Thursday, August 29, 2019

Pretty Good Disguise...!

Mother Nature has a way to keep some of her critters safe from predators by helping them with a terrific disguise. Such is the case even for some spiders like this one from Listverse.

Ladybirds And Ladybird Spiders


Photo credit: LiCheng Shih

Spiders are so amazing they have a popular fictional superhero named after them. The ladybird (aka ladybug) is special, too. It does not have its own superhero, but it does have real spiders named after it. These spiders belong to the genus Paraplectana. They are a group of spiders that have evolved to look like like ladybirds.The mimicry is necessary, considering that many predatory birds avoid ladybirds.

This is because ladybirds contain toxic chemicals that emit a terrible odor when crushed and leave a nasty, lingering taste in the mouth of the bird. This had made many birds develop a strong distaste for the ladybird. Aside from spiders, a few other insects, like the ladybird-mimic fungus beetle, have also evolved to look like ladybirds.

I like ladybugs, but not to eat, of course. I didn't know that birds found them to taste bad, though. Spiders...not so much.

Coffee inside this morning.Gonna rain again, they say.

4 comments:

  1. Very interesting Like you,I had no idea birds didn't like ladybugs. I also didn't know they where called ladybirds...]"m on my way to the kitchen:))

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  2. I love ladybugs; they are so pretty. Had no idea that birds didn't like them. Now Asian Beetles are another story. They are a huge pest and leave an orange stain when crushed.

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  3. Hey Mamahen...
    Guess that's one reason for the distinct markings...to warn the birds.
    Thanks for stopping by this morning!

    Hey Linda...
    Guess we learn something new every day, huh?
    Thanks for coming by today!

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  4. Well I did not know this very interesting things I learn here.

    Kitchen is fine anywhere is fine having coffee with good friends. We had a big storm come through here last night lasted for quite a few hours.

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