Here’s a curiosity I’ve never posted here from a few years back. All of nature, but especially the insect world, is just full of things that are beyond our imagination although many have got their inspiration from observing the wild.
One of the Tingidae, a lacebug on a dewy sensitive fern frond. Generally they feed on the underside of leaves but I guess this individual was a bit more bold than your average lacebug.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
I had trouble telling what I was seeing. My first impression was of a snakeskin coiled back and forth. The overall shape is more rectangular than I expect from an insect. Initially only the head struck me as belonging to an insect.
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Almost an abstract. I didn’t realize what I was looking at either when I first saw this. The dew is making the lace pattern a bit hard to see. Almost a square insect.
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This is actually Earth?
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Stranger than science fiction. 🙂
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That is a fabulous shot Steve! These are quite extraordinary insects, and rather beautiful.
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Thanks, Pete. Nature is just full of surprises., isn’t it? 🙂
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It sure is Steve!
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Wow Steve, I’ve never seen anything quite like this! I’m glad you saw it, photographed it and posted it. Beautiful detail!
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Didn’t have to go anywhere either, just in my backyard. Sadly, since my neighbor moved in and started killing everything in his lawn that isn’t a grass blade my insect numbers have dwindled. Before that it was quite an entomological menagerie.
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That’s so sad. We had a wild border of little Geranium robertianum, which is invasive, here along a seasonal creek. There’s woods next to the creek and it’s a very nice look, even though it’s not a native plant. But we’re renting, and along came the owner, weed-wacking everything to smithereens. Down to bare earth in places! You can’t help but wonder how many insect lives were lost, and what else those flowers were supporting. So stupid. The question is, how can we convey our thoughts in a way that people like your neighbor and our landlord could hear them?
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One of my neighbors wants to speak to the rest of our neighbors about having a pollinator corridor…we already are doing that in the yard in an informal way…but this one guy would ruin that plan.
I used to be able to photograph a few wildflowers and their visitors along the slope next to the store where i work. No more. It gets whacked (in both definitions) on a regular basis.
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Wow! It definitely looked reptilian, but the shape was all wrong. Like Steve, I thought maybe it was snakeskin, or perhaps even a snake shedding its skin. But an insect? Absolutely fascinating. I’m glad you shared this one, Steve. Thanks!
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Glad you enjoyed seeing this, Todd. There are truly some amazing things out there. It does look kind of snaky.
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The only lacewing I’ve seen is the green lacewing, which is a beneficial insect. In fact, I read that lacewings are being tested as a useful biological control for lacewing bugs: especially for the azalea lacewing bug, which is a menace to rhododendrons in the Pacific Northwest.
I’m often struck by plants or insects that would make fabulous jewelry, and this is one of them. I can see it done in gold, with embedded Swarovski crystals and marcasite. Whether a creation like that would be as beautiful as your photo is up for debate.
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Are you confusing this with lacewings? A lacebug is a different species. As you mention, lacewings are beneficial and good for controlling aphids. Lace bugs eat ornamental leaves and need controlling if one is of a mind.
I think your idea of insects as jewelry exists. Not sure this would be something you’d be crazy about but you never know. I just got rid of this guy’s book that was given me years ago. Some consider it art and the creator says it is actually a benefit to insects by raising appreciation of their beauty. I think he’s just justifying what he does but since I’ve never met him that’s just a prejudice on my part as someone who won’t even pick a wild blueberry. It just seems wrong to me to take that many living creatures out of the environment for human pleasure. Now artificial jewelry is just fine.
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No, my brain went on autopilot. Where I wrote ‘lacewing bug’ it should have been ‘lace bug.’ Here’s the article I read. And isn’t that azalea lace bug a pretty thing, despite its potential for creating a nuisance? Now, to the links!
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Yes, that is a beauty of a bug.
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Oh, my. I’ll pass on the necklace, thank you very much. Now, Marley’s work is beautiful. My immediate, visceral reaction was negative, but when I read his conservation statement, it took the edge off a bit. If what he says is true, fine. But there’s also the fact that insect poaching could become as much a problem as elephant poaching. I’d have to read a lot more about his work — and the responses to it, both pro and con, by knowledgeable entymologists.
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When I was first given the book and looked at his website I felt the same about his conservation work etc. But as I mentioned it just bothers me to take huge numbers out and yes, it could turn in to poaching as he pays indigenous people to gather insects for him. Although I like photographing moths, I won’t do the light sheet thing to attract them away from leading their normal lives Nor would I have a butterfly collection…or moths…or beetles, well maybe their records.. I might plant something like dogbane to attract dogbane beetles, but that would be natural as they are seeking the plants for food. Like I said, it’s just my prejudice and probably the majority of people will see nothing to complain about in his work. And, of course, there are those, like my neighbor, who think the only good bug is a dead bug.
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Serendipity strikes again: I was looking for information on the prehistoric dragonflies, and found an article on prehistoric lace bugs. It’s well-written, and interesting.
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Thanks. It’s funny that the illustration photo is the same for both articles you have shared.
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