Insects - Species Extinction

Illustration from 1902. Rocky Mountain locusts belong to the suborder of Caelifera, which includes short-horned grasshoppers. (© Julius Bien (1826-1909) biography, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

2024-09-20 Doreen Fräßdorf

Rocky Mountain Locust

Record: A swarm of 12.5 trillion locusts The correct biological term for animals that form large groups is “swarm,” but when it comes to large assemblies of migratory locusts, the term “plague” is used because they not only migrate but also devastate entire regions. Migratory locusts differ from ordinary grasshoppers

Mecodema oconnori belongs to the same genus as the Stephens Island weevil

Images of the Stephens Island weevil are rare; the image shows the ground beetle Mecodema oconnori, which belongs to the same genus. (© S.E. Thorpe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

2024-09-11 Doreen Fräßdorf

Stephens Island Weevil

From isolated paradise to endangered habitat Stephens Island, a small rocky island in the Cook Strait, is renowned for its unique wildlife. Despite covering only 1.5 square kilometers, the island boasts a remarkable ecosystem that was once home to numerous endemic species, including many land and seabirds. Among its notable

Chestnut casebearer moth (Coleophora leucochrysella)

A photo of the chestnut casebearer moth, published on iNaturalist in June 2020, shows that this species is not extinct as previously believed. Scientists had thought that the insect from the casebearer moth family had disappeared between 1904 and 1950. (© Steven Whitebread, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

2024-06-21 Doreen Fräßdorf

Chestnut casebearer moth

Chestnut blight from East Asia devastated more than just the American chestnut The American chestnut casebearer moth relied on the native American chestnut (Castanea dentata) for survival. This hardwood tree was the sole host plant for its larvae, ultimately leading to the highly specialized moth species’ downfall. Once one of

Brazilian diving beetle Megadytes ducalis

A+D: Megadytes ducalis (Brazilian diving beetle), B+E: M. lherminieri, C+F: M. magnus (© L. Hendrich, M. Manuel, M. Balke: The Return of the Duke, Vol. 4586 No. 3: 18 Apr. 2019, Licensed under CC BY 3.0)

2024-06-10 Doreen Fräßdorf

Brazilian diving beetle

“Giant of the Dytiscidae” Until recently, the Brazilian diving beetle Megadytes ducalis was known only from a single male specimen, which, according to rumors, was discovered before 1882 at the bottom of a water-filled canoe in the Amazon region of Brazil. It is currently housed at the Natural History Museum