My friend Melissa featured a photo of a bee captured by another insect on her blog www.thosenorthernskies.blogspot.com. I just happen to be planning natural science class for my 4th graders (school starts this Wednesday).
I think I've found the insect... probably a "bee assassin", a kind of true bug (Hemiptera group) which often jabs its straw-like beak into other insects for food. Photos of these colorful mini-beasts can be found here.
Other members of Hemiptera use their mouthparts to pierce fruit as their food source. I believe this is a residual habit from Eden, but which has nonetheless been warped in many insects so that now many are carnivorous, where originally their bodies were designed for eating plant matter.
Which always make me say to kids who hate bugs, "It's not their fault. Creation was messed up by Adam." We should be sad for little reminders of this legacy, and hope for a day when all shall be recreated (Romans 8).
2 comments:
I've located the exact name of the insects that are in my yard. I am certain that they are Phymata americana metcalfi. Like I said I have a very sharp photo of one I took several years back - I will have to go through the archives and pull it up to share.
Thanks for researching this for me.
I wish I had gotten a photo of the hugemongous (sp on purpose) garden spider in my yard before I accidentally wiped out her web (I had tried so hard to preserve it).
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