The theme for today involves two insects that relate to trees, either in form or funtion

The first is a Megarhyssa nortoni. They use that very long ovipositor (the black needle-like thing) to drill into trees in order to lay a single egg on developing siricid woodwasps. The egg hatches and the larva Megarhyssa then feeds on the siricid larva, slowly. Eventually there is nothing left of the siricid except the exoskeleton (outer insect skin) and the head capsule. The Megarhyssa pupates, chews its way out of the tree, and wah-la it begins all over again. They are able to hunt for siricids in the trees by using those antennae to smell for the frass (insect poop) and symbiotic fungus that is carried by and injected into the trees by the siricids.

The second insect is a stick insect (Phasmatodea). Im not sure of the species ID because it was a juvenile, and well, I suck at species id on phasmids. There are actually people who have dedicated whole websites to phasmids, phasmatodea.com and phasmatodea.org. Stick insects perform this rocking behavior where they sway back and forth to help them blend in with their environment, making them look like a swaying stick, twig, leaf, etc in order to fool would-be predators.

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