Insects

[LaurV]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Super! I had failed to imagine encounters of the culinary kind!

Haven't been to Thailand, have you? You are welcome any time for a taste. Give us a call to put some beer in the fridge, when cool it goes better with the crickets, cockroaches, bamboo worms, termites, o other fatty things...
(a billion pictures to come if you remind me when I am home, today we are working, in spite of the fact that is King's B'day and it is national holiday, our company switched with yesterday, to give a long weekend to the people, what most companies in the area did).

(otoh, you could also google it, the 'net is full of cree-cree - pun intended, cooked or for cooking)

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by LaurV

Haven't been to Thailand, have you? You are welcome any time for a taste. Give us a call to put some beer in the fridge, when cool it goes better with the crickets, cockroaches, bamboo worms, termites, o other fatty things...

Please note, WRT insects merely being a novelty rather than a regular article of diet, I did specify "here in the good ol' USA." I know insects are commonly eaten elsewhere. Even I have heard about giant water bugs being commonly cooked and sold by street vendors in Thailand. "Even fallen victim to the Toe-biter? Get REVENGE brand deep-fried water bugs!"

Due to my upbringing, I admit feeling a bit squeamish about eating insects, though I happily devour other arthropods like shrimp, crab, and lobster (but see ASIDE). Even with those, though, I don't like the crunchy exoskeletons -- the bits tend to stick between my teeth and catch in my throat. But I remember eating chocolate-covered ants when I was little, so I might be able to re-broaden my culinary tastes. Maybe after I've downed a few beers...
;-)

[ASIDE] In colonial times, eating lobster was considered a sure sign of being poverty-stricken, so people who ate lobster often went to some length to conceal it from others. Lobster was something gleaned by poor people on the shore after storms, and was called "Poor man's chicken."

I had a great-aunt who had an absolute aversion to eating crabmeat. She was living in France during WWII, and had seen a lot of crab-eaten human corpses washed up on shore... [/ASIDE]

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

[ASIDE] In colonial times, eating lobster was considered a sure sign of being poverty-stricken, so people who ate lobster often went to some length to conceal it from others.

Same with oysters in the UK, back in the good old days.

[tServo]

While speaking with an old friend, he reminded me of a road trip we took in the 1970s to a park in southern Ontario that featured a "Monarch encounter". It was to Point Pelee National Park. Point Pelee is the southernmost area of Canada. It is a spit of land that juts out into Lake Erie. In August & September ( maybe even later ), the Monarchs pause there before they begin their perilous journey across Lake Erie. All during most of the day, the butterflies will stop there. In the morning, after they have warmed up, they then start flying south so they have as many daylight hours as possible to make the crossing. They also collect over many days if the weather is unfavorable. One can easily see trees covered with them.
There are plenty of pages to see this phenominum if you google " pelee monarchs".
I know their numbers have suffered over the decades but it still might be worthwhile if you live nearby to check this out before they are gone forever.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by xilman

Same with oysters in the UK, back in the good old days.

Reminds me of an entry in Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary:

OYSTER, n. A slimy, gobby shellfish which civilization gives men the hardihood to eat without removing its entrails! The shells are sometimes given to the poor.

[Dr Sardonicus]

I received a picture by Email of a Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar (Euchaetes egle) being (apparently) stung repeatedly by a small wasp. The wasp finally left, and the caterpillar resumed munching away at the milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), so the question was, what was going on?

The answer seems to be that the wasp wasn't stinging the caterpillar, it was laying eggs. The wasp appears to be a braconid wasp of the genus Mesochorus, and the picture I received looked a lot like this one.

The outlook for the caterpillar is not good. The wasp larvae will soon be dining on its innards, which will quickly render it moribund. It will stop feeding. I'm not certain of the denouement of this particular story, but I am familiar with what happens when the larvae of a braconid wasp that parasitizes the Tomato Hornworm mature. They emerge and spin elliptical white cocoons on the outside of the dying caterpillar's body.

BTW braconid wasps are in the family of ichneumon wasps. Their particular manner of parasitizing their hosts was the inspiration for the creature in Alien.

[Dr Sardonicus]

This is (I think) a Red-footed Cannibalfly (Promachus rufipes). I estimate its length at around an inch and a half, maybe a bit more (roughly 4 cm).

Its prey appears to be a green stink bug (Chinavia hilaris), but there is something white between the stink bug and the fly. Another victim or its remnants, perhaps?

This species of giant robber fly, AKA the "Bee Panther," preys on large flying insects, and has been reported to attack Ruby-throated Hummingbirds!

I was just opening my door after returning from an errand when I heard a soft buzzing noise nearby, and this thing landed on the window frame just to my right. I pocketed my keys and got my phone. I couldn't see anything in the viewfinder because it was bright sunlight, so I had to shoot blindly. It took several attempts, but fortunately this fly was very patient, probably because it was having a big meal.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Mississippi man who created mosquito-themed state flag says design was a joke

<snip>
The commission approved 147 proposals for the second round, and the state Department of Archives & History put those on its website on Monday. Many were surprised that the mosquito flag had made the cut, along with dozens of designs featuring Mississippi magnolia flowers.
<snip>
Supporters' hopes were dashed on Tuesday, however. Archives & History released a statement saying the design had been advanced mistakenly and would be removed from the list.
<snip>

It seems that someone mistyped one of the numbers used to designate proposed designs.

[kladner]

Great shot of the giant fly!

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kladner

Great shot of the giant fly!

Thanks, my hands must have been unusually steady that day.

Not so great on the ID, though. Robber fly ID'd by experts as a female Promachus hinei, AKA the Indiana robber fly (not rufipes). Also suggested, the white between the stink bug and the fly might be the stink bug's wings.

[Xyzzy]

https://www.kait8.com/2020/08/18/mo-...-walkingstick/