Arthropods! I love arthropods. And not just because they are horrifying and make the alien from Alien look humane. Because some of the stuff that goes on in that phylum is just gross and other stuff is plain horrifying.
But anyway, happy arthropod things!
My home state of California holds the record for the species of myriapod with the most legs.
Suck it, everywhere else!
Oh that's just showing off. No one needs that many segments. It's the arthropod equivalent of driving a humvee.
My ex girlfriend told me a proper horror story about ticks.
When she was a teenager she and a few friends drove to a reservoir in upstate Massachusetts and a mild winter caused the tick population to be especially robust. After finding ticks crawling along their legs they got freaked out and decided to cut their excursion short and head back for home.
When they got back in their car and turned it over, all of the ticks that had crawled into the car's engine compartment (because of the warmth, perhaps?) decided to crawl out...
...through the ventilation system.
So there they were, trying to back out of a parking space, when ticks started crawling out of every vent along the dashboard.
+8
Metzger MeisterIt Gets Worsebefore it gets any better.Registered Userregular
Speaking of cephalopods, the coolest thing I have ever seen an invertebrate do was when I was in Zanzibar. My little brother and I found a fish trap along the beach and decided to check it out, because when you're thirteen and you find a huge tribal-esque machine lying unattended the Myst instincts you've cultivated since childhood kick in. So we walked out to the corner of the fish trap. There weren't any big fish, but there were a few tiny reef fish that had set up homes in the thatch work. Some of the reef fish were acting skittish about something, which at first glance looked like the seaweed around them moving to attack.
The bits of seaweed, I figured out pretty quickly, were little cuttlefish about the size of my thumb. They were flashing their camouflage on and off as a signalling method while attacking and working in a kill team to take out their fishy neighbors. Literally a pack hunting behavior.
My ex girlfriend told me a proper horror story about ticks.
When she was a teenager she and a few friends drove to a reservoir in upstate Massachusetts and a mild winter caused the tick population to be especially robust. After finding ticks crawling along their legs they got freaked out and decided to cut their excursion short and head back for home.
When they got back in their car and turned it over, all of the ticks that had crawled into the car's engine compartment (because of the warmth, perhaps?) decided to crawl out...
...through the ventilation system.
So there they were, trying to back out of a parking space, when ticks started crawling out of every vent along the dashboard.
i just had to get out of my seat and brush myself off in a total panic.
For reference:
This is a picture of a similar fish trap, though the one with the cuttlefish was smaller (about 1m diameter). For about 25m on each side the sides extend out in a perpendicular pair of lines, funneling in fish as the tide goes out (rather violently on the tidal flats, which is why it works). Or at least that's what my brother and I deduced.
Arthropods! I love arthropods. And not just because they are horrifying and make the alien from Alien look humane. Because some of the stuff that goes on in that phylum is just gross and other stuff is plain horrifying.
But anyway, happy arthropod things!
My home state of California holds the record for the species of myriapod with the most legs.
Suck it, everywhere else!
Oh that's just showing off. No one needs that many segments. It's the arthropod equivalent of driving a humvee.
Nah, she's just a bit confused about fashion.
"Boys like two legs right? Then they will go crazy for SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN OF THEM!"
I was about to say "there are several different species, including a spider, which are harvestmen..."
Then I remembered that actually there are several species, including a spider and harvestmen, that are called daddy longlegs. Not the other way around.
seriously that thing is like a crab, a spider, a facehugger and a dinosaur all in one. it literally kicks in every gol dang predator panic reaction in a human while deserving exactly NONE of them
Their eggs have sugary lumps on them, so ants take them into their nests.
When they hatch, they look like ants so the real ants look after them.
Is that a Maclay stick insect? We have some of them at the zoo, including a load of babies. I love how they wobble around to try and look like leaves moving in the wind, makes them look drunk.
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Oh that's just showing off. No one needs that many segments. It's the arthropod equivalent of driving a humvee.
When she was a teenager she and a few friends drove to a reservoir in upstate Massachusetts and a mild winter caused the tick population to be especially robust. After finding ticks crawling along their legs they got freaked out and decided to cut their excursion short and head back for home.
When they got back in their car and turned it over, all of the ticks that had crawled into the car's engine compartment (because of the warmth, perhaps?) decided to crawl out...
...through the ventilation system.
So there they were, trying to back out of a parking space, when ticks started crawling out of every vent along the dashboard.
The bits of seaweed, I figured out pretty quickly, were little cuttlefish about the size of my thumb. They were flashing their camouflage on and off as a signalling method while attacking and working in a kill team to take out their fishy neighbors. Literally a pack hunting behavior.
immigrant spiders all hanging out in kiwi backyards giving the local invertebrates shit about shagging sheep
i just had to get out of my seat and brush myself off in a total panic.
never tell this story again.
For reference:
This is a picture of a similar fish trap, though the one with the cuttlefish was smaller (about 1m diameter). For about 25m on each side the sides extend out in a perpendicular pair of lines, funneling in fish as the tide goes out (rather violently on the tidal flats, which is why it works). Or at least that's what my brother and I deduced.
Nah, she's just a bit confused about fashion.
"Boys like two legs right? Then they will go crazy for SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN OF THEM!"
that's why I called them by what they are
I was about to say "there are several different species, including a spider, which are harvestmen..."
Then I remembered that actually there are several species, including a spider and harvestmen, that are called daddy longlegs. Not the other way around.
Coconut crabs are friggin huge.
Also known as the "Hamburger Tailed Crab."
I'd put a leash on it.
racist
offical badass crab
My Steam
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
It's pretty big I guess, as crabs go.
Rhinoceros beetles. The Gimli of the insect kingdom.
I've wanted one since I was like 12.
they look like this
they live here
you can read more about them here
Steam | Twitter
Their eggs have sugary lumps on them, so ants take them into their nests.
When they hatch, they look like ants so the real ants look after them.
If you were wondering why mantises have that pupil like spot that follows you on their big compound eyes.
So basically, we're friends if our eyes are the same?
That's super racist.
Is that a Maclay stick insect? We have some of them at the zoo, including a load of babies. I love how they wobble around to try and look like leaves moving in the wind, makes them look drunk.
I'd make my bathtub a giant boiling pot.
Did the ants migrate there on their own or did people bring 'em there?
a lot of invasive insect species sneak in that way
like the brown marmorated stink bug, for an example you might unfortunately be able to find in your own backyard
I know they're agricultural pests but I also think they're cute so I can never bring myself to kill them