platycryptus

[platycryptus]

A Rhyssella nitida ichneumon wasp ovipositing in a dead pine log!

A smaller relative of the more well-known giant ichneumons in the genus Megarhyssa, they also parasitize wood-boring sawflies but target smaller species.

(Massachusetts, 5/29/25)

[platycryptus]

Look at this beautiful green soldier fly (Odontomyia cincta) that landed on my hand while I was sitting next to a pond!

Soldier flies are best known for the species that feed on decaying matter like manure and compost, but O. cincta is one of many where the larvae are aquatic and feed primarily on algae.

(Massachusetts, 6/17/22)

[platycryptus]

The long-headed toothpick grasshopper (Achurum carinatum) lives and feeds among tall grass in the southeast US.

They’re flightless and not very fast or agile by grasshopper standards, but like a stick insect their camouflage seems to make up for it!

In Florida, they breed year-round and are abundant in this prairie habitat in January when few other insects are active.

[platycryptus]

Spitting spider (Scytodes alayoi) guarding her small clutch of eggs under a palm frond

(Florida, 1/24/25)

[platycryptus]

An earth-boring dung beetle (probably Geotrupes hornii or G. balyi) I saw flying around before landing in a sandy clearing

(Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 8/3/24)

[platycryptus]

Day 2 of my 2024 favorites: Myrmecoblatta wheeleri, Wheeler's Ant Cockroach.

Very small perfect little golden nugget, found scurrying amongst a nest of Florida Carpenter Ants. Just a very rarely seen little guy. 🧡

[platycryptus]

Time-lapse of Paraphrynus cubensis amblypygids hatching from the eggsac attached to their mother’s underside and climbing on her back.

[platycryptus]

whatever. Go my scarab

[platycryptus]

a twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella) staking out his territory by a pond

(Massachusetts, 8/29/24)

[platycryptus]

a mite (Daemaeidae sp.) feeding on Stemonitopsis typhina by Barry Webb

[platycryptus]

Spilomyia fusca, large hoverfly that does an excellent job of mimicking a bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata). Really neat fly that I’ve wanted to see for a while!

In the second clip, taken just moments after, you can see a real D. maculata butchering a horsefly. Flies are common prey for the hornets, so the mimicry of S. fusca might afford it some protection from its own model as well as other predators.

(Massachusetts, 8/17/24)

[platycryptus]

Velvet ants are so common in the Florida sand that I don't always give them a second look (unless they're miniscule), but this one caught my eye because it suddenly buried itself in the sand, by scooting backwards. 👀👀

Brachynemurus nebulosus - an ant lion mimicking velvet ants!

[platycryptus]

Two male Platycryptus undatus I saw having a territorial dance-off

I think the one on the right might’ve backed down because he’s holding prey and would rather enjoy his meal in peace

(Massachusetts, 8/5/24)

[platycryptus]

Gnamptopelta obsidianator is a large ichneumon wasp whose coloration mimics a spider wasp (Entypus).

It’s a specialized parasitoid of sphinx moth caterpillars, especially those in the subfamily Macroglossinae (such as Eumorpha species). Many of these caterpillars feed on grapevine and related plants, so G. obsidianator seeks out those plants to find hosts.

(Massachusetts, 6/6/24)

[platycryptus]

It’s a fly-eat-fly world out there… in the sandy scrubland of central Florida, a hanging thief robberfly (Diogmites esuriens) devours a beefly (Exoprosopa fascipennis).

Interestingly enough, the beefly is a parasitoid that lays eggs in the nests of sand wasps (Bembix), which are themselves specialist hunters of flies including both beeflies and robberflies (though I’m not sure whether this hanging thief is too formidable to be on the wasps’ menu). Insect food webs are amazingly convoluted.

(9/30/23)

[platycryptus]

Metrobates hesperius is a small, wingless water strider that forms large swarms on the surface of lakes and rivers, feeding on insects that fall in.

Their swarming behavior and erratic movements might help them avoid being picked out as a target by predators, like the dragonflies I saw flying past and trying to pluck them from the water.

(Massachusetts, 7/9/24)

[platycryptus]

adult male brilliant jumping spider (Phidippus clarus)

(Massachusetts, 7/6/24)