Vampire Moth

What better way to bring in November (and mark the day after Halloween) than with the vampire moth? I know, at first mention the vampire moth may not instill any dread in you. But, please, read on.

The vampire moth was recently discovered in Russia, in two separate populations. This moth has forsaken the traditional fruit in favor of the forbidden fruit: human blood. What's amazing about this moth is it is virtually indistinguishable from its fruit-eating cousins of the same species (Calyptra thalictri).

See that moth perched on that finger? See its tongue, how it has a nice red tint to it? That's because this researcher offered up his finger, and the moth obliged him by drilling into his finger with its hook-and-barb-lined tongue and tapping it for blood.

Photo source: National Geographic



















The vampire is virtually indistinguishable from the fruit-eating variety. Only minor variations in the wing pattern would give you any warning that the moth fluttering about the lamp post is sniffing you out for blood.

Some researchers see this adaptation as a means of getting greater insight into how insects move from eating nectar to eating blood. Here's one possible progression: lapping at nectar to behaviors that result in drilling into fruit to eating tears and dung and pus-filled wounds to using that same drilling technique to dine on blood.

Not the most wholesome progression, but progress none the less. I can imagine grandpa moth saying, "Ah, back in my day we didn't eat puss and blood like the rascals these days. We ate fruit! That's the way it was, and that's the way we liked it!"

On the positive side, though you may not be able to distinguish the vampire from its benign form, you can protect yourself. They can't enter your home without your permission, they're allergic to sunlight and garlic, and they can't cross running water. It's unknown if they have any other forms (gaseous, wolf, bat, etc.), though the moth below does have a bat-like quality to it.




















Thanks for the vampire moth, Tanya and Ida.

Cryptid Squid(s)

You're looking at a screenshot from a video taken of what's been dubbed the long-arm squid. But you also might be looking at the adult version of a bigfin squid.

The bigfin squid (Magnapinna s.) is a cryptid, meaning it is an animal for which we have a dearth of information. Specifically, we have only *officially* seen its larval, paralarval, and juvenile stages. No one can confirm that they've seen the adult stage. But we *think* we have.

Photo source: ToLweb.org


























Magnapinna is Latin for 'great fin'. This squid earned it because the fins on its head are very large, with distinctive morphology. So when researchers encountered this squid seen above (and in the video below), they saw the fins and thought, hey, we just might have found an adult Magnapinna.

They hadn't expected the long arms (elastic, and reaching a length of 15-20 times the mantle length). That's why the young ones have the name bigfin, and the adults the name long-arm. But the 'adults' have only ever been captured on film, and so have never been studied beneath the scalpel and microscope. Not until then can we confirm any link between the two cryptids.

Watch out for this video; it's flickery, has the feel of the beginnings of a horror film, and the squid reminds me at first glance of the queen alien from Alien.

Thanks for the squid, Christopher. And Happy Halloween.

Makes My Day

Once again I'm going heavy on the spider posts. But this one might have some redemptive qualities to it. A short while ago we read about an orb weaver dining on a bird, and then about a spider that jumps on people and bites them. But how do you feel about a vegetarian spider? Quite a bit better, I imagine (unless you're a plant).

Photo source: GreenUpgrader.com


















It turns out that a certain population of Bagheera kiplingi (yes, named after the black panther in Kipling's Jungle Book), a species of Mexican jumping spider, dines on the Mexican Acacia tree almost exclusively. Scientists documented their eating habits and found that out of 140 meals, 136 of them were plant-based. What were the other four meals? Well, they snatched ant larvae from passing ants. Okay, that's not so charming.

But still. This is the only known group of spiders to have an almost completely vegetarian diet. I love jumping spiders since they don't trigger my arachnophobia. And finding one that eats tree bits, well, that just makes my day. Thanks, Peter.

Polyextremophile

Time for a new word: polyextremophile. This means, in quasi-Greek, one who likes several extremes. I stumbled across this word while researching the water bear (Tardigrades).

Water bears are not only worthy of their own plush toy, but are marvels of biological engineering. They are microscopic (some species, of which more than a thousand have been described, can reach 1.5mm) plant or bacteria eaters. But what makes them stand out is their tolerance of extreme environments. They are unique in the animal world for being able to tolerate and sometimes even thrive under such conditions as: 303 degrees F (151 degrees C), altitudes of over 6000 meters, oceanic depths below 4000 meters, both poles, the equator, cold approaching absolute zero, 1,000 times more radiation than any other animal, and even the vacuum of space (a very useful trait for those water bear cosmonauts). They are found everywhere.

We can all learn a good lesson in tolerance from the water bear, my friends.

Is it just my twisted mind, or does all this talk of water bear toughness trigger thoughts in you about how you might go about killing one? Poor little water bear, you pose no threat, are invisible to the human eye, and were even endowed with an endearing name, and yet still you have at least one human contemplating your destruction.

Thanks for the new critter, Morgan.

British Invasion of the Alien Kind

Increasingly mild weather in the UK may seem like a good thing to those who hate the cold and rain. But like everything, even mildness has its price.

And the price in this instance may be too high.

Spiders. Spiders galore. Alien spiders from alien shores arriving in shipping crates and boxes are now able to enjoy the warmer climate, whereas before they were killed off by the cold. Brits are reporting seeing new spiders all over the place, from false widows to black widows, and other exotic arachnids in between.

Here's a shot of Judy's favorite (thanks for the article, Judy). It's of a tube web spider (Segestria florentina). This species is making its way northward up the island and is known to be very aggressive. If approached by a human, it will rear up, bare its fangs, then leap and bite. That's what I expect out of every spider I see, so this comes as no surprise to me. But still, enough already.

Tighten up those shipping regulations, UK, if for no other reason then to appease arachnophobes and would-be tourists like myself.

New Megastick

This is one record I hope doesn't get broken again (I'm not a fan of enormous insects).

British scientists have confirmed the discovery of Phobaeticus chani, aka Chan's Megastick. Native to the island of Borneo (of orangutan fame), this insect measures in at almost two feet long. What's interesting is that the specimen below has been part of a bug collection for almost thirty years. But only recently have scientists confirmed its new species status.

I don't know if anyone has studied a living specimen. If not, I can understand. It's hard to find rare bugs that are masters at disguise, especially with raucous orangutans harassing you wherever you go.

Thanks for the article, Ida.

Photo source: PopSci.com









Hmm. How would you find another one? Is there anyone dedicated enough to this megastick to want to devote years of their lives to finding it? I'd probably offer a cash reward to whoever brought me a living one. But then you'd have a bunch of bounty hunters roaming the rainforests of Borneo. Maybe we should just let this one be.

Body-snatching Barnacles and Zombie Crabs

I stole the title to this post because I loved it so much (and I couldn't think of something better). Turns out not all barnacles are conical-shelled crustaceans that began life as free-floating plankton. Some barnacles are the scourge of any crab they encounter.

When the female Sacculina barnacles invades a crab's body, she does so in an amorphous gelatinous form. She then sends roots throughout the crab's body and begins to feed on it while she grows into a tumorous growth. She even carves out a little spot (the barnacle equivalent of a studio apartment) for the male Sacculina so that she might have baby Sacculinas. But the barnacle doesn't stop there.

Photo source: hku.hk
She seizes control of the crab's mind and forces it to do her bidding. The crab ceases to grow and looses the urge to mate. Instead, it unwillingly devotes itself to caring for the barnacle's eggs, using all of its time and resources to do so (disciplining the barnacles youngsters when they get rowdy, reading to them, singing lullabies just before nap time, etc.). The barnacle even alters the physiology of a male crab so that it becomes a female, so that it might better tend to the eggs.

Come on. I know all creatures need to make a living, but some just take it too far. Some parasites manage to be beneficial, and some become tongues. This one just owns its host in every conceivable way and then discards it. My neighbor has a mooching, parasitical son, who I now suspect might be a variant of the Sacculina barnacle.

Thanks for the link, anonymous.

Louse Tongue

Cymothoa exigua has the dubious distinction of being one of the only parasites on the planet that actually replaces one of the host animal's organs.

Upon entering the spotted rosesnapper's mouth, the nubile sea louse attaches itself to the fish's tongue and starts feeding off the tongue's blood. As C. exiqua grows, the tongue atrophies and falls off. But the sea louse remains, firmly grasping the stump of the tongue. The fish is actually able to move and use the sea louse as if it were its own tongue, and sustains no additional harm.

From what I've read, C. exigua only latches on to the spotted rosesnapper's tongue. How does such a specific parasitism arise? Are they too good for other fish? Is there something extra fancy about spotted rosesnapper tongue?

I imagine that when spotted rosesnappers go out on dates, one of the first things they ask each other--certainly before the first kiss--is if they have a sea louse tongue. That might be a deal breaker for some.

Thanks for the photo, Jelo.