal thorax has a light green I-shaped mark with pale ovals on either side. Their flight time is between late May and early September from southern Manitoba to the east coast of the US as far as Florida. Terminal segments form a club with yellow lateral markings. Adults average 2.5 inches (64 mm)

so; why did it land on my mother? who knows? perhaps it needed a rest or  it was attracted to the array of blue and fleshy pink presented.

Lesson Learned today: bring my camera with me always. x3