[ExI] evolution

[spike]

From: extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Dave Sill
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2017 12:30 PM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Subject: Re: [ExI] evolution

 

On Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 11:10 AM, spike <spike66 at att.net <mailto:spike66 at att.net> > wrote:

 

Bugs.  On this last vacation, I finally got a good photo of the most difficult bug to photograph I have ever seen.  They are extremely aware of their surroundings and are very skilled fliers.  Whereas most beetles are clumsy aviators, this guy really knows his stuff in the air:

 

 



 

 Six-spotted tiger beetle?

 

-Dave

 

 

Sure enough, right on Dave.  The name is paradoxical, since an example they show on Wiki has 8 spots:

 

 

 



 

 

That is their real color however. 

 

This is a perfect example of why I wanted to have BillK’s entomology program running on my phone.

 

Comment from the Wiki site:

 

>…Although tiger beetles are not  <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregarious> gregarious, many beetles may sometimes be seen in one suitable hunting area. The female lays her eggs in sandy patches, and the  <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larva> larvae burrow into the ground after they hatch. Here they lie in wait until small arthropods pass by, at which time the larvae lunge out of their burrows at their prey like jack-in-the-boxes…

 

That would be cool to see.  Had I known that, I would have looked around for a sandy area and arranged for a small arthropod to pass by.

 

Here’s a video of what they are calling the emerald tiger beetle, which is really a better name methinks.  Beetles generally don’t dart about, but this guy does:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94wh7k87Vhs

 

Here’s a video of a larval campestris nabbing an ant.  Blump:

 

http://www.arkive.org/green-tiger-beetle/cicindela-campestris/video-09.html

 

Cool!  

 

Now, every time you see something like this, does it not make you marvel at our good fortune to have been born late enough in history that we have all this cool stuff right in front of us?  We don’t even need to hike up into the mountains as I did to get the original photo.  Just click and devour all that cool information.

 

Life… is… goooooood…

 

spike

 

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