Stonetribe

As requested by Rosey, I welcome the Honeypot Ant to my threads list of bug stars!

Honeypot Ants are found in dry areas worldwide, especially in Australian Deserts. Honeypot Ants is actually a term used for a number of unrelated species that share a certain special caste. In case your not familier, the different ants in a colony are broken up into different groups or castes acording to their jobs. The most common and reckonized would be queens, workers, and soldiers, among other things. Ants classified as the Honeypot variaty include a caste known as repletes. You see, its almost manditory for all eurosocial insect colonys to forage for food and store it for later use. They however, usually just bring the food into predetermined food storage chambers. Honeypot ants on the other hand, don't store food in reserves, they are the reserves. That's right, these repletes wait for workers to bring food back to the colony for them to eat. Once they eat more than they need (which isn't much to begin with) they store the rest into their abdomens. It's not long till their abdomens swell up to the size of grapes and the're unable to move by themselves. Then, in times of drought or hardship, the other works can make the Honeypots regurgitate their stored nutriants by strokeing their antennae to share with the rest of the colony. This method of efficiant food storage does not go unnoticed by other species. When food is scarce, other colonys of ant may attempt to raid Honeypot dwellings in hopes of stealing some of these living food dispensers. It doesn't stop there though. In some rural areas where Honeypots can be found, even humans are known to snack on these little morsals and consider them a delicacy.

Wow, those beetles are neat! I had no idea they could produce boiling hot acid like that!

Requesting Honeypot Ants for a spotlight!

Sure thing Rose.

I would like to request a spotlight on the cellar spider, of which there are many in my house.

Rosewind was first in line with a honeypot ant highlight, but after that I'd be glad to do cellar spiders. Untill I finish those two, I'd like it if you guys could hold off on requests ok?

As asked by starswirlthebearded, The Bombadier Beetle.

The Bombardier Beetle can be found on every continent bar Asia and Antartica. Their appearance is simple enough, a reddish orange head and thorax with a black abdomen that may have additional markings. Their rather small, only growing as big as 2 mm to an inch. They prey upon small insects at night and when their not eating, may congregate into small groups.

The Bombardier Beetle's most notorius feature is its incredible method of defense. Now he may not look like much, but when threatened, The Bombardier Beetle is capable of spraying a searing hot, toxic, and sticky chemical from its abdomen in rapid succesion. That's right, if you though acid spiting monsters only existed in sci fi movies, think again, as they are very real. You see, the Bombardier Beetle has two chambers in its abdomen. One containing hydroquinone and the other containing hydrogen peroxide. These two reservoirs are both connected to a mixing chamber through holowed tubes. The walls of the mixing chamber are lined with water and catalytic and peroxidic enzymes. When all these chemicals come together, they resault in a chemical reaction creating noxious substance that reaches tempetures just under that of the boiling point of water. The Bombadier Beetle is then free to spray this chemical warfare in incredibly rapid spurts, being recorded of delivering 400 sprays a second!

Here's a short video showcasing this marval of the insect kingdom in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-wVFLucTks

There you go Swirly, hope you liked it!

Oh geeze, I meant to edit the first one by making it quote imaginations but ended up making an entirely new one that's exactly the same but with the quote. I feel so stupid right now...

So is he a handypony or a roadie?

His cutie mark is crossed tools, and there was a brief mention of him fixing something, yes, but other than that it was just ensuring that the performance went well from backstage. That sounds more like a roady than a handypony to me.

Then again, it doesn't exactly specify anywhere exactly what he is, since under occupation it says 'looking for work', and the cutie mark story is where I got just a bit confused.

If you could do me a favor and clarify on this a bit, I'd appreciate it!

The terms handyman and and roadie share a ton of similarities so I would think that they are pretty interchangable. Essentially, his cutie mark represents his ability of being able to work in the shadows to help others, often by using his enginuity and foresight. Hope that clears up a thing or two.

Hey wait, your part of the roleplay help staff! That must mean my application is about to be considered!

Right?

I'm just kidding, I know this doesn't mean it's any closer to aprovel

The terms handyman and and roadie share a ton of similarities so I would think that they are pretty interchangable. Essentially, his cutie mark represents his ability of being able to work in the shadows to help others, often by using his enginuity and foresight. Hope that clears up a thing or two.

Hey wait, your part of the roleplay help staff! That must mean my application is about to be considered!

Right?

I'm just kidding, I know this doesn't mean it's any closer to aprovel

If you don't mind me asking Rosewind, what exactly is this summer of pony thing? I remember you mentioning about getting one of my bug highlights in it and that sparked my curiosity.

Hey there derps, welcome to canterlot. I'm known as the "Bugmaster" thanks to my obsesion with anything that has six legs or more. If you have some spare time and like to learn, come on down to my bug thread. I'm always doing little spotlights on all sorts of interesting insects and spiders.

well that was certainly enlightening! I was one of those who thought them more of a pest since they seem to multiply rather rapidly, and all those legs, while mesmerizing also weird me out. Doesnt help that one crawled onto my face while I trying to fall asleep one night and scared the ever-loving crap out of me. Only time ive ever shaken my habds like a little frightened child. Anyways good to know they're actually helping me out, I'll definitely be making o point of leaving them be, maybe I'll even keep one as a pet if I can get passed my mental block. I already buy crickets for my geckos so it wouldnt be a stretch to get to pay a few extra cents for food. thank you so much oh Bug master Stoney much appreciated

Glad it met your expectations Blaze!

Hey there flywing, welcome to canterlot! People like to call me the "Bugmaster" because of my love of insects, spiders, and all things arthropod. If you like to learn and find yourself bored, come on down to my bug thread. I'm always doing little highlights on all sorts of interesting insects and spiders.

Glad to hear that my highlight will be saving the life of a few centipedes.

Welcome to canterlot bud. I'm Stonetribe, but the folks here often call me "Bugmaster" due to my affinity with all things arthropod related. If you like to learn and find yourself bored, come on down to my bug thread. I'm always doing little highlights about all kinds of intresting insects and spiders.

Alright, as requested by CrescentBlaze, the House Centipede.

The has centipede is believed to have been originated in the Mediterranean region, but has become widespread in many parts of the world since. They usually grow to be as long as one or two inches in length, but because of their disproportionately long and spindly legs, they apear more than a tad bigger. Like many arthropods, they prefer cool, damp places, a human basement being ideal. They are remarkably fast when they dart across floors or up walls. Uncommon in other centipedes, House Centipedes and their relatives have proficiant eye sight, but seem to rely more on their antennae for navigation. House Centipedes are active nocturnal predators, and succesful ones at that with their fast speed and good senses. With their long bodys and seemingly longer legs, they can easily over come their prey, which consists almost entirely of insects that are often detrimental to human life such as home damaging termites and silverfish as well as food raiding cockroaches and ants. Rather than using their mandibles to inject venom, House centipedes use their modified foremost legs known as forcipules, making it more akin to a sting than a bite. That being said, House Centipedes seldom sting humans and when they do, their forcipules are often not big enough to penetrate human skin. On the rare occasion that the venom does get through, it will only produce minimal pain and and minor swelling, making them hardly harmful to humans. Unfortunatly, despite them eating so many pests as mentioned above, most homeowners consider the presence of house centipedes as much as a nuisence as the rest of the pesky bugs that they regularly dine on. So next time you see a House Centipede in your home, be sure to not to reach for a newspaper and instead give him a word of thanks and let him go about making your life better.

Hope you found this highlight to your liking Blaze!

Updated the application with a personality and cutie mark story as shredded pegasus suggested. I also added a pony creator image, but I may replace with a hand drawn one by my friend. I guess my app is final for real now. I guess this also means it will be delayed in getting approved, ah well Better to wait and have good quallity than to rush and be stuck with medicore app I suppose.

OH OH OH! We are getting her to blush! Let's continue! I mean she made my awesome siggy too! Rosie is totally awesome!

Also, to be on topic, I'd like to request the bombardier beetle! Has to be the possessor of one of the coolest defense mechanisms EVER!

Edit: my request is not of high priority, so feel free to take your time with it

The bombardier beetle is actually one of my favorites! I'll gladly do a highlight on them. Until then, if anyone asks what that certain defense is, be a pal and don't spoil it.

OH OH OH! We are getting her to blush! Let's continue! I mean she made my awesome siggy too! Rosie is totally awesome!

Also, to be on topic, I'd like to request the bombardier beetle! Has to be the possessor of one of the coolest defense mechanisms EVER!

Edit: my request is not of high priority, so feel free to take your time with it

The bombardier beetle is actually one of my favorites! I'll gladly do a highlight on them. Until then, if anyone asks what that certain defense is, be a pal and don't spoil it.

For those who did, thanks a bunch for checking out my story! It seems like you guys liked it for the most part, so that put me in high spirits today.

I'll admit it: when I was a little filly, I used to mess with funnel web spiders by dropping objects into their web to watch them rush out and be like "aww, it's a leaf."

Wonderful spotlight, Bugmaster! Also you have a knack for writing, it seems! Very nice! Thank you for sharing that with us.

Do you need a rest from spotlights? I have a lot of more insects I'd love to see you talk about!

Now that you mention it, I do feel like I have been producing them rather frequently. It's probably just me, but I feel that this tends to make them of lower quality when I make more than two per day. I'm definitly not going to stop, but I think I will slow down just a tad. I acutaully have a funnel web in my room next to my windowsill. I've decided to name it Winter since he requested the spotlight for them. I even fed him an ant yesterday, which he gladly took.

Oh Bugmaster Stoney wouldst thou mind doing a spotlight on house centipedes? Ya know the ones with the really long legs? I hate those little buggers. First encounter was when a big one fell off the ceiling in my advanced geology class and landed on my head. Ruined me for them ever since. Now they are in my house and multiplying. I wanna know more so I can be sure this isnt going to be an issue. Found one in my shower this morning...gross. I will admit its mesmerizing to watch them walk though with all those spindly legs moving in time. So yeah maybe a spotlight on house centipedes please?

I'd be glad to do a highlight on house centipedes. But like I said before, I think I'll take a bit more time before I post it.

Rosie you are just so kind to people Making him a siggy

I know, isn't she the best?

As request by Winter, here is a spotlight on a Funnel Webs as a group. I'm focusing more on the small common ones and less on the larger exotic ones. Hope no one minds.

These spiders are can be found world wide. Their size can be from about as big as a penny up to about 2 inches including legspan. Their most well known for their uniqe web structures, that are often shaped like into a cone/tunnel fashion. They prefer to construct these dwellings in under logs or rocks and other places that might be a tad cooler and damp. This functions more like a shelter rather then as a trap to catch prey. This is because their silk lacks the sticky atribute of other web dwelling arachnids. But this doesn't mean it won't assist in bringing food to the table though. The web itself will be splayed out on the ground near its entrence. Any insects that tread on this "welcome mat" will cause vibrations that will alert the spider. When a suitable meal is detected, they will rush out to subdue their victim with a venomous bite. Species of funnel web spiders are known for their surprisingly fast speed which can match that of a slow pedestrian walk (thanks wikipedia!) They are also a tad renowned for their venom, as it is a bit on the potent side among spiders.

There you go Winter, hope you liked it!

I promised myself earlier today that I wouldn't do this but, screw it, I've gained some popularity here by god I'm gonna abuse it! I'm working on a mlp fanfic and I would love to have your guys imput! I'm not writing any chapters now cause I'm having a few friends of mine peer edit it to see if I can't get it featured on Equestria Daily. I suppose I should give you a heads up, it's about OC's. You guys have been so supportive of me and my bug thread, so I hope it's not too much to ask you place a little of that support in my writing endevours.

Here's a link.

http://www.fimfictio...e-(not-so)-Wild

I wonder how long these usual take to be viewed by a moderator or if there is a factor that determines such. I kind of want to ask how long these usual take to be viewed by a moderator or if there is a factor that determines such. But asking how long these usual take to be viewed by a moderator or if there is a factor that determines such would be bad taste. So I'm not going to ask how long these usual take to be viewed by a moderator or if there is a factor that determines such.

I love you copy pasta!

"No sense dying when others are willing to do it for you"

It's not all that motivational and only applies when you have underlings, but I still like it.

Very interesting! I had never really examined one closely but on seeing that picture I must say it did look like something more aggressive to me. IDK maybe Ive played too many video games but anything with especially long legs and with some sort of special ability ie walking on water is usually bad for the surrounding creatures at least in my head. Now I have this image of a giant water strider throwing an ice berg at the titanic... like I said WAY to many video games. Still fantastic spotlight as always Bugmaster! I believe cone spiders were next up?

Funnel Web Spiders, yes. Nothing to worry about water striders though, as they are harmless to humans. Infact, they are very helpful as they eat lots of moisquitos and moisquito larva.

Courtesy of request by Rosewind, the Water Strider!

Water Striders can be found just about anywhere in the world in any freshwater habitat. Marine species of Water Striders also exist, albeit less common. This usually consists of still water ponds and lakes but can aslo include slow moving streams. The thing that sets these insects apart from others is their almost trademark ability to walk on the surface of water, giving them the nickname "Jesus Bugs". They can easily be identified, aside from walking on water in the first place, by their four long legs spaced evenly throughout the water as well as an additional pair of legs that sport claws that help them manipulate objects.

These unique insects are able to walk on water thanks to a combination of two factors. The first is their long slender legs that have tons of hydrofuge hairs that use water surface tension to the Striders advantage. Each leg boost thousands of hairs per square millimeter. The second is the that they space their legs just so to distribute weight evenly. Their legs may be thin, but are strong as well as flexible. This enables the Water Strider to push backwords with its hind legs and "skate" across the waters surface. Now here's where I drop the bomb.

Water striders are strictly carnivorous predators.

I assume your reaction was something along the lines of "Wait, wait, WHAT!? How could something as cute and whimiscal as the Water Strider able to kill and eat any other sort of creature?!" Mine certainly was when I first found this fact out. But yes, instead of being herbivores or at least omnivores, Water Striders are in fact meat eaters. They will prey on any insect that has fallen onto the watersurface. Seeing as most other insects can't swim, they can do little to put up a fight againts anything that wants to make a meal out of them. Water Striders are easily notified of potential meals due to the inevitable ripples a struggling insect or spider will make. After dashing torwards their prey, they will grip them with their claw like forearms (The objects they manipulate that I mentioned above are prey by the way) and stab the victim with a pierceing mout part called a rostrum to suck up the inards. Water striders aren't greedy however, and will share the bounty with any other nearby Striders. Speaking of which, Water Striders are also known to be social creatures, forming packs to easier obtain nutrition or shelter. At other times, specificly the mating season, they can be territorial, making their turf known by sending out certain ripples that other Striders can understand. males will defend their territory as well as their female from other Striders.

Hope it met your expectations Rosie! Next up is the Funnel Web Spider.

Did you mention pollination, Swirly? Our lives would not be possible without it!

Bugmaster Stonetribe! For your dedication to insects, for sharing your boundless knowledge with us, for raising awareness, and for inspiring passion and discussion, I made you a siggy! I hope you like it!

Omigosh that is awsome! Thank you so much Rosewind! Because of this, I'm going to get started on the water strider update right away!

A special thanks to all of you guys really, for all the support and participation you have provided for me and my love of bugs. Oh gosh, I'm actualy tearing up a little.

I second the funnel web spider! That hawk moth looks amazing! Those wings!

The Saucy in my living room is a female spider, because she's got a big abdomen and she's smart. (You can tell the gender of any creature this way: if it's smart, it's female.) I believe she is this species.

Sadly, I extinguished the life of a spider today while going through my front door. A wolf spider was hanging out on my porch, and It tried to shoo it aside. Instead of running, the sucker tried to run up my leg and...well , you can guess what happened next. At least I tried!

I wouldn't mind seeing the funnel weaver spotlight next, followed the water strider, O Bugmaster.

I can hardly blame anyone for killing a spider that ran up their leg. Even I would panic a bit if a big enough bug jumped on me suddenly. Granted, I would try to brush it off without harming it, but even then I might accidentally hurt it in the rush. I'd like to ask, have you tried feeding Saucy? If you don't mind picking up a some small bug like a cricket, or causing it's death at that, I'm pretty saucy will apreciate the gesture readily run out to wrap her new meal in silk if you toss it in her web. I've done it before on wild spiders and it's a pretty cool thing to watch!

no you're a dummy. Rosie named that spider after you remember?

Your talking about the one in Rosewind's living room right? I'll have to ask her if she can identify what kind of spider it is, I'm curious. I'd be glad to do a funnel web highlight Winter. But first, I promised Rosie that I would do a highlight on the waterstrider next.