Inspect the Insects

 In their different life stages, they are part of the marine food web. When they are near water, they can become food for the fish and land species that interact with the aquatic components of the food web. In the Florida Keys, insects are everywhere of all shapes and sizes. While they can sometimes be quite pesky to us humans, it is important to not eradicate them completely due to their stance in the food web. When at Crane Point Hammock in Marathon FL, tour guide Russ explained that the mosquitos are bad because it is protected land and they cannot spray for them. Later on in the tour, we saw a lot of mosquitoes eating fish. If we were to exterminate the mosquitos, the fish would lose a main component of their food source. The predator to these fish would then also have a decrease in food supply. This would create a chain reaction up the food web and could potentially have a large impact on keystone or endangered species within the area. 

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On the other end of the food web, many insects eat plant matter. This jumpstarts the movement of energy from photosynthesis up the food chain. The primary consumers eat the primary producers, and the sun’s energy gets passed up through the food chain. 

While on the trip, I encountered many interesting insects. 

  This is a banded tussock moth caterpillar based on my google searches to identify it. This insect is not venomous or poisonous, but their hairs act as a defense mechanism. The hairs are extremely irritating to human skin when it is touched. Citation

Photo via Anna Smith

This is the Jewel Spider aka the Christmas Spider or Spiny Spider. The name Christmas spider is due

to the time of year when it is most present in Australia- November and December.

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Photo via Anna Smith

Based on my own identification, this next insect is the Trichonephlia clavata. They are in fact poisonous,

but it does not pose a threat to all humans. In fact, only certain people are allergic to their venom and

their bite is pretty harmless. I'm not sure about you, but I would prefer to never find out if I am allergic

or not and would like to avoid them if possible! This is an invasive species that is native to Japan but

has made its way over to North America. citation

Photo via Anna Smith

The next insect I encountered was the Eastern Lubber Grasshopper. This large grasshopper is about 3 inches long. I found them to be very people shy and none of them were interested in checking out my hand when I placed it in front of them in attempt to let it crawl on me. It is very common in the Everglades. Despite having wings, they cannot fly. I was shocked to see how short they jump despite how big their appendages are. Their bright color is an indicator to predators that they are toxic when eaten. This also explains why they move slow, and if a predator does approach them still, they can make a loud hissing noise as well as "secrete a foul-smelling foam spray to irritate its predator" (Facts about Lubber) On second thought, maybe it is a good thing that they were not interested my attempts to hold them!            Photo via Scotty Ulrick