1. Some Awesome Insect Groups

2. The Bed Bug

3. Some cool facts…  Bed Bugs suck blood  They feed by following the Carbon Dioxide expelled by the sleeping host  The make great pets, if you don’t mind feeding them!

4. Bed Bugs live in Cracks and Crevices…

5. And usually it’s the cracks and crevices of your mattress and box springs!

6. After feeding, bed bugs swell with blood

7. Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don’t let the Bed Bugs Bite!

8. How did bed bugs find OUR beds?  Ancestors of the Bed Bug (the Bat Bug) fed on our ancestors who lived in caves  As we progressed into houses with beds, so did our little friends

9. “Traumatic Insemination”  When mating, males stab the female’s body cavity with their penis and ejaculates into the body  The female is left with scars, showing the number of times she has mated

11. The Praying Mantis!

12. Some Facts…  Females may eat their mate –Sometimes, they may even turn on the male before they are finished! –However, males are STILL capable of mating after their heads have been chewed off!  One egg sac produces 30- 300 nymphs

13. The Sad Saga of the Male…

18. Raptorial Forelegs  Allow mantis to capture and devour quickly!

19. Prey Victims

20. And how cool is it that there is a form of kung fu modeled after the mantis? This is called the “mantis quan”

21. Velvet Ant + = ?

22. NO!  Velvet Ants are actually wasps! –The female is wingless –The male has wings

23. Cool Facts  Velvet Ants are solitary –Males fly around looking for a loner female  Females lay an egg in the nest of a bee or wasp host –The larvae hatches before the host, eats it, and uses the nest for itself  Few, if any animals can eat the velvet ant  Feed on Nectar and Water

24. Why are they so hard to kill?  Their exoskeleton is pitted (holey) and acts like a suit of armor

25. “Cow Killers”  Wasps can sting over and over – the sting of some velvet ants is the worst of any insect

26. Don’t get this close!

27. The Thistledown Velvet Ant!

28. Cicadas

29. Some Cool Facts  Periodical Cicadas only come out every 13 OR 17 years  Dog-Day Cicadas hatch every year  Females insert eggs in slits they cut into tree branches –Nymphs hatch and drop to the ground, digging underneath the soil until they are ready to emerge…

30. They are so noisy!  The make sound using “tymbals”, structures that are on their abdomen

31. 13-year Cicadas are found in Alabama The counties with dots are counties where emergences of the 13-year Periodical Cicadas have been found

32. Emergence…

33. Coming up from the ground

34. Climbing up…

35. Molting into Adults

36. Finding a Mate!

37. Female lays eggs

38. Young drop to the ground and the cycle begins again Emergence Video 

39. Dog Day Cicada – we get these every year

40. Luna Moth “Moon Moth”

41. Cool Facts  Nocturnal – only active at night  Larvae prefer walnut and hickory leaves  Adults have no mouth – eat nothing!  Males and Females mate at night for about 4 hours

42. So beautiful!

43. Luna Moth range

44. Attract mates by using pheromones

45. Luna moths are Silk moths Io Cecropia Polyphemus Imperial

46. A friendly reminder from the Lunesta moth:  Sleep is as important to your health and well-being as diet and exercise  Even a few bad nights can affect your mood and your physical health! So tonight…Get a Good Nights Rest!