OK, here's a chance for the bug nerds to show off. A photo of a strange-looking beast I recently ran into:
The challenge to readers is to answer the two questions that went through my head when I first uncovered the creature (1) What the hell is that? (2) What's going with those opaque white projections?
Unlike others, I can't often you anything cool as a prize for being right, but surely an electronic record to your entomological know-how will be enough?
Oh, a challenge! Hmm, those look like book lice (order Psocoptera). Only thing I can think of with those white structures is that they are still unexpanded wing buds on a newly molted individual (it does look lighter in color than its neighbors - also a sign of being newly molted).
ReplyDeleteCould the white projections be cocoons of parasitoids or parasites?
ReplyDelete