Despite their small size, they can cover great distances.
Jumping spiders can jump 50 times their own body length—
the equivalent of the average human jumping 300 feet.
Obviously, this is a significant skill for a predator to have.
Furthermore, these spiders have two large, forward-facing
eyes that give them a sort of charismatic charm. These eyes,
however, are incredible tools for these small hunters and
can illuminate the world and worlds around them. Some
researchers have found evidence to suggest that jumping
spiders can recognize the craters on the moon and can even
detect the Andromeda galaxy.
Now, what if you did not have sufficient light to hunt by
sight? Certain bugs are nocturnal, and to find these critters,
you must look where there is no light. You can go out at
night and see who is crawling around or look in dark places
like under bark. I recall one time when a naturalist friend
and I were investigating a strange noise coming from a
fallen limb. When searching under the bark of this branch,
we discovered an entirely new world of insects. There were
worms, beetles, and spiders, but the one that caught my eye
was an ever-so-tiny, clawed arachnid. This was not a scorpion,
but a pseudoscorpion—an arachnid, a member of an entirely
different group from scorpions. These organisms are small and
spend the majority of their time patrolling the bark of trees. In
fact, these bugs are so tiny that they will often hitch rides on
flies to other trees. This would probably be the reason why my
second encounter with a pseudoscorpion was on the shoulder
of my life jacket when I was kayaking in the Kiawah River. It
was indeed an eye-opening discovery. The noise that motivated
it, however, was not from the pseudoscorpion. Instead the
culprit turned out to be a boring beetle—boring because it
bores into wood, another interesting, spineless critter!
Pseudoscorpion
Now let us look even smaller. If you take the time to
scrutinize every limb of a plant, you are bound to run into
at least one aphid. Aphids belong to Hemiptera, the same
family as the same as the ambush bug. They, too, have sucking
mouthparts, but theirs are used for sucking the sugary
phloem out of plants. They are so efficient at sucking that
WINTER/SPRING 2018 • VOLUME 39
they are often pretty willing
to share. Thus, one of the
easiest ways to locate aphids
on a plant is to look for ants.
There are ant species that
love sugar and will actually
farm aphids like a rancher
Ants, Aphids, and Syrphid Fly
dealing with livestock. I
Larva
suppose this is a mutually
beneficial relationship because, in return for providing
sugar, the ants will protect the aphid from most potential
predators. Ant colonies have been seen tending thousands of
aphids and will even facilitate their reproduction inside their
underground tunnel systems.
However, some aphid predators that have adapted the
ability to evade the watchful farmers’ attention. In the photo
above, you may note there is a long, green, caterpillar-like
bug near the aphid herd. This is the larva of a Syrphid fly.
Though incredibly slow moving, this larva can consume large
numbers of aphids by emitting a pheromone that makes the
ants think it is also an aphid. It takes cunning to trick ants,
and syrphid flies certainly have it.
Other insects that have caterpillar-like larvae: butterflies and
moths (order Lepidoptera). Butterflies and moths are some
of my favorite arthropod encounters. They are abundant and
often easy to spot. In the
fall months on Kiawah, you
can witness many migratory
species including monarchs,
gulf fritillaries, and painted
ladies traveling through
Kiawah Island using the
coastline to aid their journey
Ceraunus Blue
south. There are smaller, less
noticeable species as well, such as Carolina satyrs and pearled
crescents. One of my favorite butterfly photos is of the ceraunus
blue (pictured). This is not an easy butterfly to spot because
of its drab, brownish dorsal wing coloration. However, after
taking its photograph, I noticed a slight iridescent hue on the
wings. Perhaps a color in a spectrum we cannot see?
There is an incredibly wonderful and diverse world
of bugs found in the maritime forests of Kiawah Island.
Unfortunately, with limited space to write this article, I came
nowhere close to even scratching the surface of this diversity.
For example, I hardly mentioned Coleoptera—a.k.a. beetles—
that comprise nearly one-fourth of all the animal species on
this planet. Bugs make up an integral part of the ecosystems
around us and are beautiful in so many ways. All I can hope
is that my accounts above will inspire you to expand your
explorations into the world of bugs. NK
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