creature

Found only on the islands of Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii, the happy face spider, such as this one guarding its eggs on a leaf in Maui, is known for the unique patterns that decorate its pale abdomen. Continue Reading »

It’s not so much eternal life, more a case of instant death. Parasitic beetles that dare to invade the hive of certain stingless bees end up entombed forever in resin. “They’re stopped in their tracks and they dehydrate and shrivel up like a mummy,” says Mark Greco, an entomologist at the Swiss Bee Research Centre in Bern who discovered the practice in a species of Australian stingless bees, Trigona carbonaria, living in the wild. Continue Reading »

Dobsonflies are species of medium- to large-sized insects in the order Neuroptera, family Corydalidae.

The life cycle of dobsonflies is characterized by a complete metamorphosis, with four developmental stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Adult dobsonflies are usually found near freshwater, especially streams, either resting on vegetation or engaged in an awkward, fluttering flight. Sometimes adult dobsonflies can be abundant at night around lights, even far from water. The immature stages of dobsonflies are aquatic and are usually found beneath stones or other debris in swiftly flowing streams. Continue Reading »

It lives high up in the rainforest canopy of Borneo, its eggs have tiny wings so they can glide from one tree to another, and now it has officially entered the record books as the longest insect species alive today. Continue Reading »

They may be small, but Assassin spiders are among the most dangerous spiders on the planet – if you’re another spider, that is. These tiny arachnids in the Archaeidae family are only about 2 mm (less than 1/8 inch) long, but their bizarre fangs and spider-hunting practices have earned them a reputation as the world’s most grotesque spiders. Continue Reading »

The banana spider is a common name used for two entirely different species of spiders, the nephila clavipes of North America, and the phoneutria of Central and South America, the latter of which can be deadly. Continue Reading »

The Luna moth is a light-green moth that has long, curving tails on its hindwings and distinctive eyespots on all four wings. This nocturnal insect is found in deciduous hardwood forests in North America, from Canada to Northern Mexico. Continue Reading »

The famous spider from Charlotte’s Web is a barn orb-weaver spider, Araneus cavaticus. Orb weaving spiders produce the familiar flat, ornate, circular webs usually associated with spiders. Orbweavers come in many shapes and sizes, but the brightly colored garden orbweavers, Argiope spp., are the largest and best known. Continue Reading »

scientific name: Gasteracantha cancriformis (Linnaeus) (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneidae)

Introduction

One of the more colorful spiders in Florida is the spinybacked orbweaver, Gasteracantha cancriformis (Linnaeus) 1767. Although not as large as some of the other common orb weavers (e.g.; Argiope, Levi 1968; Neoscona, Edwards 1984), the combination of color, shape, and web characteristics make G. cancriformis one of the most conspicuous of spiders. Continue Reading »

A butterfly with transparent wings? Surely not. Yet there is a species that exhibits this trait. Take a close look at the incredible Glasswing, an enchanting species that confounds science.

Greta oto may sound like the name of a silent movie star from Eastern Europe but is, in fact, the scientific name for one of the most exquisite – and little known – species of butterfly on the planet. This butterfly’s claim to fame is that its wings, spanning up to six centimeters, are almost completely transparent. That’s right, you can see just about right through them. Continue Reading »