Tags
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
23 Thursday Feb 2012
Posted entomology, free wallpaper, millipede, pet insects, photographs
inTags
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
08 Wednesday Feb 2012
Posted entomology, millipede, pet insects, photographs
inMeet Miranda, Millicent’s sister…
Such a lively Giant Millipede, antenae bobbing everywhere, numerous legs travelling in all directions…and they say cats are curious!
She was very curious about reaching the desk and at attempting to cross the pc keyboard.
Miranda loved hiding in my hair.
I do love my jewellery, ‘specially chokers! 😉
*********************
Handling giant millipedes: Always wash your hands before + after handling these (and any) creatures. Giant millys are quite heavy and can easily fall, it’s a good idea to handle them carefully while sitting in case they do lose their grip.
They make great pets for children and adults with allergies.
*********************
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
27 Friday Jan 2012
Posted entomology, wild beetles
inTags
21:00 18 January 2012 by Rowan Hooper
—————————————————–
The ancient Egyptians would have nodded sagely: scarab beetles perform a dance to the sun atop a ball of dung. They’re not worshipping a sun god, though: the beetles dance to orient themselves and – crucially – to roll their dung ball in a straight line.
Dung beetles were sacred in ancient Egypt, their dung-rolling linked with the nocturnal activity of Khepri, the god of the rising sun. Khepri was supposed to roll the sun through the underworld at night, pushing it over the horizon in the morning. Now Emily Baird of Lund University in Sweden and colleagues have shown that a diurnal dung beetle in South Africa (Scarabaeus nigroaeneus) uses celestial cues to ensure it keeps going in a straight line away from the dung pile.
Beetles collect dung from a pile and form it into manageable balls. Making a ball costs time and energy, and competition for dung can be intense, so it’s best for a beetle not to hang around when it’s got a precious new ball ready to roll.
“As a fresh dung pat can attract many beetles, it is necessary for individual beetles to try to avoid the others that may try to steal their ball,” says Baird. “To do this, the beetles roll their ball away from the dung pile in the most efficient manner possible. That is, in a straight line.”
When beetles have fashioned their ball, they climb to the top and “dance” – actually rotate on the surface – before returning to the ground and pushing. Their aim is to find a suitable patch of ground where they can bury the ball and eat it. The beetles shove the ball facing backwards, with their head down and rear legs pushing the dung.
Through an ingenious series of experiments, the biologists found that the beetles perform the dance before moving away from the dung pile, and also when they encounter an obstacle or lose control of the ball. Baird’s team sent the beetles down semicircular tunnels to put them off course, made them roll balls down rotating pathways, and used a mirror to change the apparent position of the sun. In both cases, most beetles performed the orientation dance before changing the direction they pushed the ball.
“Similar behaviours are seen in ants, which rotate about their vertical axis to memorise landmarks near the nest, and sandhoppers, [small seashore crustaceans] which rotate back and forth to find a particular magnetic orientation,” says Baird.
Journal reference: PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030211
This is the full article *HERE*.
*i love flower beetles blog* is now on Facebook!*
19 Thursday Jan 2012
Posted entomology, wild beetles
inTags
beetle, discovered beetles, discovered insects, entomology, ground beetle, leaf beetle, long-horned beetle, new beetles, new insects, rove beetle, scarab beetle
According to the latest State of Observed Species report, in 2011 a total of 19,232 new living species were discovered!
Unsurprisingly, insects and invertebrates made up the vast majority of the newly discovered species, totaling 13,903 previously unknown species.
Beetles were the most common discoveries, accounting for 3,485 in all, including 568 rove beetles, 421 ground beetles, 369 long-horned beetles, 356 leaf beetles, and 228 scarab beetles.
You can read more of this article *HERE*.
*i love flower beetles blog* is now on Facebook!*
04 Wednesday Jan 2012
Tags
2012 beetles, beetle blog, beetle video, beetles, entomology, flower beetles, iloveflowerbeetles, insects, www.flowerbeetles.com
I’ve yet to own a good quality camcorder or a camera that does macro, anyway, I put together a few of my MANY pet beetle photographs together in a short video. I hope you enjoy it.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
17 Wednesday Aug 2011
Posted entomology, flower beetles, free wallpaper, pet insects, photographs
in.…and a purple one (Smaragdesthes Africana oertzeni – phew! Long name for little beetle).
Last week they fed on kiwi slices and berries. However they do prefer their beetle jelly.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Thank you for dropping by! 😀
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
13 Saturday Aug 2011
Tags
entomology, exotic beetle, flower beetle, Pachnoda Sinuata, Smaragdesthes african oertzeni, Stephanorrhina Julia
[The above 2 x photos: not great photographs I know, a little blurred, but I wanted to show you the small group – Stephanorrhina Julia (left), Smaragdesthes African Oertzeni (right), and, middle-left, Pachnoda Sinuata.]
You’re not really supposed to ‘mix’ them because of the possibility of the species cross-breeding. I haven’t experienced that though (yet). I primarily keep beetles for pets and not for selling so it isn’t too important to me. If and when I do swap / sell any beetles I’ll sell them as adults then noone can be disappointed!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Many more new photos to follow!! 😀
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
06 Saturday Aug 2011
Posted entomology, pet insects, photographs
inOne of the Blue Sagras (Thai Frog beetle) came out onto the roof. They’re always climbing the walls with their amazing ‘sticky’ feet and often hang upside down from the ceiling.
When I gently touch their backs sometimes their frog shaped legs kick out and up. Is this a warning to other insects to back off?
They’re quite happy to climb onto my hand. More often than not, it’s a job to get them off and back into the viv!
[Above photo: feeding a Sagra a little beetle jelly in the palm of my hand.]
24 Sunday Jul 2011
Posted entomology, flower beetles, photographs
inTags
African beetles, Andre, Andre's beetles, Andre's blog, aphelorrhina bella, beetle identification, entomology, exotic beetles, pet beetles, Stephanorrhina bella, Stephanorrhina Julia
[Photo taken by Andre of Pet Insects]
There’s an easy mistake to be made when identifying certain beetles. The Stephanorrhinas, as Andre found out, are examples of how confusing it can be with getting the names right – and although there are some on the ‘net claiming to be beetle experts, Andre really does know what he’s talking about.
Spot the difference…
The differences are subtle and certainly not well defined, as can be seen in the photo above of the Stephanorrhina julia and Stephanorrhina bella (or Aphelorrhina bella).
*******
Andre currently has different beetles for sale *HERE* They are limited in number, so be quick if you’re serious 🙂
To those of you who don’t know, this person is responsible for me getting ‘the Bug’ ( hehe 😀 ). If you have any questions, Andre is happy to supply you with factsheets.
23 Saturday Jul 2011
Posted beetle groups, entomology, flower beetles, pet insects
inTags
beetle board, beetle discussion, beetle forum, beetle group, entomology, flower beetle, jewel beetle, pet beetle, scarab
This NEW forum I’ve started is only about beetles – usually exotic beetles which are kept as pets. Although discussions about wild beetles and millipedes are ok too. Why is this? There are already forums out there for people who keep other exotic insects / critters, such as spiders, praying mantis etc.
Please note this isn’t a wild beetle identifying site! There are other sites that cater to this…such as the Bug Group on Yahoo.
So…if you already keep exotic beetles or are thinking of getting any, why not buzz on over to the Exotic Beetles Forum? 😉
PS. Spiders will be automatically banned.
 http://exoticbeetles.lefora.com/