Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning


January 10, 2015: Mating Moths - Extension and Retraction of Coremata

I managed to trip up some stairs yesterday, with a resultant cut above my shin - so off to A&E (SGH) to get it fixed. Today I was feeling ok and needed a bit of therapy - so off I went to Queensway Sec School just to get out of the house. What a surprise - in addition to the usual Oxyopes and - were tiger moths, Creatonotos gangis - mating and pre-mating with their coremata inflated.

First - female Oxyopes birmanicus (Burmese lynx spider)

jan 10 3185 oxyopes

Liprocea fusimormis

jan 10 3187 liprocea fusiformis

Oxyopes birmanicus with dinner

jan 10 3188 oxyopes dinner

Oxyopes birmanicus with dinner

jan 10 3190 oxyopes dinner

Parawixia extruding two strands of silk

jan 10 3194 parawixia extruding dragline silk

Argiope aemula waiting for dinner

jan 10 3195 female argiope aemula

Male Argiope aemula waiting for his mate to invite him

jan 10 3199 male argiope aemula

Mating moths, Creatonotos gangis

jan 10 3205 mating moths

Mating moths, Creatonotos gangis

jan 10 3207 mating moths

Creatonotos gangis starting to inflate his coremata. The coremata is a scent organ which emit pheromones to attract females

jan 10 3208 coremata extension

Partially inflated coremata

jan 10 3210 coremata extension

Note his ventral surface is oriented away from the blade of grass

jan 10 3212 coremata retracted

Two mating Creatonotos gangis

jan 10 3216 mating moths

Adjacent was an Argiope aemula extruding a ribbon of fine silk fibers

jan 10 3218 argiope wrapping

A closer view

jan 10 3222 argiope wrapping

Later

jan 10 3225 argiope wrapping

A surprise - a female Rucinia acuminata

jan 10 3234 unknown

Guarding her eggs? Rucinia

jan 10 3240 unknown guarding

A caterpillar

jan 10 3245 caterpillar

Creatonotos gangis with fully inflated coremata

jan 10 3248 coremata extended

Creatonotos gangis with fully inflated coremata

jan 10 3249 coremata extended

Creatonotos gangis retracting his coremata (deflating)

jan 10 3251 coremata retracting

Creatonotos gangis with fully retracted coremata

jan 10 3252 moth red anterior

Two mating Creatonotos gangis

jan 10 3254 mating moths

From the top - note the wings hiding the colorful abdomen

jan 10 3256 mating moths

An assassin bug

jan 10 3257 assassin bug

Lynx: Oxyopes birmanicus guarding her eggs

jan 10 3261 oxyopes guarding

Male Oxyopes birmanicus

jan 10 3263 male oxyopes

Orange beetle

jan 10 3272 orange beetle

Gecko

jan 10 3279 gecko

Thomisus guangxicus

jan 10 3284 thomisus guangxicus

Oxyopes with a fly for dinner

jan 13  4431 Oxyopes and fly dinner

Caterpillar

jan 10 3266 caterpillar

Gecko and Lynx - a stand-off

jan 13  4448 gecko oxyopes lynx spider

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C. Frank Starmer

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