PIOTR NASKRECKI PHOTO BANNERS HANGING IN CHANGING EXHIBIT GALLERY Bushhopper Stalk-Eyed Fly Phymateus viridipes Diasemopsis fasciata Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique A nymph of the bushhopper from Mozambique Like antlers on a deer’s head, the long can afford to be slow and conspicuous thanks eyestalks on this fly’s head are used in maleto- to the toxins in its body. These insects feed male combat, allowing the individual with on plants rich in poisonous metabolites, the largest stalks to win access to females including some that can cause heart failure, so most predators avoid them. Coconut Crab Periodical Cicada Birgus latro Magicicada septendecim Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands Annandale, Virginia The coconut crab is not just another land Periodical cicadas spend seventeen years crab; it is the largest living terrestrial underground, feeding on the roots of plants. invertebrate, reaching a weight of nine After that time they all emerge at the same pounds and a leg span of over three feet. time, causing consternation in people and Their lifespan is equally impressive, and the a feeding frenzy in birds. A newly emerged largest individuals are believed to be forty to (eclosed) periodical cicada is almost snow sixty years old. white, but within a couple of hours its body darkens and the exoskeleton becomes hard. BIG BUGS • Dec. 31, 2015 - April 17, 2016 Virginia Living Museum • 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd. • Newport News, VA 23601 • 757-595-1900 • thevlm.org PIOTR NASKRECKI PHOTO BANNERS HANGING IN CHANGING EXHIBIT GALLERY Dung Beetles Lappet Moth Kheper aegyptiorum Chrysopsyche lutulenta Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique Dung beetles are very important members of At the beginning of the dry season in Savanna communities. Without their waste Mozambique many deciduous trees lose their removal work, the place would quickly sink leaves. This is also the time when Lappet under layers of dung produced by mammalian moths emerge, and their coloration allows grazers and browsers. Their ability to return them to blend in among the fallen foliage. nutrients trapped in dung back to the soil is a part of the positive feedback loop between rapid vegetation growth and herbivory. Giant-Jawed Katydid Human Bot Fly Gnathoclita vorax Dermatobia hominis Sipaliwini, Suriname Belize/Boston, MA Giant mandibles in the male of this highly Bot flies are parasites that develop in the territorial katydid are mostly used to fight skin of mammals, including humans, and other males, but they also help block the many visitors to Central and South America entrance to his hiding place in a hollowed-out unwittingly bring them back home. While we branch. may not like parasites, they play a critical role in all ecosystems, regulating the population sizes of their hosts. [This uninvited passenger came with me from Belize as a tiny larva embedded in my arm. —P.N.] BIG BUGS • Dec. 31, 2015 - April 17, 2016 Virginia Living Museum • 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd. • Newport News, VA 23601 • 757-595-1900 • thevlm.org PIOTR NASKRECKI PHOTO BANNERS HANGING IN CHANGING EXHIBIT GALLERY Golden Orb-Weaver White Ringed Atlas Nephila senegalensis Epiphora mythimnia Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique The golden orb-weaver is one of the world’s Almost as big as a dinner plate, the white most impressive spiders. Its name comes ringed atlas is one of the largest moths in from the beautiful, golden coloration of its Mozambique. Yet despite its size, this moth is silk, which is strong enough to capture small surprisingly difficult to spot when it rests on birds. the trunk of a tree. Leaf-Footed Bug Good Mosquito Anisoscelis flavolineata Toxorhynchites brevipalpis Barbilla National Park, Costa Rica Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique A combination of black, yellow, and red is a A living, breathing oxymoron, the good good indication that this leaf-footed bug is not mosquito is a highly beneficial insect. This edible. Many toxic or venomous animals use species does not feed on blood, but on flower such markings, known as the “aposematic nectar. More importantly, its larvae prey coloration,” to warn potential predators of the on the larvae of other mosquitos, targeting harm they may cause if attacked. mostly those highly harmful species that carry dengue and yellow fever. BIG BUGS • Dec. 31, 2015 - April 17, 2016 Virginia Living Museum • 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd. • Newport News, VA 23601 • 757-595-1900 • thevlm.org PIOTR NASKRECKI PHOTO BANNERS HANGING IN CHANGING EXHIBIT GALLERY Matabele Ants Sylvan Katydid Megaponera analis Acauloplax exigua Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique With mandibles full of freshly killed termites, Sylvan katydids are masters of camouflage. a column of Matabele ants returns from Their bodies are perfect replicas of the leaves the successful raid of a termite mound. A on which they feed, making it difficult to tell thousand-strong, this group of ants acts where the plant ends and the insect begins. almost like a single organism, equivalent in its impact on the termite colony to a medium- sized mammal. Scorpionfly Conehead Katydid Panorpa acuta Copiphora hastata Estabrook Woods, Massachusetts Barbilla National Park, Costa Rica Scorpionflies have an elaborate courtship Armed with powerful mandibles and sharp behavior. In many species males try to win a spines on its legs, this Central American female’s favor by presenting her with a nuptial katydid is an efficient predator of insects gift, usually in the form of a freshly killed and other invertebrates. It is also capable insect. of hunting small lizards and snails with thick shells. BIG BUGS • Dec. 31, 2015 - April 17, 2016 Virginia Living Museum • 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd. • Newport News, VA 23601 • 757-595-1900 • thevlm.org PIOTR NASKRECKI PHOTO BANNERS HANGING IN CHANGING EXHIBIT GALLERY Silent Katydid Goliath Birdeater Macrochiton sp.n. Theraphosa blondi Sipaliwini, Suriname Sipaliwini, Suriname Tropical forests of the globe hide many The South American goliath birdeater is organisms that scientists have not yet named the largest spider in the world. Its leg span and described. Unlike most katydids, which approaches thirty centimeters (nearly a foot) are well-known for their singing behavior, this and it weighs up to one hundred and seventy recently discovered species is unusual in its grams—about as much as a small puppy. inability to produce sound. As we lose natural These spiders truly are Goliaths, but are they habitats, we lose the ability to catalog all of are not bird eaters. Rather, they feed mostly Earth’s life—before it disappears forever. on earthworms and other invertebrates. Treehopper and Ant Rain Locust Harmonides sp. and Camponotus sp. Lobosceliana cinerascens La Selva, Costa Rica Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique For ants, a colony of treehoppers is like a Following the downpours of the rainy season, pasture full of cattle. They protect the insects nights in the East African Savanna begin and collect their honeydew, a sugar-laden to reverberate with loud calls of adult rain fluid produced by treehoppers. An ant can locusts. However, before the rains come, elicit the production of a droplet of honeydew young locusts must survive the dry season. by gently stroking a treehopper with her Looking like a piece of a dry, shriveled leaf antennae. helps them blend in and avoid being detected by predators. BIG BUGS • Dec. 31, 2015 - April 17, 2016 Virginia Living Museum • 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd. • Newport News, VA 23601 • 757-595-1900 • thevlm.org PIOTR NASKRECKI PHOTO BANNERS HANGING IN CHANGING EXHIBIT GALLERY Tree Scorpion Giant False-Leaf Katydid Opisthacanthus asper Celidophylla albimacula Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique Barbilla National Park, Costa Rica Many scorpions glow a beautiful, blue color Almost as large as a hand and sitting fully when exposed to ultraviolet light. The function exposed on vegetation, this katydid virtually of this fluorescence is not understood fully. disappears thanks to its remarkable Recent research suggests that the entire resemblance to a leaf. body of the scorpion acts as a light-sensitive organ, helping the animal find shelter and avoid exposure to the sun. Piotr Naskrecki Piotr Naskrecki s a photographer and entomol- ogist based at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. Field research on insects has taken him to six continents, where he strives to promote understanding, appreciation, and conservation of invertebrates and other “non-charismatic” animals. Through photography, he aspires to capture both their beauty and their roles as critically important members of the Earth’s ecosystems. “These are some of my favorite images, each showing an organism that has a special signifi- cance to our own species, the global ecosys- tem, or me personally,” Naskrecki was quoted in the Daily Progress. “Some were selected simply because I was impressed with the intricacies or colors of their bodies. A couple of photos show insects discovered and named by me. All show that insects are as worthy of our attention as any other animal on Earth.” BIG BUGS • Dec. 31, 2015 - April 17, 2016 Virginia Living Museum • 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd. • Newport News, VA 23601 • 757-595-1900 • thevlm.org.