The World Of The Creepy Crawlies
The world is blessed with a variety of numerous different species of plants and animals but the most common organisms that are usually found are the insects that are called “creepy crawlers” in general by people with some people that can classify them appropriately.
One of the most fascinating creatures, each class of these invertebrates tells a different story and provides us with general insight into what kind of role they play in the ecosystem they reside in. So today, I’ll be talking about some of them and showing what looks creepy or disgusting to the naked eye might create an impact if they disappeared from nature and share some interesting facts about them.
Let’s start with the ones that are quite charming and beautiful but they go unnoticed.
First up are Hersilia or two tailed spiders, these timid creatures are actually predators who are masters of camouflage. They hide in crevices and chipped barks of trees and usually hunt on small spiders, ants and other smaller insects. They posses two spinnerets on their posterior end thus called two tailed spiders. Their sternum’s are heart shaped and they posses 4 pairs of legs with the 3rd pair smaller than the rest. Males and Females are identified based on shape and size of pedipalps.
They also show sexual dimorphism which is usually noted in many spiders with females being larger at 10 mm (0.39 in) in lenght than males 8mm (0.31 in). 3–4 subspecies are found in India and the most commonly found ones are Hersilia savignyi.
Insects are also a common presence in our day to day life and one of these amazing ones are mantises, especially bark mantises (Theopoma sp)
One of the relatively smaller species of mantises they are commonly found hanging around tree barks which provide them with the perfect camouflage, just like other mantids they wait with their front legs in a upraised position, watching closely and striking their prey as it comes close. The predatory instinct with the perfect camouflage gives a good idea just how good they are.
Here, females dominate the males in height with females reaching 1.6 inches (4cm) and males reaching 1.4 inches (3.5 cm) not a big difference but it surely plays a big role as females tend to eat the males head after mating. Their diet generally include smaller insects like grasshoppers, moths, crickets and flies.
Other creatures that play a crucial role in nature are butterflies i.e danaid eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus) and moths that help as indicators of a good ecosystem, not only they are pollinators, they also are food to other insects and reptiles that thrive in the ecosystems they dwell in.
Another set of insects are bugs, but there’s a catch with the one I’ll be talking about, Brown marmothed stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) are not someone that help the ecosystem as the name suggests, these bugs leave a very unpleasant stench if killed by accident.
These insects are natural pests that destroy agricultural crops and cases of keratitis has been recorded in humans after coming in contact with its spray which is generally used by these animals as a defence mechanism to protect themselves from predators like birds and lizards.
Well these are some of the most common found insects or should I say creepy crawlies, at the moment both of them might sound the same but as mentioned above they are a unique set of invertebrates that are equally vital to our ecosystem. So let’s enjoy these natural indicators while we can.
If you like things related to animals and evolutionary prehistory then this page is the right one for you, if you like what I write then please like and share it with fellow wildlife enthusiasts and people who in general want to try something new. As always stay safe and stay healthy 👻
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