Natural Science Forum / Biology / Entomology / April 2005

Folks,
I am camped out at the foot of the Rockies west of Denver in a
travel trailer. Along with me are some spiders which I leave alone
for them to take care of the other species as they see fit.

Another vague attempt to figure out a spider I found that I have never seen
before.
I'm in Northern Illinois.  I moved a paper lawn clipping bag that had been
on bare dirt for about twenty-four hours (about 30-50 degrees F).

I saw this brown leaf-like insect in my garden today. Does anyone know
what this is?
http://uk.geocities.com/claire.daniels3@btinternet.com/leafinsect.jpg

Need a couple pints or a quart.
Thanks

Could someone help me out with the identity of a 'pest' that has been
nibbling holes in the leaves of strawberry plants in my garden. I've
got a freshwater entomology background so was a little surprised by
this creature.

While in Belize recently, I photographed a large bug that I described
as "The Cockroach that Ate Chicago." I thought it might be a "Palmetto
Bug," but I am not sure. Does anyone know about the insects of Belize?
See the picture at

I have a photo of a bug that found its way into our bathroom.  I would
like somebody with insect knowledge to identify this mysterious
creature for our family.
I am originally from Texas and I thought I had seen everything while

Dear colleagues,
I am a PhD student at the Limnological Institute of the University of
Konstanz, Germany and I am working with moths of the subfamily
Nymphalinae, especially the water veneer Acentria ephemerella. I am

I want to become an Entomologist but I can't figure out what school to go to
and I'm not all that educated on how to preserve the specimens

what is the difference between a coccoon and a chrysalis? Also what
exactly is chitin?

Ron
There is something that i dont like about religious people... They say lots of things but they never explain what they say...
Because we are in a scientific list here, and because the subject interest me, i would like to ask you a question
You said :

How does on determine death in an organism with a decentralized nervous
system?
My mantis "Died" yesterday, but a leg was still twitching for some time
after.  Wanting to be sure, but not trusting dismemberment, I put him out in

I read an interesting summary about a letter that appeared in Ecological
Letters 8, 290, 2005. It appears Monarchs injected with Protozoan
parasites show reduced flight performance and endurance in experimantal
cages. It was estimated this would increase the migration of a ...

I found this in my house and was wondering if anyone could identify
what it belongs to.  If it helps, I am in central florida area.
It seems to be a tiny claw.
Here are two pictures.

Could someone please go to news:alt.binaries.pictures.animals
and look at the "weird caterpillar" photos and possibly
speculate on an ID -- or at least an explaination of the
things on this guy's head.