Xylocopa caerulea is a relatively large species, reaching an average size of 23 millimetres (0.91 in). The thorax region of these insects are covered with light blue hairs, giving it a striking blue colour. The sides of the abdomen and first abdominal segments are also covered by similar, albeit a finer and thinner coat of blue hairs.
Posts Tagged 'Entomology'
TIL – There Is A Blue-Colored Bee
Published August 22, 2018 Uncategorized Leave a CommentTags: blue bee, carpenter bee, Entomology, insect, Melittology, wildlife, Xylocopa caerulea
Online Reviews Are Crap! [comic]
Published December 8, 2017 Uncategorized Leave a CommentTags: Argyle Sweater, bad restaurant, cartoon, comic, Dung Beetle, Entomology, funny, humor, online review, restaurant review, Scott Hilburn, The Argyle Sweater, Yelp
Bug Collectors [video]
Published May 26, 2017 Uncategorized Leave a CommentTags: Arizona, arthropod, Beetle, Bug Collector, Charlie O’Brien, Entomology, Green Valley, Insect collecting, Lois O’Brien, science, video, weevils
Living Creature Found With Mechanical Gears
Published September 13, 2013 Uncategorized Leave a CommentTags: aphid, bugs, crickets, Entomology, insects, involute gear, Issus, leafhopper, mechanical engineering, Mechanical Gears, physiology, planthopper, wildlife
Issus, a type of planthopper has perfectly formed gears on its legs. The gears are present in the young issus, but disappear when it reaches adulthood.
According to Popular Mechanics –
With two diminutive legs locked into a leap-ready position, the tiny jumper bends its body taut like an archer drawing a bow. At the top of its legs, a minuscule pair of gears engage—their strange, shark-fin teeth interlocking cleanly like a zipper. And then, faster than you can blink, think, or see with the naked eye, the entire thing is gone. In 2 milliseconds it has bulleted skyward, accelerating at nearly 400 g’s—a rate more than 20 times what a human body can withstand. At top speed the jumper breaks 8 mph—quite a feat considering its body is less than one-tenth of an inch long.