It was an ordinary day. Sitting in the car, waiting for my wife and Snickerdoodle (our large cat) to finish with his visit at the vet's office. Only one "parent" is allowed to be with the family pet during examinations and treatment. Seems Snickerdoodle is having a urinary problem and needed a trip to the vet. He wasn't happy about being stuffed in our pet carrier, but he had no choice. I helped carry him into the office and went back to the car to wait. While listening to the radio with the windows down on a beautiful fall afternoon, I noticed movement on the side of the vet's office.
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The spotted lanternfly
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There were close to over a hundred spotted lanternflies walking back and forth where the lower stone met the siding on the side of the building. Seems they had two lanes of traffic, one to go in each direction. One lane was traveling along the outside of the stone base while another lane was on the bottom edge of the vinyl siding. It was amazing watching these insects which are about an inch in length with grayish-brown fore wings with black spots and red hind wings with black spots and a white band on the edge of the wing with a black tip.  |
Beautiful Lanternfly caught in a spider's web
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Beautiful insect, but has spread invasively in the past few years throughout eastern Pennsylvania, Southwestern New Jersey, eastern Maryland, northern Virginia and northern Delaware Valley. Many trees in Lancaster County sport adhesive bands around them in an attempt to stop the insects from using the tree as a home for its eggs. It was great entertainment since I knew I would be waiting at least an hour for Carol and Snickerdoodle to arrive back at the car. As I watched the spotted lantern fly, I remembered yet another rather unusual insect called the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle that I had been reading about in the past week or so. What a name for a bug! This insect is a native to California and has the feature of being able to withstand nearly 40,000 times its body weight. That means it can be run over by a car and be able to walk off the road afterward. Unbelievable!! The insects is built like a tank. It can't fly like many insects, but stays put and lets its specially designed armor take the abuse until the predator gives up and walks or flies away. Researchers say that the insect's elytra, the body part that opens and closes on the wings of aerial beetles, have fused together to act as a solid shield for the insect, which can't fly. It is just about crush-resistant. The insect's shell adapts to situations such as stretching rather than shattering. It's also extremely good at playing dead, if needed.  |
| The Diabolical Ironclad Beetle |
The Ironclad is a terrestrial insect, or beetle, so its not lightweight and fast, but built more like a tank. It can't fly away, so it just stays put and lets it's armored shell take the abuse until the predator gives up. Researchers found that the shell can withstand a force the same as a 200-pound man enduring the weight of 7.8 million pounds. You know anyone that can do that? The elytra is made of chitin, a fibrous material and a protein matrix. It's exoskeleton contains about 10% more protein by weight than that of a lighter, flying beetle. Scientists believe that by understanding just what makes the iron beetle so tough will have practical applications for humans such as better designs for aircraft and automobiles. At present there is research being carried on by the Air Force which may prove to be beneficial for the development of ultra-durable aircraft. Now that's something than the spotted lantern fly isn't going to do. I must admit that I enjoy watching my daughter-in-law catch lantern flies when muy wife and I head to our grandson's baseball games. She uses a small water bottle and when she sees a lanternfly on a light pole, will place the bottle's open top in front of the fly and it will automatically jump into the bottle. By the end of a night-time ballgame, she will have a water bottle filled with the insects. She's certainly doing her part to protect the eco-system from the predator lanternfly. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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