Comments | urban_nature: soooo, at the bird sanctuary the other day...

cottonmanifesto in urban_nature

soooo, at the bird sanctuary the other day...

Jul 26, 2007 15:58

Comments 12

phlogiston_5 July 27 2007, 00:23:44 UTC

Wow, neato! Aphids are not usually so brightly colored unless they are sequestering toxins of some sort. Were you able to get an ID for the plant they were hanging out on?

cottonmanifesto July 27 2007, 11:47:25 UTC

no, it wasn't flowering and my plant knowledge is really poor. :(

djinnthespazz July 27 2007, 01:42:56 UTC

Those are actually some sort of leaf-footed bug. The little black ones are the first instar, and then the get red with the spiny butts in the later skin sheds.

How do I know this? I had these bugs and posted them ... somebody out there knew exactly what they were. I only remember the general catagory.

Good eye, tho. These guys are aphid small!

cottonmanifesto July 27 2007, 11:46:38 UTC

wow! thanks for that!

cottonmanifesto July 27 2007, 14:21:42 UTC

ha ha! my friend just commented below as to why they are actually aphids, if you'd care to read. :)

THEY ARE APHIDS!! rockbalancer July 27 2007, 12:37:49 UTC

Firstly, the black "first instars" are actually exuvia (molted exoskeletons). Secondly, these creatures have a pair of cornicles (wax secreting tubes) at the posterior of the abdomen. And thirdly look at this page http://bugguide.net/node/view/88282
I rest my case!

Re: THEY ARE APHIDS!! cottonmanifesto July 27 2007, 14:22:27 UTC

they look aphid-y to me, but i'm no expert!

Re: THEY ARE APHIDS!! djinnthespazz July 28 2007, 03:50:17 UTC

Huh. Well, it was that site that pointed to the leaf-footed bugs, so...

Those little guys do tend to look damn similar, don't they?

Re: THEY ARE APHIDS!! cottonmanifesto July 28 2007, 16:46:59 UTC

i think the difference are probably glaringly obvious to an entomologist. :)

close but no cigar! rockbalancer July 27 2007, 15:06:00 UTC

These are leaf footed bugs (Family Coreidae)
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/images/IMG_0696%20Leaf-footed%20bug%20nymphs.GIF

Re: close but no cigar! cottonmanifesto July 27 2007, 15:08:27 UTC

they look almost identical to my untrained eye. :(

jolantru July 28 2007, 03:54:24 UTC

Eek!

But way cool pictures!