mating praying mantis
Hi there!
I appreciate your website! It’s been entertaining and informative! I’m enclosing two photos (taken in mid September in Southeastern PA) of praying mantis mating or about to… they maintained this pose for at least 45 minutes. I wanted to see if the female does indeed terminate the relationship by eating her mate but I had to go take care of the family (dinner time.) And so it goes… Any information you could add would be helpful.
Thanks very much – Kristin
Hi Kristin,
Much of what we are about to say is speculation on your photograph. First, the female mantis does not always eat her mate, but it often happens. A wily male will escape. You photo does show a pair with the male on top and this must have something to do with mating. We suspect he has captured her, but is not in the proper position to do the deed. He needs to turn himself around without losing either his mate or his life. Guess we will never know if he succeeded.
Pictures of devils coach horses that are vegetarian? From wisconsin and question.
I would like to share these pictures with you. I think they are of devils coach horses, but I am not positive. I would like to know if I am mistaken on the identity. There seems to be a little discrepancy in the descriptions I have found online as to behavior and appearance. I am wondering if its a closely related, perhaps vegetarian species? The females are 1 1/4 inch long and thick bodied. Males are 3/4 inch and also thick bodied. They don’t seem to be able to move their tail ends upward since they are plump. There mandibles are small for the head size as the pictures show. They are also black with a blue green iridescence. They are calm and peaceful. And they are active in bright light. First of all, I found hundreds of these fascinating insects in a mowed field that was located in a wooded clearing out in farm country. It was mid afternoon when I found them on a warm, 80 degree, sunny, October day. I am in Wisconsin! I have lived out here, in the country, for 15 years and never before seen these creatures in our area. I brought about a dozen home to identify and observe them. They mate freely with each other, the males just go from female to female. They have been eating grass in large amounts and enjoy rye bread and adore fresh soft fruits. They ignore hard dry grains. They have a preference for the softest of plant foods.They ignore slugs. Moths that my son caught, a few squished, (he is 5 yrs old) didn’t arouse the insects interest. They have showed no desire to borrow in anything be it soil or leaf litter. They remain on top of their substrate and are most active at mid day. They don’t show any defense posture what so ever. In fact they seem quite content to munch and walk around no matter what activity is around them. In the wild, they didn’t show any defense posture when I collected them either. I would like to ask you if you could share information about these wonderfully beautiful creatures. I cant find info on their life cycle. They are mating, and I don’t know what they lay their eggs in nor the time line for hatch and etc…. I home school my daughter and this adventure with these creatures has lead us on lessons in insect discovery. The pictures show detail of the sexual difference in the antenna. I was surprised to note the difference. There is a nice view of the females back that showed the detail of texture. Also, the size difference between male and female is obvious. I liked the way the grass eating picture turned out. That (eating) seems to be their main activity, next to making droppings. Please feel free to use any pictures on your site if you choose.
My partner, Kevin Stone took the pictures of my wonderful, insect find. What is puzzling me at this point, is when and in what will they lay eggs? I also have not figured out if they are meant to live through the coming winter or will die after egg laying, and if being in a aquarium, indoors, will change their life cycle. Any info you can share would be very welcomed.
Thank you for your time,
Jackie Thedford
Hi Jackie,
Why are you home schooling. You should be teaching 30 children. Your letter is absolutely awesome. These are not Devil’s Coach Horses, but Oil Beetles, a type of Blister Beetle, Meloe angusticollis. The adults eat grasses as you know and are fond of the foliage from potatoes. Larvae are parasitic on wild bees, and unless there is a wild bee nest in your aquarium, you may not get eggs. Be careful in handling the beetles which can exude droplets from their leg joints that might cause blisters.
Leptoglossus zonatus
I found these all over our only orange tree and the bean pods of a hyacinth bean vine. We live just north of Houston, TX. Found an article that says they are new to FL. Can you help ID the one on the green leaf?
Thanx
Dan
Hi Dan,
We actually believe your species is another Leaf Footed Bug, Leptoglossus phyllopus. The adults are mating and the insect on the leaf is an immature nymph of the same species.
Update (01/06/2006)
Yes, Leptoglossus zonatus
Dear Bugman Dan,
Yes, the person that submitted this message was right. It is L. zonatus. Nice photos he submitted! I like reading what is posted in your website. I learn a lot especially from the home owners’ point of view.
Julieta
USDA, taxonomy of Heteroptera
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Posted 05 October 2005
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True Bugs
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Steamboat Rock State Park WA red headed bugs
Hello,
Can you tell me what these bugs are that my daughter and son-in-law saw on a shrub on top of 800′ Steamboat Rock that rises above Steamboat Rock State Park on Banks Lake in Eastern Washington State just south of Grand Coulee Dam?
Thank you,
Genelle
Hi Genelle,
This photo of mating Blister Beetles looks like Lytta magister. In checking BugGuide, we found that all the images of this insect were from Arizona. We are getting a second opinion.
WHAT’S THE BUZZ??PAIR OF BUMBLE BEES MATING??
Hey Bugman!!
I came across this pair of bumblebees in my driveway..they definitely appeared to be making LITTLE BABY BUMBLEBEES. They were there for 3 hours..when I checked on them a few minutes ago..they..were GONE….apparently they flew off into the wild blue yonder. Happy Buggin’..or should I say..BUZZIN’!!
Dee Rocanello
East Islip, Long Island, NY
Hi Dee,
Thanks for the contribution.
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Posted 02 October 2005
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Bees
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Rino
Better pics of the Rino, Hope you can use them.
Danny
Ed. Note: We have put in a request for Danny to provide additional information on this image. Is he raising the beetles? or were they found in the wild? Only time will tell.
I sent you a few pics last week, they were found in Payson Arizona. I do have 3 males and 5 females. I will try to raise any offspring. The pics sent last week were taken on the spur. in the current photos I was able to use a tripod. How about that bug luv.
Danny Lee
Hello..
Here are two photo’s from Venray the Netherlands.. Was enjoying my little homegrown wheed when suddenly these two came flying by.. Just had to take their picture, as they were making love right under my nose, little perverts. Perhaps something for the buglove page, but what i’d like to ask is why the male (bottom) is sticking it’s face up the girl’s butt? Is there some kind of smelly spot there he likes? I see this behaviour one multiple of your hosted photo’s and was just wondering if the little creeps have the same behaviour as humans..
Best regards
Fred
Hi Fred,
Though quite logical, there are a few errors in your observations. First, and most importantly, you have mixed up the sexes. The female does not really have her head in the males butt, but he has grasped her head with his anal claspers. Here is a great explanation of the dragonfly mating activity from a wonderful site. “It takes newly emerged adult dragonflies a number of days to become reproductively mature. Since males generally mature faster than females they usually arrive at the breeding grounds first. In the period of time before females arrive the males stake out territories that they defend from males of their own and other species. The size of a dragonfly territory depends on the species and on the density of males in the breeding ground. Generally speaking, the larger the species the larger the territories and the more densely populated the area the smaller the territory. Dragonfly mating behaviour is quite elaborate and can take place either in flight or on a perch. Just prior to mating males must transfer sperm from their reproductive tract to special accessory genitalia. Once this is done males then chase flying females and grab them by the thorax with their legs. After a male has caught a female he then curves his abdomen towards her and latches onto her head with a set of special posterior abdomial appendages, called anal claspers. These claspers maintain a firm hold on the female and they can even at times dent her eyes. The male then releases his legs so that the pair remains attached in a head to tail position, often referred to as the tandem position. The female then bends her abdomen towards the male until her primary genitalia come into contact with the male’s accessory genitalia. This position is often referred to as the wheel. Dragonflies often assume this wheel position while still in flight which is quite an acrobatic accomplishment. While in this position sperm is transferred to the females’ reproductive tract via the male’s penis. In some species the males have a specialized penis that is designed to scrape out any sperm that already exist in the female’s reproductive tract from previous matings before sperm from the current mating are transferred (Thompson & Dunbar 1988). This adaptation helps to ensure that the last male to mate with a female is the one who’s sperm fertilizes most of her eggs. It is, therefore, important for males to make sure that no other male mates with the female before she lays her eggs. As a result many male dragonflies guard their mates until they have laid their eggs (McMillan 1991 and Thompson & Dunbar 1988). In some species the male even maintains his grasp on the female until she has finished laying her eggs, while in other species the male simply guards his egg laying mate by hovering over her. Once the female has laid her eggs the pair go off in their separate directions. All unreferenced information was gathered from Askew 1988, Corbet et al. 1960, and Walker 1958. “
Walking Sticks
I found these while hiking. I thought it interesting that the male and female looked so different! I was on a hike in the Hoosier National Forest, near Paoli, IN.
Chad
Hi Chad,
We believe these are mating Northern Walkingsticks, Diapheromera femorata. We are waiting for a confirmation on that identification from Eric Eaton.
wheel bug love
John
Hi John,
You didn’t really write a letter, but we want you to know this is our favorite photo all week. Thanks for the contribution.
Photo of mating Boxelder bugs
I LOVE your site!!! (You just helped us ID our first Robber Fly!) I thought you may be interested in this photo of a mating pair of Boxelder bugs. We took the photo on 09/05/05 at Table Rock Mountain in Western North Carolina.
Lori Martin
Maiden, NC
Hi Lori,
Sorry for the long delay but we had lots of Boxelder Bug photos when your letter arrived. We are catching up on old mail and we were pleasantly surprised to see you had misidentified your bugs. These are actually Small Milkweed Bugs, Lygaeus kalmii.
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Posted 18 September 2005
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True Bugs
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Mating bugs
I saw your page for mating bugs and thought I would give you an even better (and funnier) Japanese Beetle picture. I call this….Beetle Orgy!
Monica Ragsdale
Hi Monica,
Your photo speaks for itself. We especially like the voyeur. Your photo could compromise our recent good reputation with Elementary Schools as well as religious fanatics.
mating Golden Garden Spiders
Here is one of a series of stills I made from video of Golden Garden Spiders mating in my back yard in North Central Texas: There were two males, but only the one who arrived first got the glory. The other only watched from the other (safe) side of the web. After each mating, the female appeared to become temporarily incapacitated, allowing the tiny mating male a few moments when he could move around her freely. At all other times he was very cautious, approaching from the female’s abdomen area, and between mating events he stayed on the other side of the web with the other male. I also have quite a bit of video of this. The mating continued for a week or two, many times each day. (I don’t know if it went on during the night.)
Bill Jones
Hi Bill,
Thanks for the great photos and interesting account of the mating activity of these beautiful Argiopes.
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Posted 15 September 2005
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Spiders
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