Pretty little things
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Pretty little things
I do not know what they are, but they come in all sizes and they sure are pretty.
Sue Alden
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They look like Harlequin Bugs (Murgantia histrionica), or some very close relative.
Very pretty indeed, and well shot!
--Rik
Very pretty indeed, and well shot!
--Rik
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I just came in from outside and freezing my whatevers off...what global warming?Ken Ramos wrote:Sue asked:"Global Warming." Seriously, a lot of animals and insect species that were once found in the southern climates, are now migrating northwards due to the warming trends or at least that is what I have been reading.Wonder why they came to visit me
Sue Alden
Maybe this is why theres isnt many bugs around here, or maybe its still not warm enouth!!Ken Ramos wrote:"Global Warming." Seriously, a lot of animals and insect species that were once found in the southern climates, are now migrating northwards due to the warming trends or at least that is what I have been reading.
- rjlittlefield
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Different sources quote different ranges for these beasts (and a lot of others). For Murgantia histrionica, The Audubon society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders (copyright 1980, pg 486), sayssalden wrote:I did a seach on "Harlequins" and that is what they look like, but it was stated that these insects are found in the southern part of the US (both southeast and southwest); and rarely found in Pennsylvania and Colorado.
I gather that you haven't seen these beasts in your area before. So maybe there's some climate thing going on, or maybe you're having a local population explosion this year due to irregular cycles of disease and predators, or maybe a few gravid females got carried in with a load of firewood last winter and the disease and predators haven't caught up with them yet. Hard to say without a lot more data.Range: New England and adjacent areas of Canada to southern states, west to California, south into Mexico.
--Rik