What we saw and what’s to see!
It’s been a hot month in the tri-cities, ending in a few needed days of rain. One bug to always be on the lookout for, especially after days of rain.. they will be full force back out as soon as they can.. ANTS! Like we haven’t seen enough ants this month.. they’ll be back! We’re also getting a lot of the dreaded calls about bees. Huge nests in the middle of trees, near apartments, hornets here and there. They are all full force, but so are the bug men here at Barnes. If you’re having an issue with these summer pests, don’t hesitate to give us a call! The heat isn’t gone yet.. even if the pumpkin spice is already out!
Barnes Bug of the Month
Kids Corner!
Our first bug of the month for July will be a caterpillar. What is a caterpillar? This ‘bug’ is the larvae stage of butterflies and moths. Whether it be a vibrant butterfly or a camouflaged moth, they both came from some species of caterpillar. Keep reading for some fun facts about these crawly creatures.
what is their purpose?
Caterpillars hold 1 purpose and that is to eat. Just eat. They have to get enough nutrition and energy to complete the metamorphosis. They can eat as much as 1,000x their body mass! During their lifetime of several weeks, they grow multiple times and shed or molt.
They have more muscles than i do?
A caterpillar has as many as 4,000 muscles in its body. By comparison, humans only have 650 muscles in a much larger body. The head alone of a caterpillar has 248 individual muscles! WOW! Each of those muscles has one or two neurons, with about 70 muscles to control each body segment.
they have their eyes on you, or do they?
Caterpillars have 12 eyes.. yes, you read that right. 6 pairs of eyes.. 6 tiny eyelets on each side of their head. One set is usually offset a bit and located closer to the antennae. No matter the number, these stemmata (the eyelets) can only serve to help them tell the difference between light and dark. Moving their head from side to side helps them judge some depth and distance in their otherwise somewhat blind journey.
