I'm an undergraduate at Virginia Tech that loves bugs! @RebeccasBones Profile pic by Tapas Kapat. Background pic from "Larousse universel en 2 volumes".
Blacksburg, VA
Joined May 2020
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Insect populations are on a global decline, but there are simple ways to help!🦋You can convert your lawn to natural habitat, reduce pesticide & herbicide use, turn off exterior lights, and much more! #entomology
Check out this article for more: bit.ly/3bvaFPH
This banded olethreutes #moth (Olethreutes fasciatana) looks a lot like bird poop! What a neat disguise! #entomology #lepidoptera
📷:Rebecca Hawkins
It rained pretty much all last week so I wasn't able to go out and take pictures until recently. Check out this wild looking #caterpillar! It will probably become an eight-spotted forester #moth (Alypia octomaculata). #entomology #lepidoptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Some flies have beautiful wings. This fly (Rivellia sp.) looks like its wings have tiger stripes! #entomology #flies #diptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
The dogwood leaf beetle (Calligrapha philadelphica) has absolutely gorgeous markings! As its name suggests, this #beetle is mostly found on #dogwood trees. #entomology #coleoptera #chrysomelidae
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Plume moths (#Pterophoridae) are very unique! They have slender wings that they hold outwards when resting. It's the ultimate T pose! #entomology #moth #lepidoptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Found this stink bug (Pentatomidae) with what I presume are its eggs! Very cute! #entomology #hemiptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Meet the locust leaf miner beetle (Odontota dorsalis), a leaf beetle that damages the leaves of black locust trees! I love their coloration and texture! 💕 #entomology #beetle #coleoptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Here's another handsome #beetle for #WorldColeopteraWeekend, the margined leatherwing (Chauliognathus marginatus)! This species of soldier beetle likes to hang out on flowers and has striking orange and black coloration. #entomology
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Here's a pair of golden tortoise beetles (Charidotella sexpunctata) for #WorldColeopteraWeekend! They're truly a beauty!! #entomology #beetles #coleoptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Here's another example of a fecal shield from a leaf #beetle larva! This larva, most likely a cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus), is covered in mucus and poop. It almost looks like a slug! #entomology #coleoptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Leaf #beetle larvae are well known for their "fecal shields"! For example, one group attaches their poop to the end of their body and holds it above like an umbrella! These fecal shields are used for defense and camouflage. #entomology #coleoptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Who's this ladybug lookalike? It's an argus tortoise #beetle (Chelymorpha cassidea), one of the largest species of leaf beetles in the US! They love to eat plants in the morning glory family, including sweet potatoes. #entomology #coleoptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
This #fly (Trichopoda pennipes) has fashionable feathery legs! But it's also a parasitoid of several true bugs. Fashionable but deadly! #entomology #diptera
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
Of course I couldn't resist checking out the golden dung flies too! Here's one eating a fly! #fly #entomology #predation
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
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Guess who just got their first professional camera? Me! That means even better bug pics from now on! I've been testing it out and here's my favorite pic from today: a ground beetle biting some sort of larva! #beetle #entomology #predation
📷: Rebecca Hawkins
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More on golden dung #flies! I've been seeing a lot of dead ones like this. Turns out it's the work of Entomophthora muscae, a pathogenic fungus. The fungus can control the fly's behavior, making it climb to a high spot to help spread its spores to other flies. Crazy! #entomology
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Not all #flies are ugly, check out the golden dung fly! The males of this common, widespread species of fly are covered in golden hairs. Females are duller. The adults are carnivorous and mostly prey on other flies, but they can eat nectar too. They breed on dung. #entomology
Rebecca Hawkins retweeted
We've all heard of praying mantises, but have you heard of #mantidflies? These relatives of lacewings independently evolved arms similar to mantises, except they aren't as good for walking. Most have babies that parasitize other bugs like spiders. Some even mimic wasps as adults!
Rebecca Hawkins retweeted
Say hello to the blue death-feigning #beetle! Why "blue"? These desert beetles secrete a blue wax to help them retain moisture. They're actually black! Why "death-feigning"? They'll play dead when touched in hopes that potential predators will lose interest!