Alien Empire: Battle Zone/Metropolis

  1. Praying mantids are the ultimate predator of the insect world. Insects protect themselves through: protective resemblance, camouflage, and startling colors.
    Insects are masters of exploiting food sources. Mouthparts are designed for different types of food.
  2. Tree fogging in the tropics is the major technique for collecting in these areas. It is estimated that there may be as many as 30 million species.
  3. Flies have a pad at the tip of their tongues to suck up food that their saliva as liquefied. Howler Monkey Dung Scarabs lay eggs in the dung as food for their
    young. Some plants produce poisons to discourage insect feeding. Milkweed is an example, but there are still insects that feed upon it: Milkweed Bugs and Monarch Butterfly larvae.
  4. Tiger Moths defend themselves in the day by bright colors and at night by ultra- sound. They are poisonous and the bright colors are warning colors. Wasps lay eggs in caterpillars and other species of wasps lay eggs to feed on other eggs already present. Assassin Bugs feed on termites by camouflaging themselves to look like termite dung.
  5. Robberflies, spiders, and mantids are deadly predators. Spider web silk reflect light at the center of their webs to attract flying insects. Australian Assassin Bugs use saliva to steal prey from spider webs. Scorpion Flies do the same. Giant Damselflies from Central and South America capture spiders out of their own webs. Army Ant nests may have as many as 3/4 of a million per nest.
  6. In insect cities the individual serves the needs of the colony. Most insects live solitary lives. Spitfire Bugs (Sawfly larvae) communicate with each other by tapping their tails on plant stems. North American Burying Beetles bury dead small animals for food for their young. Adults remain with the larvae and call them to eat by making sounds by scraping their abdomens on their wing covers (elytra).
  7. Appalachian Cockroaches have families that stay together for @ three years. The young can’t digest food yet so they must eat their parents feces to gain intestinal symbionts so they can develop the ability to process their own food. African Termites have huge family colonies that number over three million individuals. Queen termites can live for 30 years and lay as many as 30,000 eggs per day. She secretes a chemical that prevents workers from being able to reproduce.
  8. There are @ 2,000 species of termites. One colony may eat as much as five tons of food each year. In the USA each year there is @three billion dollars in damages to human homes each year from termites.
  9. Hymenoptera live in all female societies. Bees protect their queens. Bumblebees are assigned jobs in the colony according to age. Older workers leave the nest to collect pollen. Humans use bumblebees to pollinate tomatoes. Asian Honey Bees have as many as 25,000 bees per colony (comb). In the Himalayas people climb high cliffs to collect honey at the risk of life and limb.
  10. Ants have the most sophisticated societies. They even farm aphids to milk them of honey dew. Australian Genevieve Blue Butterflies exploit ants to protect their larvae which the ants milk.