Sometimes when you are under Disaster Emergency Self-imposed I-refuse-to-get-coronavirus Quarantine, you get bored. I was wandering around the yard one day and got down on my knees to look at crane fly larvae. While I was there, I noticed these crazy lace balloons attached to the stems of Bur Clover (Medicago polymorpha).
It only took a second to spot the larvae, too.
I was fascinated watching the little larvae wiggle around in their lace balloons, but I couldn't tell if they were related to the egg stage or the cocoon stage. So I sent my field assistant (read: nephew) to bring my phone camera and collection supplies. I was able to open one of the lace balloons to see that it was a cocoon with a pupa inside.
But what ARE THEY? I suspected they were some kind of beetle (probably weevil based on the "snout" of the pupa,) but there were several species in the grass that day, so I collected a few cocoons to see what emerged.
And here it is... the Alfalfa Weevil.
I didn't know at the time to look for eggs in the stems or I would have had the full life cycle. Nevertheless, it was hands-on nature learning at it's finest.
You can read more about the Alfalfa Weevil life cycle here: http://extension.cropsciences.illinois.edu/fieldcrops/insects/alfalfa_weevil/
Noticed these lace balloons in the grass attached to stems of Bur Clover, Medicago polymorph. Also noticed a lot of larvae eating on the plants. Collected for observation/ID.
Beetle pupa from larvae found on Bur Clover, Medicago polymorph seen here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/40808424
Adult emerged from pupae collected for ID. Life cycle links below.
Comments
Super, super cool! Those balloons are fantastical!
Thanks for this!
Wow, I would've definitely guessed that larva was a caterpillar, not a beetle!
Just amazing. :) What dedication, Kim. Love it. :)
How do you do these posts, Kim?
@mokennon You can add basic html to any journal post. I just used img tags for this one.
So in principle you could add the URL for any webpage??
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