Titan beetle

(Titanus giganteus)

Is the second largest species of beetle, with adults growing up to 6 inches long. This species can be found in the rain forests of South America. Not to much is known about this species as their larvae has never been found and adults only known to search for mates and don’t hunt for food. These beetles have short mandibles but they are very strong they can cut a pencil in half and cut into skin.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Arthropoda-Insecta-Coleoptera-Cerambycidae-Prioninae-Titanus-giganteus

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Source: astronomy-to-zoology

“There is, in the old city, a museum of living butterflies. The glass walls of the Imperial Greenhouse hold them hostage. Among the tropical rot the insects bloom, bright eyes simulated on powdery tissues. They sip sugars through prehensile tongues, careen in choppy orbs. The heat drove me out. At a cafe table—-coffee, chocolate fingers, slate clouds of tobacco smoke—-I sketched them badly, their forms terrific and scarce.”

—Mark Wunderlich | excerpt from “The Imperial Life of Insects” | Voluntary Servitude 

ymutate: Honeypot Ants, Australia Ending the series of posts of aboriginal art is this photo of honeypot ants which play a role in aboriginal culture. from wikipedia: Honeypot ants such as Camponotus inflatus are edible and form an occasional part of the diet of various Australian Aboriginal peoples. Papunya, in Australia’s Northern Territory is named after a honey ant creation story, or Dreaming, which belongs to the people there, such as the Warlpiri. The name of Western Desert Art Movement, Papunya Tula, means “honey ant dreaming”. Honeypot ants, also called honey ants or repletes, are ants which are gorged with food by workers, to the point that their abdomens swell enormously, a condition called plerergate. Other ants then extract nourishment from them. They function essentially as living larders. Honeypot ants belong to any of five genera, including Myrmecocystus. They were first discovered in 1881 by Henry C. McCook. Many insects, notably honey bees and some wasps, collect and store liquid for use at a later date. However, these insects store their food within their nest or in combs. Honey ants are unique in using their own bodies as living storage, but they have more function than just storing food. Some store liquids, body fat, and water from insect prey brought to them by worker ants. They can later serve as a food source for their fellow ants when food is otherwise scarce. In certain places, they are eaten by people as sweets and are considered a delicacy. Some worker ants turn into honeypots right from their emergence from pupa stage. The young ants stay in the nest, and the worker ants who collect honey, feed them. As they feed more honey than they need, the surplus honey gets stored in their abdomen. As their abdomen expand, the ants lose their mobility. These ants can live anywhere in the nest, but in the wild, they are found deep underground, literally imprisoned by their huge abdomens, swollen to the size of grapes. They are so valued in times of little food and water that occasionally raiders from other colonies, knowing of these living storehouses, will attempt to steal these ants because of their high nutritional value and water content. These ants are also known to change colors. Some common colors are green, red, orange, yellow, and blue.
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ymutate: Honeypot Ants, Australia

Ending the series of posts of aboriginal art is this photo of honeypot ants which play a role in aboriginal culture.

from wikipedia: Honeypot ants such as Camponotus inflatus are edible and form an occasional part of the diet of various Australian Aboriginal peoples. Papunya, in Australia’s Northern Territory is named after a honey ant creation story, or Dreaming, which belongs to the people there, such as the Warlpiri. The name of Western Desert Art Movement, Papunya Tula, means “honey ant dreaming”.

Honeypot ants, also called honey ants or repletes, are ants which are gorged with food by workers, to the point that their abdomens swell enormously, a condition called plerergate. Other ants then extract nourishment from them. They function essentially as living larders. Honeypot ants belong to any of five genera, including Myrmecocystus. They were first discovered in 1881 by Henry C. McCook.

Many insects, notably honey bees and some wasps, collect and store liquid for use at a later date. However, these insects store their food within their nest or in combs. Honey ants are unique in using their own bodies as living storage, but they have more function than just storing food. Some store liquids, body fat, and water from insect prey brought to them by worker ants. They can later serve as a food source for their fellow ants when food is otherwise scarce. In certain places, they are eaten by people as sweets and are considered a delicacy.

Some worker ants turn into honeypots right from their emergence from pupa stage. The young ants stay in the nest, and the worker ants who collect honey, feed them. As they feed more honey than they need, the surplus honey gets stored in their abdomen. As their abdomen expand, the ants lose their mobility.

These ants can live anywhere in the nest, but in the wild, they are found deep underground, literally imprisoned by their huge abdomens, swollen to the size of grapes. They are so valued in times of little food and water that occasionally raiders from other colonies, knowing of these living storehouses, will attempt to steal these ants because of their high nutritional value and water content. These ants are also known to change colors. Some common colors are green, red, orange, yellow, and blue.

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Source: ymutate