Macro March: ‘Thrips’

Now *this* is a macro shot I could not have taken with my P&S or my other lenses. “Thrips are generally small insects (under 3 mm). Most species feed on plant tissues (often in flower heads), but some are predators of mites and various small insects (including other thrips). Many species are parthenogenetic. Adults may be winged or wingless. When present, the wings are slender and rod-like with a dense fringe of long hairs” » http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/library/compendium/thysanoptera.html

“There are about 5,500 species in the order Thysanoptera known worldwide, with approximately 700 species in the United States and Canada. The common name 'thrips' (both the singular and plural spelling) is derived from Latin and Greek words meaning 'woodworm,' a reference to the fact that many species live on dead branches. Except for some economically important species, the biologies of most thrips are unknown. … The majority of North American thrips … are associated with flowers, feeding on pollen and other floral tissues, and may be important pollinators” » National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America. New York: Sterling, 2008, page 143; http://www.amazon.com/National-Wildlife-Federation-Insects-Spiders/dp/1402741537

Taxonomy
» Class, Insecta
» » Subclass, Pterygota
» » » Superorder, Exopterygota
» » » » Order, Thysanoptera

This pair is on an “Angelonia salicariaefolia” petal.
Plant species page at PhytoImages, http://phytoimages.siu.edu/cgi-bin/dol/dol_terminal.pl?taxon_name=Angelonia_salicariaefolia&rank=binomial

Photo taken at SIUC Plant Biology Greenhouse, http://www.plantbiology.siu.edu/facilities/plant-biology-facilities/greenhouse/index.php

1 year ago (“Crinkle leaf plant”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-03-26
2 years ago (“The village awakens”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-03-26
3 years ago (“Say ‘ahhh’!”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-03-26

[MaryBeth Dailey]

I love how you did the "inset photo" zoomed in collage effect. I have never heard of those insects! I wonder if we have them down here in GA? I need to read the info...

[Thom Mitchell]

@espyetta I just wish the size difference were greater in the image! It took several attempts to get an adequately-sharp focus on one of these insects. Oh, I'm sure you have them; they're small. I think I noticed them on photos — zooming in — *before* I may have recognized them as bugs on the plants!

[MaryBeth Dailey]

@rhoing I will keep my eyes out for them. They have big eyes in relation to their heads!

[Thom Mitchell]

@espyetta I remember seeing a reading glasses case on a table in one of your posts. You will need your glasses to spot them!

[Danette Thompson]

Cool shot. I love the way you did the insert.

[Thom Mitchell]

@espyetta @danette Math problem for my graduate students: "Find the equations of the two lines tangent to the two, given ellipses"!

[Rick Schies]

The little things we often overlook