Lepidoptera

From larva to a majestic winged monarch butterfly, the transformation a caterpillar undergoes in its quest to become a butterfly is truly unique. In such process a sixteen legged pest morphs into a beautiful butterfly. Though a beautiful sight, what a caterpillar actually goes through on this journey is quite gruesome. Many wonder how this 180 degree transformation is possible, but broken down it is much simpler to comprehend. Monarch butterflies lay their milky white eggs on milkweed, insuring…

Prey species use antipredator traits to avoid confrontation with predator species and also to escape once predators have located them. This in turn, helps the prey to survive and reproduce. The traits consist of the phenotypes that the specific prey species displays, and can range from the development of defensive structures as the organism matures, and can also include any behavior the species displays, for example learning to recognize the predator and how to avoid being eaten (Hanlon &…

The Danaus Plexippi, known as the Monarch Butterfly, is considered to be the king of all butterflies for their beautiful orange and black colored wings and their incredible ability to migrate long distances such as, California and Mexico in large populations. Biologists have calculated distance of these arduous journeys to be 3000 miles, which is the longest journey that any insect can travel. Monarch butterflies are also unique in that generations of these species are able to migrate in the…

Monarch Butterflies and Public Awareness More than beautiful butterflies, monarch butterflies contribute to the health of our planet. While feeding on nectar, they pollinate many types of wildflowers and make our fruits. The monarch butterfly is known by scientists as Danaus plexippus, which in Greek literally means "sleepy transformation." The name evokes the species' ability to hibernate and metamorphize. There are four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly. A monarch begins life as a…

Insects are the reason our bodies actually decompose. They are drawn to the stench of cadaverine and putrescine once your body starts producing it. As stated before, when an individual dies, their body starts to decay about 4 minutes after their heart stops beating and their cells are deprived of oxygen. Insects, such as blowflies, seek out damp orifices to lay their eggs in. After the bloat stage of decomposition the body becomes open to its surroundings and insect activity tends to increase…

Since our establishing more than 160 years back, we've ceaselessly pushed the limits of learning forward. With our finger on the beat and an eye upcoming, we've sought after the best statures of exploration and advancement, constantly together and dependably for the improvement of Florida and the world. In 1858, James Henry Roper, a teacher from North Carolina and a state congressperson from Alachua County, opens a school in Gainesville: the Gainesville Academy. In 1866, Roper offers his…

The Spaniards subjected the land of the Aztecs and the Mayans. It was then called the land of Mexico where the cacao trees were first seen. The Spaniards then shipped the cacao to the Philippines through the use of the galleon trading system. The Philippines was the first country outside Mesoamerica that plants and grows cacao. It became more popular to the country and also to the other parts of the world. As stated by the Cacao Manual published by the Inter-American Institute of American…

Investigating the Effects of Environmental Differences in Nest Ectoparasite Abundance on Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) Reproductive Success Materials and Methods Mountain bluebirds, (Sialia currucoides) are sexually dimorphic insectivorous songbirds, which defend a breeding territory approximately five ha in size, while giving biparental care to their altricial offspring (Power and Lombardo 1996). Bluebirds are often parasitized by hematophagous nest ectoparasitic blowfly larvae, which…

Biological control involved using known predators, parasitoids and pathogens of the powder-post beetles. Predators kill and consume their host immediately, whereas parasitoids lay their eggs inside the host that will slowly be eaten internally by the growing larvae. For Dinoderus minutus, known predators include Teretriosoma nigrescens (Coleoptera: Histeridae) that has also been reported to successfully suppressed other stored-product pests (Pöschko, 1994). The braconid wasp, Doryctus jarbus…

completely from most moths, but because they also are beneficial to humans. Indeed, because of the Emperor Moths' unique characteristics, they have helped to influence human culture across the world. One aspect that separates Emperor Moths from other Lepidoptera (all butterflies and moths) is the appearance of their bodies. Unlike butterflies,…