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Another point on these mites on the crane flies: many water mites and terrestrial mites are bright red or otherwise brightly coloured, which always suggests to me a warning, probably about distastefulness or worse. And I have read that water mites indeed get away with being conspicuous and slow-swimmers because they are bad-tasting. How many of you heard Quirks and Quarks two Saturdays ago (May 19)? An item on the show concerned many species of "poison frogs" (arrow poison frogs, I think), which can sequester alkaloids from their ants and mites prey (mainly mites) and incorporate them into poison glands in their skin for their own defenses. These frogs are mostly quite tiny but very brightly coloured. You can hear the item by going to the cbc.ca/quirks Web-site and selecting the May 19/07 program. Cheers from Jim in Wolfville ---------- From: Angus MacLean <angusmcl@ns.sympatico.ca> Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 22:27:53 -0300 Very interesting, Jim. Are you including the red areas on the body too? If mites, it's a wonder the creatures can fly!! Angus ----------- At 07:58 PM 5/29/2007, you wrote: >Regarding his mating crane flies (yes), Angus also wrote, "...Note the red >on the legs and parts of the body." The red items are clearly MITES, and >could be either water mites (since many crane fly larvae are semi-aquatic) >or terrestrial mites, and probably could be either larvae, nymphs, or even >adults? of the mites, which require specialists for identification, I >believe. Some of the mites seen on various insects are just hitch-hikers, >but some of them in larval or nymph stages are parasites, I believe. > >Cheers from Jim in Wolfville >---------- >From: Angus MacLean <angusmcl@ns.sympatico.ca> >Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 17:33:04 -0300 >To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Spittal Road Pit > >Thanks Steve. They are indeed Crane Flies, genus Nephrotoma. A >similar photo to mine is at : >http://bugguide.net/node/view/105327/bgimage > >Angus > >At 04:46 PM 5/29/2007, you wrote: > >Angus: Focus is a bit off, but they look more like mating > >craneflies (Tipulidae, Diptera). Look for club-shaped halteres in > >place of the second pair of wings possessed by most other insects. > >Steve > > > >On 29-May-07, at 4:10 PM, Angus MacLean wrote: > > > >>This morning I checked out an area in one of my Atlas Squares > >>called Spittal Road Pit (sw edge of Coldbrook). Despite being a > >>working pit (at times) it proved last summer to have quite a > >>variety of birdlife (along with other creatures). > >> > >>- I was intrigued by something oddly shaped that "floated" by me a > >>few times. It finally landed and I was able to get a photo.The > >>shape and pattern of their bodies suggests (a mating pair of) > >>stoneflies & I presume, because of their size would be > >>"Taeniopterygid broadbacks". However the extremely long legs would > >>suggest something else. Note the red on the legs and parts of the > body. Help! > >> > >>http://www.flickr.com/photos/58321572@N00/520342445/ > >> > >>Angus
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