I counted five mantis in our yard on Tuesday. Here are two of the better pictures I was able to capture. Click for closer view.

A brown speckled mantis perched on a creeping vine in our front yard:

A gorgeous white mantis patiently watching the bees buzz around his head:

Assassin bug looking badass next to small purple flower

Assassin bugs are awesome predators. Similar to the giant water bug, all of the nearly 3,000 species of assassin bug have a powerful tubelike rostrum (aka "tube of death", as I fancy it should be called) that is used to pierce prey.

An Assassin bug attacks it's prey quickly and efficiently, gripping the unsuspecting bug with it's sticky forearms and deftly sliding it's rostrum into the victim. Using the strawlike rostrum now inserted deep into it's victim the assassin pumps the bug full of venomous digestive fluid that instantly begins to dissolve tissue and organs. Within seconds the hapless prey is dead and the assassin can slurp back the contents of the bug as if it were a yummy bug-flavored milkshake.

How cool is that?! Mantis usually lay eggs in the fall, and once the weather warms up the eggs take 6-8 weeks to hatch. Keep your eyes open out there - lots of very cool bugs to see as summer gets into full swing!

Now that the weather has warmed up the company has shipped them, and since their arrival two days ago Libby has been fascinated with the little bugs:

Like other orb-weavers (family Araneidae), this species has three claws per foot (one more than most spiders). Orb-weavers use this third claw to help handle the threads while spinning. When disturbed, the spider might first vibrate the web to try to make its body look bigger, but if that fails to deter a predator she will drop to the ground and hide. *

When I was shucking the corn from this week's trip to the market I found another little critter that seemed to enjoy eating the corn as much as we do (click for bigger pic):

It's called a Corn Earworm (aka Helicoverpa zea). This is just the larva - eventually this little guy will grow into a large moth.

Curious, I zoomed in and noticed that this little guy was really turning to LOOK RIGHT AT ME! Gagh... the only thing scarier than a spider is a smart spider!

Freakin' huge jumping spider

Approximately 10 seconds after snapping the above picture this gigantic, hairy, soon-to-be-airborne spider launches itself at me with all eight legs sprawled like the face suckers from Aliens.

Needless to say I did the only thing a real man would: I squealed like a little girl, dropped the camera, and stumbled into the picnic table behind me. Good times, good times.

Shannon's purple flowers are completely gone and our reddish trees and bushes are beginning to look like swiss cheese. I'll be picking up some Sevin (carbaryl) on my way home from work tomorrow. The pesticide does not last for very long: I'll need to re-spray every 7-10 days (or anytime it rains). I'll also need to watch the aphid and mite populations because over-application of Sevin can lead to overpopulations of those pests.

Homeownership: Educational and Fun!

An average monarch weighs roughly 500 milligrams; large raindrops have a mass of 70 milligrams or more. A raindrop this size striking a monarch would be equivalent to you or I being pelted by water balloons with twice the mass of bowling balls.
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Not only does rain pose a direct threat of injury or death, but the cool air associated with storms may also reduce temperatures below the thermal threshold for butterfly flight. In preparation for flight, these aerial acrobats expose their wings to direct sunlight, which rapidly warms their flight muscles.

Wow - this explains what butterflies are doing when they sit in the sun flexing their wings, and why we tend to only see butterflies in flight on sunny days. Fascinating!

current twc: 20,431

• April: third instar larvae burrow up from below the frost-line where they have been waiting all winter
• May: larvae continue to feed on plant/grass roots
• June: pupate for 1-3 weeks to metamorphize into beetle
• July: emerge as beetle and feed on plant leaves
• August: lay eggs for next season, 30-40 per female
• September: emerge as first instar larvae and feed
• October: molt every 1-3 weeks until full grow larvae (third instar)
• November: burrow below frost line and wait for Spring

These insects are most vulnerable during their first months as a larvae, so spraying during the Fall is highly recommended. I have read several pest control sites that say spraying during the Spring is pointless - the larvae are just too resistant in their mature and/or pupa form.

The picture in this entry is actually taken by me - we found this little guy in one of our potted plants from last year while gardening over the weekend. You can view two larger pictures, where fine hairs can be seen. I am told that entomologists can use the patterns of these hairs to identify the species of beetle.

Giant water bugs are not scavengers: they love to hunt. They are large enough to capture small fish, tadpoles, and snails. Giant water bugs first capture prey with their powerful legs. Once in their grasp prey are pierced with a pointed mouthpart, injected with a digestive enzyme that liquefies tissue, and sucked dry like a giant smoothie. Yum!