Female hopper, eggs, nymphs and parasitoid wasp, Ecuador.
There is a lot going on in this photo and it may be the most interesting one on this website. The subject is a 5-6mm female hopper (Adippe histrio) and the white things are her eggs. She is guarding them against tiny parasitoid wasps. Directly in front of her, one such wasp is eyeballing her eggs. Seconds after I took this shot she lashed out at the wasp with a foreleg and scared it away. In the foreground, you can see nymphs from the broods of other Mums. They are busy sucking sap from the plant. Lying on the plant stem on the left of the hopper's tail is a molt (exuvia) left by one of the nymphs. Not shown in this photo (except for an antenna peeking over the horizon) are the ants which hang out around the hoppers. They collect the honeydew excreted by the ants and provide the hoppers with some protection against the persistent and prolific parasitoid wasps. Mindo, Ecuador.
Looking like bronze, these eggs are only a couple of millimeters in width.
One of these eggs looks like a dud or may be parasitized. The others will soon hatch.
Deceased caterpillar host and pupating parasitoid, Virginia.
The remains of a caterpillar, eaten from the inside out by a parasitic wasp, sit next to the wasp's gray cocoon. The wasp larva would have emerged from the caterpillar, spun the cocoon, and attached it to the leaf. It will emerge as an adult wasp and is probably an Ichneumon. The caterpillar could be a walnut sphinx (Amorpha juglandis) but it's hard to be sure since two-thirds of him is in the little grey ball.
Casebearer or bagworm, Costa Rica
Difficult to know who is inside this beautiful case but it is a charming construction.
A 1:1 shot reveals the beautiful pitting and neatly fitting lids on these hatched egg cases.
I spend a lot of time at La Selva Biological Station where paper wasp nests are so abundant I could probably find one within a few minutes. They vary greatly by species with many being quite small -- just a few inches in width. This one looks as if the wasps are building a new layer of cells on the outside. Once built, I believe the new cells will be enclosed and accessed through the port at the top left.
These little nests and their owners are fairly common in the lowland forest area at La Selva Bio Station in Eastern Costa. They nest under leaves in light-gaps and cleared areas and there are not usually more than five or six adults around the nest.
This one was in my garden and was quite small -- about 7-8mm in diameter.
Unidentified cocoons. Virginia.
I suspect parasitoid wasps.
Wolf spider with egg sac, Virginia.
This wolf spider (Lycosidae) is rear loading. I'm guessing she spins a sort of tow rope with her spinnerets.
I'm baffled by this lovely case. My best guess is that it belongs to a mantis in the genus Liturgusa.
Fulgorid egg case suspected, Costa Rica
This was quite large at around 1.5" and looks similar to those created by Fulgorid hoppers.
As with many of these constructions, I don't have an ID and just enjoy them for their beauty.
Cockroach ootheca, W. Australia
I think it is a safe bet to say this belongs to a cockroach. Western Australia has some beauties.
This is a Frog hopper that has surrounded itself with a protective mass of bubbles. These are excreted as he feeds on the plant and these insects are sometimes referred to as spittlebugs. If I wrote clickbait headlines I could say "Freakish insect blows urine bubbles and hides in them..."
This is a flatid hopper emerging from the brilliant white protective covering that envelopes him during the nymph phase. You can see his wings which will need to be inflated. His head (look for his eyes) is somewhat tucked under. These little hemipterans live on sap, and the white, meringue-like covering is usually described as a waxy excretion. It is what's left of the sap after the hopper extracts the nutrients it needs. It will take him a few hours to inflate his wings and he will darken up a bit. These are common at La Selva Bio Station where I took this photo. Very cool little critters!
These eggs have hatched and the little bugs have toddled off to find a leaf or stem and feed from it. They will do this by sucking the sap through elongated mouthparts known as "stylets". Behind them, they left these delicate and lovely egg cases.
This one is presumably in the pupal phase.
This one reminds me of a tiny ballet dancer.
These eggs are often found in clusters of 14. I love the subtle colors.
This reminds me of something one might find in a French bakery. About 5mm wide.
These wasps had built a lovely little colony on the underside of a heliconia leaf.
This egg mass may belong to a hopper in the family Membracidae.
I try and photograph bagworms when I find them. This is a particularly lovely one in my view.
This appears to be a nursery web spider (Pisauridae). Virginia
I think this is a future butterfly in the Tanaecia genus (part of the huge Nymphalidae family). A very cool chrysalis that I found in the Taman Negara forest.
I'm pretty sure this belongs to a cockroach. It was quite small (8mmm or so) and looks like a typical blattodean egg case.
I believe this is a green lacewing cocoon. But getting an ID on something like this is really tricky. It is a little work of art.
Lacewing eggs suspected, Australia
If this were in the Americas I'd say lacewing, for sure. But most of the rules go out of the window in Australia. For all I know, they hatch out a deadly spider. Mate.
Built by the caterpillar using her own hair, this exquisite little cage provides a refuge in which the caterpillar suspends herself as she pupates. This may be a lichen-eating moth species in the genus Cyana.
Hand-knitted and ornamented with carefully selected beads of leaf bits, this little work of art is insect haute couture at its best! Take your pick on whether this is a case worm, a casebearer, or a bagworm... the common names seem to be used interchangeably.
Pentatomidae eggs and hatchlings. Virginia.
Baby shield and "stink" bugs frequently stay close to their eggs cases for a few days. These nymphs were probably about 3-4mm long.
Somewhere in there is a larva. But how in the heck did she make this?! About 10mm and one of the most beautiful I've found.
Unidentified insect structure, Malaysia
Could be a spider, could be a casebearer, could be something else. Welcome to the wonderful world of insect construction!
Pentatomidae eggs suspected. Virginia
Nearly impossible to pass up the opportunity to photograph these!
Potter wasp nests vary greatly in size and form. This one was small at about 5mm or so tall and set on a blade of grass. They are typically constructed from mud with occasional bits of detritus in the mix. I love the flange on the opening of this one. Presumably, it serves as a landing pad and channels rain away from the opening.
A six-sided nest. I believe the cells will be six-sided too. I got too close to this one and the wasps chased me away. As stings go their offering was not too bad. But they are fast movers!
These cells were on the concrete ceiling of a blind in Taman Negara (national park). They appeared to have been built on top of a termite tunnel.
Ichneumon wasp cocoon. Virginia.
I believe this is a cocoon belonging to a wasp in the family Ichneumon. These are largish parasitoids.
Possibly nursery web (Pisauridae) and found in Virginia. She carries her egg sac in the front...
Unidentified insect architecture. Malaysia.
I suspect a moth but this lovely little construction presumably served its purpose and was abandoned.
Unidentified egg mass, Costa Rica.
Possibly white fly. I believe the larger white blobs arrayed along the leaf vein are tiny nymphs.
I've no idea what is going on here but I sense the handiwork of an insect.
Another find from Western Australia. My guess is that it is a mantid ootheca.
Architecturally superb paper wasp nest. I spotted this nest on a visit to Taman Negara. Almost three years later when I returned it was still there, stuck to the ceiling of a forest hide.
