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Green Darner
The green darner or common green darner (''Anax junius''), after its resemblance to a darning needle, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. One of the most common and abundant species throughout North America, it also ranges south to Panama. It is well known for its great migration distance from the northern United States south into Texas and Mexico. It also occurs in the Caribbean, Tahiti, and Asia from Japan to mainland China. It is the official insect for the state of Washington in the United States. The green darner is one of the largest extant dragonflies; males grow to in length with a wingspan up to . Females oviposit in aquatic vegetation, eggs laid beneath the water surface. Nymphs (naiads) are aquatic carnivores, feeding on insects, tadpoles, and small fish. Adult darners catch insects on the wing, including ant alates, moths, mosquitoes, and flies. Taxonomy Dru Drury described this species as ''Libellula junius'' in 1773. There are not currently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dru Drury
Dru Drury (4 February 1724 – 15 December 1803) was a British collector of natural history specimens and an entomologist. He had specimens collected from across the world through a network of ship's officers and collectors including Henry Smeathman. His collections were utilized by many entomologists of his time to describe and name new species and is best known for his book ''Illustrations of natural history'' which includes the names and descriptions of many insects, published in parts from 1770 to 1782 with copperplate engravings by Moses Harris. Life Dru Drury was born in Lad Lane, Wood Street, London where his father, also Dru [also given as "Drew"] Drury (1688–1763), was a Freedom of the City of London, citizen, goldsmith and silversmith of the City of London, and his second wife Mary, daughter of Dr Hesketh, chaplain to Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne. The elder Dru Drury's grandfather, William, Lord of the Manor of Colne, Cambridgeshire, Colne (Drurys mano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nymph (biology)
In biology, a nymph is the immature form of some invertebrates, particularly insects, which undergoes gradual metamorphosis (hemimetabolism) before reaching its adult stage. Unlike a typical larva, a nymph's overall form already resembles that of the adult, except for a lack of wings (in winged species). In addition, while a nymph moults, it never enters a pupal stage. Instead, the final moult results in an adult insect. Nymphs undergo multiple stages of development called instars. This is the case, for example, in Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers and locusts), Hemiptera (cicadas, shield bugs, whiteflies, aphids, leafhoppers, froghoppers, treehoppers etc.), mayflies, termites, cockroaches, mantises, stoneflies and Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies). Nymphs of aquatic insects, as in the Odonata, Ephemeroptera, and Plecoptera, are also called naiads, an Ancient Greek name for mythological water nymphs. Usage of the term 'naiad' is no longer popular among entomologists, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isotope Analysis
Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, abundance of certain stable isotopes of chemical elements within organic and inorganic compounds. Isotopic analysis can be used to understand the flow of energy through a food web, to reconstruct past environmental and climatic conditions, to investigate human and animal diets, for food authentification, and a variety of other physical, geological, palaeontological and chemical processes. Stable isotope ratios are measured using mass spectrometry, which separates the different isotopes of an element on the basis of their mass-to-charge ratio. Tissues affected Isotopic oxygen is incorporated into the body primarily through ingestion at which point it is used in the formation of, for archaeological purposes, bones and teeth. The oxygen is incorporated into the hydroxylcarbonic apatite of bone and tooth enamel. Bone is continually remodelled throughout the lifetime of an individual. Although the rate of tur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variegated Meadowhawk
The variegated meadowhawk (''Sympetrum corruptum'') is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to North America. Description The variegated meadowhawk is a small to medium-sized dragonfly with a slender abdomen, often reaching a length of 15/8" (41 mm) to 111/12" (49 mm). The male is commonly dark brownish black with an abdomen of bright red, pink, and golden brown. The thorax may be marked with a pair of yellow dots on each side. The leading edges of the wings are marked with pinkish. The females are similar in color but not as brightly colored, with gray and yellow replacing the red of the male. Young variegated meadowhawks are much paler and mottled with pale green, pale yellow, golden brown, and orange. Range and migration This species is found from British Columbia and Ontario areas south through much of the United States to southern California and Florida. It migrates as far south as Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a coun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantala Hymenaea
''Pantala hymenaea'' (spot-winged glider) is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. It is a migratory species and is native to North, Central and South America, travelling widely and breeding in temporary water bodies. It looks very similar to the wandering glider, with the addition of a dark basal spot on the hindwing. It is a common species with a very large range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being of "least concern". Description ''P. hymenaea,'' otherwise known as the spot-winged glider, is a robust species with a cylindrical abdomen and broad hindwings. Its length is about and its wingspan . The eyes are red and the face is also red in breeding males. The general body color is brown, and females and immatures have a diagonal white marking on the thorax. There is a small dark brown spot at the base of the hindwings which distinguishes this species from the otherwise similar wandering glider (''Pantala flavescens''). Distribution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantala Flavescens
''Pantala flavescens'', the globe skimmer, globe wanderer or wandering glider, is a wide-ranging dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. This species and ''Pantala hymenaea'', the "spot-winged glider", are the only members of the genus ''Pantala''. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798. It is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet with good population on every continent except Antarctica although rare in Europe. Globe skimmers make an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km (about 11,200 miles); to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km (3,730 miles)—one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species. Characteristics Structure of the adult The dragonfly is up to 4.5 cm long, reaching wingspans between 7.2 cm and 8.4 cm. The front side of the head is yellowish to reddish. The thorax is usually yellow to golden coloured with a dark and hairy line. There were a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Saddlebags
The black saddlebags (''Tramea lacerata'') is a species of skimmer dragonfly found throughout North America. It has distinctive wings with characteristic black blotches at their proximal ends, which make the dragonfly look as though it is wearing saddlebags. The black saddlebags is a relatively large dragonfly at about 5 centimeters in length. The body is thin and black, and the female may have lighter spotting or mottling dorsally. The head is much wider than the rest of the body and is dark brown in color. The insect can be found at bodies of stagnant water, such as ponds and ditches. Reproduction Like all dragonflies, ''Tramea lacerata'' pairs mate in the "wheel" position. The female mates once and stores all the sperm she needs for fertilization. If she should mate again, the second male will remove the sperm of the first male from her body with the brush-like apparatus on his specially-adapted penis. During egg laying, the male releases the female so she can drop down to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asilidae
The Asilidae are the robber fly family, also called assassin flies. They are powerfully built, bristly flies with a short, stout proboscis enclosing the sharp, sucking hypopharynx. The name "robber flies" reflects their notoriously aggressive predatory habits; they feed mainly or exclusively on other insects and, as a rule, they wait in ambush and catch their prey in flight. Overview The Asilidae are a family in the order Diptera, the true flies. The common name for members of the family is the robber flies. The Asilidae are cosmopolitan, with over 7000 described species. Latreille was the authority for establishing the family in 1802. The Asilidae, together with Bombyliidae and Therevidae, are the most representative families of the superfamily of Asiloidea and they form one of the most characteristic groups of the lower Brachycera. Robber flies have stout, spiny legs and three simple eyes (ocelli) in a characteristic depression on the tops of their head between their two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comet Darner
The comet darner (''Anax longipes'') is a common species of dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in North America and Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its o .... Description The comet darner is a large dragonfly and has a green thorax and bright red abdomen. Females have a brownish abdomen patterned with blue spots. Distribution and habitat Comet darners are found in shallow lakes and ponds which tend to have extensive beds and grasses and lack fish. They are found along the eastern United States from Missouri, Michigan, New England and some even further north.Paulson, Dennis (2009). ''Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West.'' p.233. Endangered status Its endangered status is of least concern. References Aeshnidae Insects described in 1861 {{Aeshnidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Morphology
Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insects from other arthropods: they have a body divided into three regions (called tagmata) (head, thorax, and abdomen), have three pairs of legs, and mouthparts located ''outside'' of the head capsule. It is this position of the mouthparts which divides them from their closest relatives, the non-insect hexapods, which includes Protura, Diplura, and Collembola. There is enormous variation in body structure amongst insect species. Individuals can range from 0.3 mm (fairyflies) to 30 cm across ( great owlet moth); have no eyes or many; well-developed wings or none; and legs modified for running, jumping, swimming, or even digging. These modifications allow insects to occupy almost every ecological niche on the planet, except the deep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "little fly". Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, one pair of wings, one pair of halteres, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and elongated mouthparts. The mosquito life cycle consists of egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. Eggs are laid on the water surface; they hatch into motile larvae that feed on aquatic algae and organic material. These larvae are important food sources for many freshwater animals, such as dragonfly nymphs, many fish, and some birds such as ducks. The adult females of most species have tube-like mouthparts (called a proboscis) that can pierce the skin of a host and feed on blood, which contains protein and iron needed to produce eggs. Thousands of mosquito species feed on the blood of various hosts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species. Differences between butterflies and moths While the butterflies form a monophyletic group, the moths, comprising the rest of the Lepidoptera, do not. Many attempts have been made to group the superfamilies of the Lepidoptera into natural groups, most of which fail because one of the two groups is not monophyletic: Microlepidoptera and Macrolepidoptera, Heterocera and Rhopalocera, Jugatae and Frenatae, Monotrysia and Ditrysia.Scoble, MJ 1995. The Lepidoptera: Form, function and diversity. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 404 p. Although the rules for distinguishing moths from butterflies are not well establishe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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