Bugcore - Tumblr Posts
Anise swallowtail butterfly spreading and test-flapping its newly grown wings
A dead leaf which is actually a butterfly
Kallima inachus
why Do i have to Work A Job… why can’t i Just be little Bug… and munch on Leaf… oh the yearning…..
Vida's Sheep Jumping Spider: researchers believe that these tiny spiders developed their "woolly" appearance as a way to mimic lacewing larvae or scale insects
The scientific name for this species is Oviballus vidae, but it has also been referred to as the "sheepy jumping spider" or "Vida's jumping spider." It was discovered in 2015, and first described (in a formal context) back in 2020.
As this article (PDF) describes:
Recently, two new salticids, R. legitima and Oviballus vidae were described from South Africa, and suggested to be mimics of either scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) or lacewing larvae (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), due to their white colouration and the presence of peculiar tufts of white setae on the body.
The possibility of [scale insects] being the model is supported by Oviballus vidae being regularly collected from plants with woolly scales, although the movements of O. vidae quite closely resemble those of chrysopid larvae.
In fact, a fourth species of possible scale mimic, a new Rhene species, was recently discovered in a collection of salticids from southern Mozambique, indicating that this phenomenon may be more widespread than has previously been known or even suspected.
O. vidae was named after Vida van der Walt, the photographer who captured some of the first images of these spiders back in 2015, just after the species was discovered by Dr. Galina Azarkina. Vida van der Walt also took the photographs that appear in this post.
Sources & More Info:
Arthropoda Selecta (scientific journal): Rediscovery and Redescription of Rhene cooperi, another possible mimic of scale insects (PDF)
Spider Club of South Africa: Two New Species Named After SA Photographer (PDF, with the relevant info on page 5)
Field Guide to the Spiders of South Africa: Section on Vida's Sheep Jumping Spider
Abbott's Sphinx Moth: this caterpillar has a false eye on its rump; it mimics the features of a vertebrate's eye, and even includes a white reflection spot
The formal name for this species is Sphecodina abbottii.
From Minnesota Seasons:
The caterpillar is up to 3″ (7.5 cm) long. Middle stage (instar) caterpillars are whitish to bluish-green. In place of the horn found on other sphinx caterpillars, there is a raised orange knob on the eighth abdominal segment (A8). Final instar caterpillars come in two color forms. The brown color form has longitudinal streaks of light and dark brown mimicking the color of a woody vine. The green form has on each abdominal segment a large, pale green, saddle-shaped spot on the upper side and a similar smaller spot on each side. The pattern is said to mimic a bunch of unripe grapes. Both forms have a black, raised, eye-like knob on A8 complete with a small white spot mimicking reflected light.
When the caterpillar is pinched or poked, it often squeaks and bites at the attacker.
The fully-developed moth also has a unique appearance -- it has an ash-grey/blue coloration with streaks of pink and black.
Sources & More Info:
Encyclopedia of Life: Sphecodina abbottii
Insect Identification: Abbott's Sphinx Moth
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Saukeville Field Station
Minnesota Seasons: Abbott's Sphinx Moth
University of Minnesota Garden Extension: Abbott's Sphinx
🐌☕️ ☕️🐛
they’re on a coffee date
Moth Of The Day #272
Coenobasis amoena
From the limacodidae family. There is little to no information recorded about this moth.
Image sources: [1] [2]
Moth Of The Day #291
Larch Tolype / Larch Lappet Moth
Tolype laricis
From the lasiocampidae family. They can be found in eastern North America.
Image source: [1] [2]
Please could you show the world my favourite moth, Moma alpium, the Scarce merveille du jour? Its very special to me, and I hope others can appreciate it too.
Moth Of The Day #270
Scarce Merveille du Jour
Moma alpium
From the noctuidae family. They have a wingspan of 30-35 mm. They can be found in the Palearctic Realm.
Image sources: [1] [2]
Moth Of The Day #251
Marbled Emperor
Heniocha dyops
From the saturniidae family. They can be found in Angola, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania.
Image sources: [1] [2] [3] [4]
Moth Of The Day #212
Lily Moth / Indian Lily Moth
Polytela gloriosae
From the noctuidae family. They have a wingspan of about 29 mm. They are found in Sri Lanka and possibly Indonesia.
Image sources: [1] [2]
today's bug thing is the Love Grub plush bag!
What a terrible world we live in where you can google wild plants or bugs because you're interested in them and the first results are all "how do I kill this"
I normally enjoy millipedes more but this guy is adorable-
My aesthetic is basically a fucked up Pathologist in love with creepy shit that lives in a abandoned over run with his best friend millipede, while looking for animal corpses each day outside of his hospital to clean them up and make then all pretty and to give them a home in his abandoned hospital.