Defense Mechanisms
God has given all creatures a line of defense, something to give them a better chance of survival. And lately I’ve become intrigued by seeing evidence of this on our nature walks.
For instance below you will see a picture I took at our last Nature Club meeting. Notice the tiny red and black bugs.
But especially notice below the bugs, the silver metallic spiky round objects. Let me zoom in…
I was very intrigued by what these were so I sent the photo in to an Entomologist at the University of Kentucky and received the following response:
Hello Melissa,
The silver things are eggs and the bugs have hatched from them. They should be some sort of stick bug.
Cheers,
Bill
I suppose the eggs are protected/guarded by those spikes on them. Whether or not they are just “for show” or could actually do damage to a predator, I don’t know. But they are intimidating at least.
And then there’s the fake stinger on the end of this Snowberry Clearwing Moth Caterpillar. It is just a harmless hair, but predators don’t know that. In fact, at first, I was a bit concerned about it! I guess I would be looked upon as a predator!
Other defense mechanisms include camouflage, yucky smell (think skunk), poison glands (toad, etc.), bright colors (associated with being poisonous, frogs, etc.), protective shells (as in turtles), prickly spikes (hedgehogs, porcupines), and SO many more!
Fantastic!
, Julie
There is so much to see, learn about, and entertain us in God’s wonderful creation if we would just take the time to observe it!
Thanks for this
Amen Julie!
Great story and pictures to teach about defense mechanisms.
Melissa,
I never would have thought to send a pic into an entomologist for identification. My biggest trouble with nature is identifying things! Sometimes I can find it in a book or online but it’s rare.
Hi Cheryl! Good to hear from you again; thanks for visiting!