northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's some bugs I've shown you before, Lupine Bugs . Though they have a reputation for eating legumes, a scat feast isn't unheard of. August 25, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 229695847, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) If you're thinking "why not show nature's beauty instead of scat-eating bugs", well look who else was dining on the scat. They were butterflies, Pearl Crescents to be precise. Scat may not be nature at its finest, but to many invertebrates they are a valuable food resource. With the exception of blooming native flowers, scat is probably one of the most common places to see various species hanging out together (mostly) peacefully. August 25, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 229695884, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's what I believe to be an Lupine Bug , and is almost certainly a Broad-headed Bug . Though the head may not strike you as being especially broad, in the true bug community they actually are. Though we informally may refer to all sorts of insects and even other arthropods like lobsters as "bugs", entomologists recognize the true bugs as a specific classification for a group of insects. The wasps/ants/bees, the flies, and the beetles are all common insects that are not true bugs. The Large Milkweed Bug I showed earlier is another example of a true bug. These guys are vegetarians, and like groups of plants like the peas/beans.  When they're young nymphs, they're considered to be ant mimics. I found a picture of a nymph - looks quite a bit like an ant, doesn't it? Ant mimicry is common enough that there's even a name for it:  myrmecomorphy .