Treehoppers are tiny bugs with some of the funkiest exoskeletons! Recent research suggests that in some species, the extravagant ornamentation on their shell can actually help sense the tiny electric fields given off by their predators and friendlier bugs. This episode covers the wonderful research of 

Music:

"Morning" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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"Evening" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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"Sincerely" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Meet the colugo, nature’s attempt at making a squirrel, a bat, and a blanket all at once. It doesn’t actually fly, it just commits to falling with style. By day, it clings to trees, snoozing away the daylight. By night, it launches itself from tree to tree, munching on leaves with their very very special chompers.

Music:

Kalimba Relaxation Music Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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"Ethereal Relaxation" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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"Magic in the Garden" by Rafael Krux

"Slice of Life" by Bryan Teoh

If you ask me, the giraffe assassin bug gets a little too cozy with spiders for comfort. But then again, when you’re a tiny predator with a towering neck and a dagger for a mouth—living in Australia, no less—you’re probably not losing sleep over a few creepy crawlies

If you would like a more visual experience with me speaking over my sketches, please visit Sketchbook Biology on YouTube.

Here's a few scientific articles where you can learn more about this not-so adorable, but very cool bug:

• Biology of Stenolemus giraffa (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), a web invading, araneophagic assassin bug from Australia, by F.G. Soley, R.R. Jackson & P.W. Taylor

• Fine-scale analysis of an assassin bug's behaviour: predatory strategies to bypass the sensory systems of prey, by F.G. Soley

• Biology and life history of the araneophagic assassin bug Stenolemus bituberus including a morphometric analysis of the instars (Heteroptera, Reduviidae), by A.E. Wignall & P.W. Taylor

Music:

Concentration Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Meet the Texas horned lizard—a tiny, spiky pancake. Despite its fierce name, this little lizard mostly just lounges in the sun, munches ants like they're popcorn, and tries its best to blend in with the dirt. And if you just won't leave this desert diva alone, it might just squirt you with blood from its eyes. This was my very first attempt at sketching these guys! it was not the smoothest, but it was extremely fun. 

If you would like a more visual experience with me speaking over my sketches, please visit Sketchbook Biology on YouTube.

Here's a few scientific articles where you can learn more about this adorable lizard:

• Natural history of the Texas horned lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum (phrynosomatidae), in Southeastern Colorado
• Avoiding being stung or bitten – prey capture behaviors of the ant-eating Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)
• Integumental water movement and rate of water ingestion during rain harvesting in the Texas horned lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum
• Antipredator blood-squirting defense in horned lizards (Phrynosoma): Chemical Isolation of Plasma Component(s), Pogonomyrmex Ant Dietary Origin, and Evolution

Music:

Ancient Winds Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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