Jas from the Lab

You leave a legacy in every room you enter and exit; make it a good one. 💚

Wednesday Word of the Day: Prolegs

If all insects have 6 legs, then HOW are caterpillars still insects? 🤔

Well, caterpillars only have 6 “true legs” which are the jointed appendages that all arthropods have. The rest of the nubs are “prolegs” used for gripping, hanging, etc. ✅

Check out the prolegs on this 5th instar Tomato Hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) gripping this stick. The true legs are tucked near his head.

Don’t fear the unknown; discover it! 💚

Micro Monday | A Tale of Three Pictures

A butterfly’s life begins as a tiny egg. Eggs start off opaque (in this case for Painted Ladies, a bright blue). After 3-5 days the egg will turn transparent and you can see a tiny caterpillar inside.

Once the caterpillar hatches, it often eats the empty shell as its very first meal. Caterpillar stages are called “instars.” This hatchling stage is the first instar.

From this tiny beginning, the caterpillar will grow almost 100x its size, shed its skin 5 times, and eventually transform into a butterfly. How cool! Did you know this?

It’s been a while since I could concoct a fun post for you all, so let’s do it. 👀

POOF✨ You are now bug-sized 🪄 and trapped in an arena. You must pick 2 from this list to help defend you, the rest are attacking(let’s ignore some of the real-world predator/prey dynamics here 😂).

Who is your fighter squad for the Insect Showdown?? 🫣

Choose wisely. Power-ups and weaknesses provided on the second slide to help make your picks.

Don’t be afraid to fail. Be courageous enough to recover from failure. 💚

Wednesday Word of the Day: Venomous

Venom is a toxin produced by an animal or insect that is injected into another creature through a bite, sting, or stab. Insects can be either venomous or poisonous. An example of a venomous insect is the Buckmoth (Hemileuca maia) caterpillar which can deliver venom through their spines when touched.

An example of a poisonous insect is the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus). As caterpillars, Monarchs eat milkweed and retain its toxic chemicals in their bodies. As adults, they remain poisonous and are distasteful to predators.

Catchphrase for kids: Poison is when I eat it and it hurts me. Venom is when it tries to eat me (or sting/stab) and it hurts me! ☠️

The journey to knowing involves a path in which you did not know. 💚

Meme Monday 😅🤸🏾‍♀️

Today is the day to go out and take photos of butterflies. Don't forget to upload them to the iNaturalist.org app.