This juvenile bug has a queer appearance. First of all, it is covered in tiny, blue-ish tufts. Secondly, there are two white ‘eggs’ along its midline. I’m not sure whether either of these structures are actually part of the bug, or if they are from an outside source – fungus/parasitoid.
There are no tufts on the eyes, and they appear rather uniform in distribution about the rest of the body, so they might be part of the bug. The ‘eggs’, on the other hand, look a bit more dangerous for this guy… It’s be cool to see a couple of wasp larva hatch out and burrow in.
Very cool. There are some Tachinid flies that lay their eggs like this.
http://wildparty.typepad.com/home/insecta-coleoptera-scarabaeidae/ The last paragraph is pretty interesting.
Wow! Awesome. Why would there be more than one though, particularly on such a small, juvenile insect?
Well it says they can lay multiple eggs on an individual, wonder how many larvae a host can feed? Also, what happens if the host molts before the eggs hatch? From your photos it looks like it’s not embedded very much, I would imagine it would just come off during molting.
Are any parasitoids known to inhibit molting?
Are there any examples of insects prematurely molting after detecting something like an egg or other inconsistency attached to their exoskeleton? If so, I wonder if the egg has come cool mechanism to avoid detection.
These are all things I would love to know. Sounds like you should start studying insects…
Sounds like you should start studying insects.