Natural Science Forum / Biology / Entomology / April 2006

I recently received the following request for assistance concerning a
reference from a colleague
"I am editing a manuscript for the Handbook of Paleoichthyology, and
the author on the volume of thelodonts cannot find the reference of a

I was bought one of these for christmas:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/6fd6/
It's a small tub of nutritional gel that you can place ants into and
watch them dig and feed.

    Last night (April 21/06) while out photographing live moths, we came
upon what we suspect is a larva (?) of some insect (that we couldn't
find in our books).  But being lepidoptera people, we are easily stumped
by some of the intermediate instars for lots of the critters!  If

I'm photographing all the various kinds of life I can find in my local
park pond for inclusion in it's website.
I'd like to identify what I'm photographing. Though I'm sure this
shouldn't be a difficult task, it is for me.

At my place, spiders spin a lot of webs from a vine to a fixed
clothesline that is a foot or two from the vine.  How do spiders get
from the vine to the clothes line  - do they somehow jump or do they
shoot their web like the fictional spiderman or wait for the wind - or

Hello Lepidophiles,
I do a lot of sampling in remote areas where generators are either not
allowed or cannot be dragged, so I run my UV light traps off batteries.
In the past I have used garden tractor batteries, but now I am

Here is a nest that I came upon on St. John, Virgin Islands:
http://donwiss.com/pictures/STJ-2006/h0027.htm
What insect made this?
Thanks, Don <www.donwiss.com> (e-mail link at home page bottom).

On one of these lists some time ago (probably years) someone informed
the group of a language interpreter on the internet that could be used
to get an approximate interpretation of text. Could anyone please let me
know of the web site again?

These insects are covering the new flowers on our Joshua Trees in Las
Vegas, NV.  Does anyone know what they are?
http://www.zmall.com/bugs1.jpg

[February 24, 2006]
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/02/24/1405995.htm
Oregon 'bills' former owner of failed Internet firm for $2.48 million
(Columbian, The (Vancouver, WA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb.

What is this?
http://www.usenetposts.com/unknowninsect.JPG
It has a broad head like a beetle, but no antennae. It does not fly away
when approached, but can be touched before it flies off. Its flight is quite