Jun
25
2016

What kind of creature eats bed bugs? What’s the sworn enemy of the Brown Recluse?

From my Tweeting Microscope, here’s two fascinating predators.

The Masked Bed Bug Hunter (Reduvius personatus)

A member of the Assassin Bug family, you’re likely to find this creepy fly as I did, during the night of a full moon, tapping against a window out of an attraction to bright lights.

As the name implies, it’s best known for hunting bed bugs, although it’s also happy to snack on wood lice and carpet beetles. Seeing one in your neighbourhood means there’s a good chance someone nearby has an infestation of one of those (I’ve found carpet beetles in my area).

Unfortunately Masked Hunters don’t consume enough bed bugs to stop an infestation, but it’s still better to catch-and-release if you find one than kill it. Do so very carefully for they have a nasty bite.

From the Dept. of Entomology at Penn State, here’s USDA entomologist L. O. Howard

“This species is remarkable for the intense pain caused by its bite. I do not know whether it ever willingly plunges its rostrum (mouthpart) into any person, but when caught or unskillfully handled it always stings (pierces). In this case the pain is almost equal to that of the bite of a snake, and the swelling and irritation which result from it will sometimes last for a week. In very weak and irritable constitutions it may even prove fatal.”

Yikes!

Also of note is the way the younger bugs will camouflage themselves using bits of fluff, dust, and lint.

I’ve only found adults, but what was curious about them was how sensitive they are to sound. Simply clicking a mouse, opening a can of pop, or even whistling were all things I found that made the Masked Hunter immediately perk up at the ready.

Triangulate Cobweb Spider (Steatoda triangulosa)

A teeny tiny spider with a beautiful diamond pattern, the Triangulate is a house spider that likes to spin small cobwebs into the dark corners of your home where it lies in wait for other spiders to wrap up within its silk.

It’s best known as the natural hunter of the infamous brown recluse, but since they don’t exist here in Canada mine likely searches for Hobo spiders, other house spiders, and any ants or pill bugs who’ve come in from the outdoors.

Although it admittedly casts a rather familiar-looking silhouette, and indeed it is a relative of the Black Widow, there’s no record of anyone having been bitten by this species and it isn’t considered to be a “medically significant” threat.

The Triangulate does pack some potent venom, but because it doesn’t use it until after it’s silk-wrapped prey has stopped the struggle, the venom doesn’t come out at first, even if you were to mishandle the little guy enough to induce a bite (generally it’s response when threatened will instead be to run away).

So between the two predators on this page, for humans it’s the fly whose parlour you want to stay out of, not the spider’s.

Jun
20
2016

Spent today finishing a mobile photo studio for teeny tiny insects :)
With bugs that are less than 4mm in size or are iridescent or pale white, they tend to show up like white ghosts, just silhouettes with no detail. Wasn’t sure how to fix that.


At last weekend’s BioBlitz no one had seen anything like my Tweeting Microscope (what happens when a Tech Guy is also a Science Enthusiast) and similarly I had never been exposed to the collection vials, solutions, and tools used by the pros. They brought me specimens in solution vials which threw me (I photograph my critters alive) and playing around with their items gave me ideas.


So today I tried them out and look how much better my pics are! Now I have detail, I have colour, and my hopper even glows.


This is why it’s worth going to Hackathons, Maker Camps, or BioBlitzes. You meet new people, get exposed to new techniques, and get inspired!
I think the critter I found today is a plant hopper. Just 3 mm, but boy can it jump.

Jun
20
2016

For #SpiderWeek I present to you…a Spider Selfie!
I had my Tweeting Microscope all set up, stepped away for a moment and when I came back found the these eyes looming large on the screen. The teensy tiny female zebra jumping spider I has wandering my...

For #SpiderWeek I present to you…a Spider Selfie!

I had my Tweeting Microscope all set up, stepped away for a moment and when I came back found the these eyes looming large on the screen. The teensy tiny female zebra jumping spider I has wandering my stage had climbed up onto the microscope and was mugging the lens. So…I…just…reached…over…and “click”.

Spider Selfie? I say close-enough. 

http://spiderbytes.org/2016/06/18/announcing-spider-week/

Jun
20
2016

Meet Thanisha, one of the many young naturalists at this weekend’s BioBlitz in Mississauga. Her find for the species count was an insect she chose because it likes to hide in flowers.


I added a spider, of course, to the species count, a six-spotted orbweaver (Arianella displicata), and inadvertently dropped a few jaws when I whipped out my Tweeting Microscope and got it ID’d by Spiderlebrity Catherine Scott in seconds. The usual method for the scientists on-hand is to sift through stacks and stacks of reference books, a bit of a daunting task.


Also from my Tweeting Microscope is a Carpenter bee collected by Basil and a Rust, a parasitic fungus (Pucciniales) that dramatically changes in shape as it spreads from one plant to another, that the Mycology team wanted to show me.

Apr
3
2016

From my Tweeting Microscope, this mystery plant appeared in a pot of Daffodils given to me by Christine Bentley and now that it’s flowered, my best reading suggests it’s Black Nightshade. It’s beautiful and has a nice scent. Apparently if it produces berries, they can taste like tomatoes and liquorice. Unless it’s Deadly Nightshade in which the berries might taste like death. 

Jan
20
2016

A fun microscope project to do with kids, put some soap bubbles in the freezer and then watch them melt under the lens. They melt just a bit slower than snow from outside, so you have enough time to watch it happen. 

Oct
20
2015

A Blue Jays jersey from My Tweeting Microscope. See how all the different threads #ComeTogether. 

Oct
3
2015

From my Tweeting Microscope….MARS!!!
This is one of only a hundred pieces known to exist on Earth, a meteorite found in North West Africa.
This is also the same piece of Mars that Col. Chris Hadfield shared with Matt Damon at the TIFF premier for The Martian.
Thanks to Ian Nicklin, Collections Manager at ROM Earth & Space for giving me access.
Although a very tiny piece, I only had to move my scope just 1mm to get an entirely different surface of rock.

Aug
28
2015

From my Tweeting Microscope here’s a look at a Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta). Butterflies are quite active right now, I was swarmed by Monarchs earlier, so this weekend might be an excellent time to visit a garden.

From my Tweeting Microscope here’s a look at a Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta). Butterflies are quite active right now, I was swarmed by Monarchs earlier, so this weekend might be an excellent time to visit a garden. 

Aug
28
2015

Here’s the admiral. Those striped antennae and crazed eyes give it a bit of a comical look. 

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