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My RSS Feedhttp://www.bugunderglass.com/index.htmlHot News!enbugunderglass@mac.comCopyright 2009 kevin clarke2010-04-06T18:30:07-07:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:35:24 -0700Insects love to eat Cherry Blossomsbugunderglass@mac.comcraft shows2010-04-06T18:30:07-07:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/cherry-blossom.html#unique-entry-id-19http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/cherry-blossom.html#unique-entry-id-19 npav.bbsf_.vol3_banner_728px.w

Bug Under Glass at Artist Village at the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Fair. Many new insect displays will be featured.

April 10th & 11th 2010

NEW PEOPLE and BAZAAR BIZARRE SAN FRANCISCO continue our collaborative series to create another all-floor vertical art village to celebrate the Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival! This curated shopping event will be part of a nationally renowned festival (Northern California Cherry Blossom) and gallery opening at NEW PEOPLE.

WHEN AND WHERE
April 10 & 11 – Saturday and Sunday
April 17 & 18 – Saturday and Sunday
11:00am – 6:00pm each day

About NEW PEOPLE
NEW PEOPLE is a 20,000 square foot, striking, contemporary building located at 1746 Post Street in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown (one of only three remaining in the country). The project represents a $15 million investment by Shogakukan, one of the largest publishers of Japan. NEW PEOPLE will become a destination in itself and a source of stimulation for both San Francisco locals and tourists, bringing a new cultural energy to an area filled with history. With three stories above and a basement below, NEW PEOPLE will share Japanese cinema, retail and art, all under one roof]]>Strongest Bug in the world revealedbugunderglass@mac.cominsect facts2010-03-24T09:11:48-07:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/strongest-insect.html#unique-entry-id-18http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/strongest-insect.html#unique-entry-id-18

Imagine being able to lift a 6-double decker buses! Well, if you were a certain type of beetle - you could, in theory. The world record no longer goes to the Rhino Beetle, which is still one of the strongest, but to a type of scarab beetle. Learn more here. STRONG INSECT
]]>Bug Season is about to start...bugunderglass@mac.comcraft shows2010-03-19T08:24:59-07:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/plant-sale.html#unique-entry-id-17http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/plant-sale.html#unique-entry-id-17butterfly displays at this fun spring event.

Info:
http://www.sfbotanicalgardensociety.org/sfbgs_course_template.cfm?s=5032

Bibliophiles and plant lovers, get ready! Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society are pleased to announce the Plant and Book Sale, March 26-28, 2010.

Part book sale, part plant sale, the three day event begins on Friday, March 26th from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., continues Saturday, March 27th from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and ends on Sunday, March 28th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The sale is free and open to the public.

Held at County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, the Plant and Book Sale boasts new and used books from both Friends of the SFPL and the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture at the Botanical Garden and plants for Bay Area gardens suitable for any garden and gardening level.

The Plant and Book Sale features books in all categories, with emphasis on science, gardening, nature and Californiana. The sale also features DVDs, CDs, books on tape, cassette tapes, vinyl, VHS and other forms of media.]]>Ant Architecturebugunderglass@mac.comant facts2010-03-05T19:11:33-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/ant-architecture.html#unique-entry-id-16http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/ant-architecture.html#unique-entry-id-16amazing colors, unique patterns and behaviors, insects are also pretty amazing artists. Many have already witnessed the beauty of a spider web or the geometry of a honeybee honeycomb, but nature still offers many hidden crafts waiting to be discovered. Fellow ant reseracher Walter Tschinkel figured out a way to expose the amazing artistic skills of the ant. On a personal note, I was very fortunate to have hung out with Walter on a 10-day ant class in Arizona and he is an incredible and very funny person. One of these ant nests is on display at the California Academy of Sciences.

Here is a video from CBS news on Walter and his process.

Watch CBS News Videos Online]]>Hooray for Grass! - the evolution ofbugunderglass@mac.comevolutionscience news2010-03-03T06:56:57-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/evolution_of_grass.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/evolution_of_grass.html#unique-entry-id-15 grass

Grass often gets mowed, chewed by insects and most of the time overlooked. However, its importance is very significant in the evolution of animals, especially insects. This piece was in today's NY Times and is a very well written piece about the forgotten plant that insects love to eat.

Evolution By the Grassroots - NY Times

"Imagine the Earth without grasses.

There would be no lawns or meadows. No prairies. No savannahs or steppes. No wheat fields or rice paddies. No sugar cane.

No sheep, elephants or horses.

No people.

We live in the age of grass. Indeed, from our point of view, the evolution of grasses was one of the most momentous events in the history of the Earth. Which is why I’m nominating them for Life-form of the Month: March. READ MORE

]]>Noise Pop - Pop N' Shop this Saturday Feb. 22ndbugunderglass@mac.comcraft shows2010-02-23T10:49:49-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/Noise-Pop.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/Noise-Pop.html#unique-entry-id-14
http://www.noisepop.com/2010/pop_n_shop.php

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27
Admission is FREE
Noon-5pm
The Verdi Club
2424 Mariposa St.
San Francisco, CA ]]>The Caterpillar Dietbugunderglass@mac.cominsect facts2010-02-14T14:05:42-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/caterpillar-diet.html#unique-entry-id-13http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/caterpillar-diet.html#unique-entry-id-13

Caterpillars grow to about 27,000 times the size it was when it first emerged from its egg. If a human baby weighed 9 pounds at birth and grew at the same rate as a caterpillar, it would weigh 243,000 pounds when fully grown!

]]>Macro Photography of Insects of a different scalebugunderglass@mac.cominsect photography2010-02-06T10:08:13-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/insect-macro-photography.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/insect-macro-photography.html#unique-entry-id-12

Photography of very small insects can be difficult because of the limits of traditional cameras and problems with depth of field, meaning some parts of the subject are out of focus while others are in focus when photographing small objects. This can be a cool effect in art, but in science we need to see all the parts of the insect, especially if you are trying to determine the species. This is because in order to identify a species correctly you need a clear picture of all the features on the insect body – head, thorax and abdomen. In the past, microphotography was limited to a device called an Electron Microscope, which is big and bulky, expensive and produces images in black and white. Luckily, in the last 6 or 7 years there has been a revolution in microphotography, one such system is called Syncroscopy Automontage. This particular camera is attached to a microscope and takes a number of pictures (often 30 or more) across the body of the insect and then pieces the pictures together with software.

This creates a crystal clear image that is in focus from head to toe. Antweb, at the California Academy of Sciences, uses this technology and there are many others using it as well. The results open up a whole new world of the beauty of insects. Take a look at some examples here.

]]>Swallowtail Tailsbugunderglass@mac.cominsect factsbutterflies2010-01-06T08:18:27-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/swallowtail-butterflies.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/swallowtail-butterflies.html#unique-entry-id-11

Swallowtail butterflies are a group of butterflies in the butterfly family Papilionidae (papilio means butterfly & moth in Latin). There are an estimated 550 known species and hundreds more waiting to be discovered. The common name, Swallowtail, comes from the fact that a majority of the members of this group of butterflies have an extension at the end of each hind wing that resembles the tails of certain swallows. You can witness these extensions in the picture of Papilio Ulysses to the right, and if you scroll down to the Swallowtail section in my shop. However, if you look at the small variety of Swallowtails listed in my shop you may notice that some members do not have this extended tail. Therefore, this feature is not the only characteristic used in the classification of swallowtails.

The interesting fact about these “tails” is their evolutionary feature. Birds love to eat butterflies and when they attack butterflies they go for the neck or body, which would be a clear-cut kill instead of a piece of wing. In response to this, swallowtails have evolved tail extensions that resemble their necks and body. Therefore, a bird will see these extensions as a “body or neck” and be directed away from the butterfly’s vital organs and fly away with a piece of wing, leaving the butterfly with its life.
]]>Happy Bug Year!bugunderglass@mac.comWebsite2009-12-31T15:55:25-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/fab9fbdd16b5d201dab1cbbb4036df01-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/fab9fbdd16b5d201dab1cbbb4036df01-10.html#unique-entry-id-10End of 2009bugunderglass@mac.comWebsite2009-12-20T15:25:07-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/ebd77cbc6af61caf9579577242a6b496-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/ebd77cbc6af61caf9579577242a6b496-9.html#unique-entry-id-9I am not on a well needed holiday vacation and my shop is now closed until December 29th. Thank you all for making 2009 a wonderful and successful year. Come back in 2010 for new insect displays, butterfly frames and funny insect dioramas.

Happy Holidays, Kevin

]]>Bug Quote of the Daybugunderglass@mac.comants2009-12-09T10:26:05-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/bug-quote.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/bug-quote.html#unique-entry-id-8Bazaar Bizarre Craft Show this coming weekend!bugunderglass@mac.comeventscraft shows2009-12-07T08:13:54-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/bazaar-bizarre.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/bazaar-bizarre.html#unique-entry-id-7 bbsf_longbanner1bsmall

This coming weekend (December 12th & 13th) in San Francisco is my FAVORITE craft show of the year – the Bazaar Bizarre. This is a very fun & well put together show with a large group of talented crafters. If you need a unique hand-made holiday gift, this is the place to go. I will be there selling my hand-made insect displays and will also have a few of my limited edition insect dioramas for sale – come early while supplies last.
This show is organized by the people at Urban Fauna Studios, the best damn yarn store in the city.
]]>Monarch Butterfliesbugunderglass@mac.cominsect facts2009-11-28T07:53:56-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/monarch-butterfly.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/monarch-butterfly.html#unique-entry-id-6Monarch butterflies are probably the best-known species of butterfly in North America. They are famous for their long migrations south before the northern winter frosts kill their eggs and adults. These migrations are one of the most amazing in nature and individuals can travel up to 2,000 miles from home. In North America, the migration patterns differ depending on where the butterfly lives. Monarchs living in the western part of the US migrate to a small number of sites scattered along the coast of California. One of these sites is close to where I live in San Francisco, called Pacific Grove. The most famous travelers come from the eastern US where an estimated 100 million butterflies head south to Michoacan in central Mexico.

These journeys are very tough on the Monarch and most of them do not make it the whole way. However, many stop to breed along the way and the butterflies that make the reverse migration in spring are often five generations removed from those that originally migrated in autumn. Along these migrations, Monarchs lay eggs on milkweed, which is the only plant their caterpillars will eat. It is from this milkweed diet that the butterfly gets its toxic defense. Milkweed contains poisonous cardiac glycosides that the Monarch sequesters when the caterpillar eats the plant. These glycosides cause severe vomiting in most animals that eats either a monarch caterpillar or the adult butterfly.
It is fun to learn about nature and Bug Under Glass creates a museum quality Monarch Butterfly display from farm-raised butterflies. Art that has a story is much more fun!
]]>Tank the Madagascan Hissing Cockroachbugunderglass@mac.comcockroachTank2009-11-18T08:45:18-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/tank-hissing-cockroach.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/tank-hissing-cockroach.html#unique-entry-id-5

Despite his reasonable reasons for being grumpy, Tank is here to teach us something about his fascinating family, who have been around the block a lot longer than most animals. In the upcoming months, Tank will demonstrate and share some of the amazing attributes of cockroaches. I promise you will never look at a cockroach the same again.

Today Tank is going to give you a little background on his family ancestry. Tank is a cockroach and a member of the Blattodea insect order, which contains 4,000 other known cockroach species. Tank’s ancestry goes back farther than the dinosaurs and the earliest cockroach-like fossil relatives appeared about 325 million years ago. Tanks closest relative is the termitie, which most scientists believe evolved from cockroaches about 100 million years ago. Tank realizes that being related to termites does not help his PR so he will have to convince you his family is cool in an upcoming blog entry. Today he is just introducing himself.
]]>Insect Wallpaperbugunderglass@mac.cominsect art2009-11-13T07:37:11-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/insect_wallpaper.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/insect_wallpaper.html#unique-entry-id-4Jennifer Angus, an artist from Madison, WI, has created some insect art that may give some people nightmares. But, if you are an entomologist, it may give you another type of dream. This is not your typical wallpaper you can get at Home Depot, but wallpaper embellished with REAL insects, 1,000’s of them. I think it is absolutely beautiful and if my wife would let me, I would plaster the whole house with it. Jennifer’s works have been featured at many major museums and to learn more and see her work visit her website at http://www.jenniferangus.com/home.htm

]]>BUG updatebugunderglass@mac.comWebsite2009-11-07T18:34:09-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/e6346b1803415247730992fb1c1b9a73-3.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/e6346b1803415247730992fb1c1b9a73-3.html#unique-entry-id-3ONLINE SHOP so the experience will be much more pleasant. If anyone has suggestions or ideas I would love to hear them. I have made this website iPhone compatible for those with iPHONES. Despite the focus on the website right now, we are still making high quality insect art / butterfly displays and preparing for the holidays. Stay tuned for some new displays and thanks for your patience! Kevin
]]>Ancient Fly Monster Discoveredbugunderglass@mac.cominsect research2009-11-03T07:40:35-08:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/cascoplecia_insolitis.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/cascoplecia_insolitis.html#unique-entry-id-2

A researcher at Oregon State University discovered an ancient species of fly (order: Diptera) that was found embedded in a piece of amber dating back over 100 million years old. What makes this fly so special is that it is a new species, genus and family of insect that has never before been observed. The most fascinating aspect of this discovery is that the fly has FIVE eyes and a HORN, which is equipped with three of the eyes. Talk about an unusual ancient monster! The new species is called Cascoplecia insolitis, which is roughly translated as “old and unusual”. This unusual fly lived in the jungles of Myanmar (also known as Burma) over 100 million years ago and despite its ferocious look is thought to be a docile little creature that fed on the pollen and nectar of tiny flowers. The three eyes on top of its horn would have given it the ability to see predators coming while it was nibbling on its food. Read more here.
]]>Ant of the monthbugunderglass@mac.cominsect factsinsect photography2009-10-23T14:15:08-07:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/cataglyphis.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/cataglyphis.html#unique-entry-id-1

The ant genus of the month is the Cataglyphis genus . It might not win the Ant America Pageant but it would definitely win any desert survival competition. Why? Because it is one of the most heat tolerant animals known to man and one species of this group (Cataglyphis bicolor) lives in the Sahara desert, which can withstand temperatures up to 158 degrees! Considering no known land animal can live permanently in temperatures over 120 degrees -- this is pretty incredible. This ant is a scavenger and survives on the corpses of other arthropods that can’t take the heat. The image comes from www.antweb.org, which has amazing pictures of ants. You can learn about more cool ant facts on my ant research page .

]]>Welcome to the Bug Blogbugunderglass@mac.comintroduction to the blog2009-10-23T13:33:15-07:00http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/bugunderglass_bug_blog.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.bugunderglass.com/bug-blog_files/bugunderglass_bug_blog.html#unique-entry-id-0

Hello insect lovers! Welcome to the new Bug Under Glass “Bug Blog”. This blog will feature popular insect culture, bug design, fascinating insect facts, current research or anything else that will lead to a greater understanding of insects.

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