An eating machine
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An eating machine
After the vigorous eating session, the upper body reclined and he became temporarily relatively motionless, appearing to rest and digest.
Instruments of choice for decimating plant parts and stuffing them in; not pretty, but pretty effective.
Natural light, Nikon 105 macro
Leonard
Re: An eating machine
Superb images.
Last image: those are the 6 true legs, have no function in feeding except to hold onto the plant. All feeding done with the mandibles, hidden in these images
Last image: those are the 6 true legs, have no function in feeding except to hold onto the plant. All feeding done with the mandibles, hidden in these images
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
- MarkSturtevant
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Re: An eating machine
Beautiful pictures. I really like these!
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters
Dept. of Still Waters
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Re: An eating machine
My thanks to you both! I made an assertion based on an assumption, always a dangerous process, and I'm glad to know the truth. I wonder if there are any good images of mandibles; probably pretty difficult without dissection. I can attest to the effectiveness of his attaching mechanisms (are they comprised of both false and true legs?) I tried to remove this chap from the stem but was unable to do so without risking his destruction, and removed and banished the tip of the stem with him still attached.
Leonard
Leonard
Re: An eating machine
Very nice.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing.
Re: An eating machine
Very nice set, especially no. 3!
- rjlittlefield
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Re: An eating machine
A lovely image!
The legs shown in your images are the true legs. There are also several pairs of "prolegs" along the rear part of the abdomen. The prolegs are fleshy pads equipped with numerous sharp stiff hooks called "crochets". The pads can be hydraulically expanded to grip the stem. See for example my stereo macro at viewtopic.php?t=31879 . But note that the ones I show are for a different family. The arrangement of crochets varies systematically and is used for identification in some keys. For Sphingidae, the reference at hand (Moths of Western North America) says "Crochets are in biordinal mesoseries" , which means two rows running lengthwise, versus the single row shown in my photo. (The short brown stubs in my photo, forming a sort of second row, are actually the bases of the long hooks, partially hidden inside the pad.)
--Rik
https://bugguide.net/node/view/974542 shows the mandibles of a related species. The dark brown toothed sections are only the hardened ends of the mandibles. The basal portions are green in this image, and stick back into the head where they are attached to massive muscles.leonardturner wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 6:01 amI wonder if there are any good images of mandibles; probably pretty difficult without dissection. I can attest to the effectiveness of his attaching mechanisms (are they comprised of both false and true legs?)
The legs shown in your images are the true legs. There are also several pairs of "prolegs" along the rear part of the abdomen. The prolegs are fleshy pads equipped with numerous sharp stiff hooks called "crochets". The pads can be hydraulically expanded to grip the stem. See for example my stereo macro at viewtopic.php?t=31879 . But note that the ones I show are for a different family. The arrangement of crochets varies systematically and is used for identification in some keys. For Sphingidae, the reference at hand (Moths of Western North America) says "Crochets are in biordinal mesoseries" , which means two rows running lengthwise, versus the single row shown in my photo. (The short brown stubs in my photo, forming a sort of second row, are actually the bases of the long hooks, partially hidden inside the pad.)
--Rik
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Re: An eating machine
My thanks, Sumguy and Zook, and most especially Rik for the information and references; that was a superb stereo you made 4 years ago!
Leonard
Leonard
Re: An eating machine
Fantastic images!
the texture on the close-ups is amazing, the "folded hands" makes them look adorable
the texture on the close-ups is amazing, the "folded hands" makes them look adorable