Casside dorée / Golden tortoise beetle - Charidotella sexpunctata Commonplace in North America, the golden tortoise beetle is able to change the transparency of its shell from jewel-like to clear with the use of microscopic valves that control moisture under the shell. It can usually be found on morning glories, its favorite food. un petit coléoptère orangé recouvert d’un liquide visqueux qui lui donne une apparence dorée ; elle possède l’étonnante faculté de changer de couleur avec la température : orange le matin quand il fait frais, puis iridescente quand le soleil réchauffe l’atmosphère.
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Casside dorée / Golden tortoise beetle - Charidotella sexpunctata

Commonplace in North America, the golden tortoise beetle is able to change the transparency of its shell from jewel-like to clear with the use of microscopic valves that control moisture under the shell. It can usually be found on morning glories, its favorite food.

un petit coléoptère orangé recouvert d’un liquide visqueux qui lui donne une apparence dorée ; elle possède l’étonnante faculté de changer de couleur avec la température : orange le matin quand il fait frais, puis iridescente quand le soleil réchauffe l’atmosphère.

Fourmis en 3 D / Ants in 3-D

1. Ponera pennsylvanica

This one may look familiar — if you look through ants through a microscope, anyway. This ant is found throughout the American midwest and east, and it’s abundant wherever there is moist soil. It is found on lawns, gardens, fields, thickets and other grassy areas.

In grasslands, P. pennsylvanica nests in the root-zone of sedges or grasses. In woodland, it nests in soil, in soft, rotten wood, and often in old acorns.

2. Dorylus kohli

This shiny black ant is found throughout Africa, India, southeast Asia and Indonesia. This one came from Ivory Coast.

3. Cephalotes grandinosus

This ant is found in Costa Rica, Brazil and Bolivia and appears to be rare in Costa Rica. It is found in the rainforest canopy and understory.

4. Acanthomyrmex concavus

This species of ant is found on the island of Borneo and is polymorphous: there’s a large-headed “major” form, seen here, and a “minor” form.

(via expose-the-light)

Antennes de Culex / Culex (Mosquito) Antennae The male mosquito has large bushy antennae, which he uses to listen for the buzz of a potential mate. He responds only to the humming frequency given by a female of the same species and will fly in the direction of the sound to mate with her. Male mosquitoes do not bite, but feed on plant juices and flower nectar. Only female mosquitoes bite animals and require a blood meal.
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Antennes de Culex / Culex (Mosquito) Antennae

The male mosquito has large bushy antennae, which he uses to listen for the buzz of a potential mate. He responds only to the humming frequency given by a female of the same species and will fly in the direction of the sound to mate with her. Male mosquitoes do not bite, but feed on plant juices and flower nectar. Only female mosquitoes bite animals and require a blood meal.

(via micro-scopic)

Ancolie et Sphinx du tabac / Columbine and hawkmoth - Aquilegia longissima New research at Harvard and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), helps to explain how columbines have achieved a rapid radiation of approximately 70 species, with flowers apparently tailored to the length of their pollinators’ tongues. Bees, for example, enjoy the short spurs of Aquilegia vulgaris, whereas hawkmoths favor A. longissima, whose spurs can grow to up to 16 centimeters. photographie de Scott A. Hodges/UCSB source : Tailored to fit, Harvard Science November 2011
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Ancolie et Sphinx du tabac / Columbine and hawkmoth - Aquilegia longissima

New research at Harvard and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), helps to explain how columbines have achieved a rapid radiation of approximately 70 species, with flowers apparently tailored to the length of their pollinators’ tongues.

Bees, for example, enjoy the short spurs of Aquilegia vulgaris, whereas hawkmoths favor A. longissima, whose spurs can grow to up to 16 centimeters.

photographie de Scott A. Hodges/UCSB

source : Tailored to fit, Harvard Science November 2011

Peacock mite A micrograph of a peacock mite (Tuckerella sp.) on a tea stem, taken by a low-temperature scanning electron microscope at 260X magnification. The peacock mites, an important pest on citrus in the tropics, are so named because of the elaborate ornamentations adorning the dorsal surface of their bodies. They possess five to seven pairs of whip-like setae which are used to defend themselves against predators. They may also help in wind-borne dispersal. photographie de Christopher Pooley, USDA-ARS
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Peacock mite

A micrograph of a peacock mite (Tuckerella sp.) on a tea stem, taken by a low-temperature scanning electron microscope at 260X magnification. The peacock mites, an important pest on citrus in the tropics, are so named because of the elaborate ornamentations adorning the dorsal surface of their bodies. They possess five to seven pairs of whip-like setae which are used to defend themselves against predators. They may also help in wind-borne dispersal.

photographie de Christopher Pooley, USDA-ARS