Tag: bugs

kearunning:

khrysdiebee:

b33tl3b0y:

lovely palmetto tortoise beetle sons. look at their sweet feets, look at their darling dimples

LOOK AT THE LITTLE FEET

These little feet are not only pretty, they are extremely functional! 

Like a gecko, this tortoise beetle (Hemisphaerota cyaneae) sticks to surfaces using many many tiny hairs on it’s feet! The hairs are coated in oil, and the combined surface tension of the oil keeps the beetle stuck down. When faced with danger (Ants!), the beetle clamps down and will not be moved. 

I remembered reading this in a book once, and after a bit of research I found it! In Tomas Eisner’s For Love of Insects, (phenomenal book, btw), he showcases an experiment where researchers tested the strength of this little beetle’s feet using a pulley system, wax, and a succession of larger weights. The beetle was able to withstand 2g of lift-pressure, 148x its own body weight! So yes, please do look at their feet, they are really amazing. 

grossscience:

This is the coolest video you’ll see today—gorgeous time-lapse of bug-eating plants growing and consuming their prey.

While you may have only heard of a few types of carnivorous plant, like the famous Venus flytrap, there are actually around 600 species of these guys worldwide, with a bunch of different feeding strategies.

On a personal note, this year for Mother’s Day I bought my mom a pitcher plant—another common carnivorous plant. She loved it. Clearly we are related.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)