Mountain laurel mirids, Lopidea major, are relatively small insects that reach a little over ¼” as adults. Nymphs, or immatures, look like adults, but don’t have fully developed wings and are smaller in size. These mirids are a type of plant bug that is red and black in color. Bodies and front part of the wings are red while the head, antennae, legs, and back part of the wings are black. They have piercing-sucking mouthparts and use them to puncture foliage of plants. Feeding can lead to deformation… Read More →

Large Mounds Made by Leafcutting Ants Too Texas leafcutting ants, Atta texana, are fascinating ants native to Texas, Louisiana, and parts of Mexico. Leafcutting ants create large, extensive colonies, often with multiple mounds clustered in a single area. Mounds are volcano or crater-shaped with a centralized opening and may be mistaken for fire ant mounds, but fire ant mounds do NOT have a centralized opening. Usually, worker ants of this species, who forage for food, are the most commonly seen leafcutting ants, but in spring it is possible… Read More →

Why Insects Crunch by Wizzie Brown Insects and other arthropods have an exoskeleton, which means their “bones” are on the outside of their body. The exoskeleton serves as a protective covering, helps prevent desiccation, allows muscles to attach to it from the inside for movement, and provides sensory information. Four Layers The exoskeleton is made up of four layers: epicuticle, procuticle, epidermis and basement membrane. The most outer layer, the epicuticle, serves as a barrier to the outside environment and helps the insect avoid desiccation. If you have… Read More →