Asian Beetle Pupa
Jun 9, 2021 18:18:47 #
On my walk around the yard today I found this Asian Beetle pupa attached firmly to a leaf. They are voracious eaters and they eat the larvae of the native red Ladybugs.
Jun 9, 2021 18:46:51 #
Jun 9, 2021 19:37:54 #
It’s very pretty on the outside but maybe disgusting on the inside! Well done shot!
Jun 9, 2021 20:04:09 #
Beautiful shot. The larvae of the Asian beetle look nothing like the adults.
Jun 9, 2021 20:36:06 #
ejones0310 wrote:
Awesome. How big is it, and where did you learn what all these bugs are?
Thanks for dropping by. The pupa is about the size of a cooked grain of rice. The larvae look like spiked dragons and they latch on tight to a leaf when it is time for them to pupate into an adult much like a caterpillar transforms into a moth or butterfly.
The adult Asian Beetles resemble our red Ladybugs except they are yellowish in color. They were imported to help control the aphid population which they do a great job of for they eat perhaps four times as many a day than our red Ladybugs. The problem with them is that they are such good eaters that if they can't find enough aphids they eat the larvae of the red Ladybugs which depletes their population.
Jun 9, 2021 20:38:30 #
Cwilson341 wrote:
It’s very pretty on the outside but maybe disgusting on the inside! Well done shot!
Oh, Carol...they would be QUITE disgusting on the inside where their body and innards goes through the soupy transformation into an adult.
I truly believe the process is where the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" got their Sci-Fi inspiration.
Jun 9, 2021 20:39:39 #
JRiepe wrote:
Beautiful shot. The larvae of the Asian beetle look nothing like the adults.
Thanks and so true. One would be pressed to tell that this will be a yellow Ladybug by looking at it in its lavare and pupa stages.
Jun 9, 2021 21:20:17 #
sippyjug104 wrote:
Thanks for dropping by. The pupa is about the siz... (show quote)
When will we learn to stop introducing alien species to other systems. I just watched a piece on peacocks in Florida. They introduced them and now they are an over abundant pest.
Jun 9, 2021 22:28:17 #
Jun 10, 2021 00:01:17 #
kpmac wrote:
Hopefully, something will learn to eat them, sippy. Nice find.
Kpmac, the Cajuns will eat just about anything so perhaps they may want to try them in their gumbo
Jun 10, 2021 00:04:51 #
ejones0310 wrote:
When will we learn to stop introducing alien species to other systems. I just watched a piece on peacocks in Florida. They introduced them and now they are an over abundant pest.
I agree and it is truly quite sad. The Lionfish, although exotic and lovely, is another highly invasive species there. Most don't pay attention to what goes unseen under the waters. Not only are they depleting the native fish they have venomous spines which are a problem for human encounters.
Jun 10, 2021 02:02:42 #
sippyjug104 wrote:
Kpmac, the Cajuns will eat just about anything so perhaps they may want to try them in their gumbo
If they do I hope the beetles taste better than they smell.
Jun 10, 2021 05:42:30 #
Jun 10, 2021 08:21:49 #
sippyjug104 wrote:
Oh, Carol...they would be QUITE disgusting on the inside where their body and innards goes through the soupy transformation into an adult.
I truly believe the process is where the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" got their Sci-Fi inspiration.
I truly believe the process is where the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" got their Sci-Fi inspiration.
That movie gave me nightmares when it originally came out in 1956 (I was 10).
Excellent shot and information, Gary.
Jun 10, 2021 09:26:43 #
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