The Death of a Good Friend; the Acquisition of a Vinegaroon; Arthropodan Art; New Pets.

December 31, 2018 was a tragic day indeed.

R.I.P. Yoda

     Yoda became very gravid and increasingly weak. I was hoping she would manage to lay her ootheca before death set in, but apparently she decided against it. (She never mated, anyway. I tried to give her one early on, but she just tried to eat him.) We were just about to leave on a family vacation, and I wanted her to be malleable enough to spread properly, so I put her in the freezer. She was in the same position a weak later when I returned, and the cold kept her from decaying before I spread her wings in death.
     You have to give them the proper respect.

     The only light in this gloomy time (other than a family member's marriage, which was remarkably less than gloomy) was the acquisition of a vinegaroon (Mastigoproctus giganteus giganteus). They get their common name from their ability to shoot acetic acid out of a gland on their abdomen. Other notable features are their ginormous pinching/crushing pedipalps (which can make quite a loud cracking noise when striking) and legs that work as feelers like antennae. Gerald III, as my brother promptly named it, is the successor to both my Giant Walking Stick (Megaphasma denticrus) specimens I kept over the summer. I have gotten some good pictures of it, and have videoed its hunting behavior.

                                                                   

     

Unfortunately, I am currently unable to upload a video on Blogger. I may try to update this post in the future.

This is a Eurymerodesmus sp. I also fed it. They are known for their ability to excrete prussic acid (Hydrogen Cyanide). This apparently was of no consequence to our vinegaroon.

I also have been doing some art in various media. Below is the firefly larvae from last post rendered in colored pencil and graphite.

 Another medium I enjoy (but do not particularly excel at) is Lego. Below is an attempt at an anatomically correct jumping spider. The legs have the correct number of segments, and the eye arrangement screams Salticidae, but the tarantula-like abdomen kinda nullifies the effect. Everyone to whom I have shown it has thought at first it is a tarantula, much to my chagrin. One should always examine the eye arrangement of a spider before pretending to have an accurate identification. This mistake is particularly unforgivable with jumping spiders, whose prominent eyes are impossible to miss. Or maybe I'm just worse with Lego that my bias cares to reveal to me.

Eight eyes, all in the correct position.

     I also acquired a few new pets. I found about seven water striders floating upside-down in our pool and took them in to revive them. I had a 57% success rate (just under my 66% waterlogged honeybee rehabilitation success), and the four that survived are still going strong. I find it particularly interesting how quickly they are willing to attack things their own size, like these crane flies shown in the images below. 

      The last of my mealworms decided to pupate; whenever it becomes a beetle, it shall make a fine addition to my school's collection.

      I have also begun work on a bug book. The provisional title is "Hydroarthropoda." I shall paste my tentative description below:

Hydroarthropoda sits under the uneasy haze of armistice. Few of the eight distinct tribes share any common interests, and history has demonstrated that force is most tribes’ method of choice for settling conflicts. As the factions are inched closer and closer to open conflict by a mysterious rumor, a twenty million strong army of marauders advances from the west. The humorously suave and comically verbose invaders have an ingenious strategy: no survivors equal no one to warn future victims. Follow the witheringly sarcastic Gerris and his high-key extroverted companion Cox as they attempt to unravel the mystery threatening to destroy their world, while unearthing their own unknown biases and shortcomings. When a cold murderer appears on the scene of the confusion with tales of the approaching army, will the duo be able to warn Hydroarthropoda in time to avoid utter destruction?

      I included that simply in an attempt to give myself some sort of accountability. I think the plot is decent, if it is currently being poorly executed, and the experience should be pretty fun. I hope all the good news will keep y'all from going into depression over the tragic death of Yoda. To think: One more day and she would live lived to see her first January!

(Sniffle) Goodbye!