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Any entomologist out there

  • Thread starter Pyro
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Pyro

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I consider myself a pretty competent armchair entomologist but this weekend I found something I have never seen (be it IRL or pictures) nor even heard about. Wondering if anyone might be able to give me a name on it.

AS I said in the topic line, I don't have any pictures I can post but the description speaks for itself:

Small, ~2cm long. Built and looks like a walking stick except the front pair of legs are held forward of the head and articulated like those of a praying mantis. Despite this articulation the front legs are not stocky like you see in mantids, they are however "spiked" like a mantid's.

Anyone have any guesses as to what this could be?
 
Pyro,

Could be another species of mantid - can you describe the head? Could also be a baby of either a matid or a walking stick..

Or, and I've seen these things, if it has a proboscis instead of mandibles, it could be something entirely different - don't remember what they're called at the moment....Have to check my bug books at home.
 
I am pretty familiar with mantids and this does not look like any I have encountered. Did not look like a nymph either.

Head was walking stick like. I'll see if I can find the bloke again, he has been around the same spot all weekend.

No proboscus.
 
did you see if it had wings, by any chance? walking sticks don't have wings, so that could help narrow it down.

www.bugguide.net - this website might be useful.
 
It has wing buds (like those found on some walking sticks.)

The photo you found is not the bloke I found. I fired off a couple pics last night, once I get them loaded I'll post them.

Quite literally the best description I can give is that it is a walking stick in every respect except for the mantid-like front legs.
 
well, my guess would still be that it's some sort of mantid.  the front legs that you are describing are characteristic of mantodea.

how about this guy?
 
also known as the Thread Legged Bug

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  • #10
Coleonyx,

Thats the guy!!

Here are a couple of my shots. Sorry about the focus, it is hard to macro a moving target

P6240005.JPG


P6240009%20crop.jpg


P6240003.JPG


I have to say, the fore legs on this guy are a great argument for convergent evolution. IMHO
 
  • #11
Aha! It DOES have a proboscis!

I wonder if it's related to ambush bugs or assasin bugs?
 
  • #13
[b said:
Quote[/b] (schloaty @ June 28 2006,9:51)]Aha!  It DOES have a proboscis!
Yes it does, my specimine was just to small and hunched up for me to see it.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I wonder if it's related to ambush bugs or assasin bugs?

According to the stuff I found online it is in the same family: Reduviidae. Just google "Thread Legged Bug" or "Emesaya" (the species most cited is brevipennis)
 
  • #14
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]brevipennis

A name like that could give someone a complex.
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  • #15
Oh sure PAK. Make fun of the poor little guys deficiencies!
smile_n_32.gif
 
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