Tag Archives: bugs
Lonomia obliqua caterpillar: prickly little beast
In the rainforests of South America lives a fragile and lovely caterpillar–lonomia obliqua– that will kill you if you let it. Be warned, dear readers, that they are often found–or rather, go unnoticed– on the bark of trees, which provides … Continue reading
BV-worthy new exhibit
The California Academy of Sciences has long been beloved by the author of BV, figuring in her elementary school field trips, and, more recently, looming large in her consciousness as an example of stunning sustainable architecture. And a friend is … Continue reading
Filed under academia, endangered species, extinct species, human behavior
Bejeweled Insects
Every so often, dear readers, the author of BV is struck positively speechless (shocking, I know) by an image from the animal world. In this case, these include the images of Miroslaw Swietek , Martin Amm, and Jens Kolk (see a sample of … Continue reading
Filed under backyard fauna, the strange and the beautiful
Happy Birthday to an Angry Old Canard!
Donald Duck is 75 today! The angry old canard’s full name Donald Fauntleroy Duck, and his official birthady is recognized today to commemorate the release of his debut film, The Wise Little Hen… for which, true to the bad luck for which he is famous, … Continue reading
Filed under exceedingly cute, human behavior
Parasitic Wasps, part deux
A friend to BV has alerted the author to the following video, as a follow-up to a recent posting on parasitic wasps. His advice? Not to watch this while eating lunch. Dear readers, heed this wise man’s advice. But *do* watch. The … Continue reading
The Ant-lion (lion ant)
The entire premise of Bestiarum Vocabulum, as some of you might know, rests on the genre of the medieval bestiary ( or bestiarum vocabulum). It is therefore meet that we occasionaly visit the archives for entries, as part of an … Continue reading
Cane toads just can’t catch a break
Once upon a time, 101 Cane toads were deliberately introduced to Australia, under the premise that they would eat the beetles ruining the sugar cane crops, ridding the farmers and population of a costly pest. Yet as we have learned time and … Continue reading
The life of the leaf-cutter ant: miss lonelyhearts OR sapphic smithii?
Leaf-cutter ants, or so they say, are all female. According to a National Geographic article, these ladies ”thrive without sex of any kind—ever.” As evidence of this essential sexlessness, scientists cite the fact that leafcutters have evolved to the point that they … Continue reading
Ichneumon wasps: evidence against religion or just mean sons of Bi*%*!s ?
Darwin once offered the ichneumon wasp as proof against the central tenets of natural theology, which believed in the creation of all living things by a benevolent god. Expressing his opinion in a letter to American botanist Asa Gray, Darwin wrote: ”I cannot persuade myself that … Continue reading
Filed under backyard fauna, parasites, Phobia-inducing
every dog has its day… off
and so does B.V. Come back tomorrow for something worth looking at. For today, consider this: If you were a bee, you could get your legs chewed off for drinking your evening beer.
Hercules Beetle: natural prey of the Stymphalian birds?*
The Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) is perhaps the most immediately recognizable of the rhinoceros beetles; it’s propensity for epic battles and family tragedies in the Grecian vein, though less well known, is among the beetle’s most prominent characteristics. Male beetles, for instance, often use their prominent … Continue reading
pink amblycorypha katydid
It has been brought to the author’s attention that the Pink Dragon Millipede is not the sole pink specimen in the insect world; the pink amblycorypha katydid is equally pink, and no less charming at cocktail parties. In accordance with this discovery, … Continue reading
African Bat Bug: insectus sex-offenderus
One would not wish to be a female bat bug. Male bat bugs (blood-sucking insects of the family Cimicidae) have developed the disconcerting habit of ignoring females’ conventional girlie bits, instead using their sharp penises to stab target females in the stomach, injecting … Continue reading
Bushtit
Despite its name, the Bushtit (Order Passeriformes, family aegithalidae) is not a well-endowed member of a prominent American political family but a tiny, insect-eating bird. Once called “Common Bushtits,”* these birds are primarily found in woodland and suburban habitats (ranging from southwest British Colombia, along … Continue reading
Filed under academia, backyard fauna, Uncategorized
