What's the Difference: Dragonfly and Damselfly

Latest blog post on Mid-Georgia web page

http://www.midgapestcontrol.com/whats-difference-dragonfly-damselfly/


                Credit: LucViatour
                  www.Lucnix.be

What's the Difference? Bees/Wasps/Hornets/Yellow jackets

My husband was out riding his bike this weekend.  Guess what happened?!  Did you read the title?

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Ant or Termite 101!

You see a large number of small ant-like bugs with wings.  But, are they ants?  Both ants and termites swarm, and often times, these winged creatures are confused with one another.  So, here's a quick reference guide to know the difference.  It is important to know which pest you have because prevention and treatment of each is different.

1. Ants have a narrow, constricted waist while termites have rectangular shaped bodies with no constrictions.
2. Ants have bent antennae while termites have straight, beaded antennae.
3. Winged ants will have a shorter hind wing and longer front wing while termites have wings of equal length.
4. Ants are usually dark in color while termites are generally light in color.
5. Ants will eat just about anything while termites only eat wood, including paper products.

diagram courtesy of www.bugthug.com

What's the Difference? Centipede vs. Millipede

 Centipede: photo courtesy www.commons.wikimedia.org; credit: Vaikoovery

 North American millipede; photo courtesy of www.wikipedia.org; credit: Jud McCranie

If you're like me, you've heard of centipedes and millipedes, and you know they have a lot of legs.  But what's the difference in them?  Before we get to the differences, let's note a few similarities.

Both centipedes and millipedes are considered arthropods.  In other words, they are invertebrates that have an exoskeleton and a segmented body.  They are related to scorpions, crabs, lobsters, and shrimp.  Both of these creatures also extend their body segments by molting.

So, if you see something with lots of legs crawling around, how do know which one it is?  Here's some ways to tell the difference.

CENTIPEDE	MILLIPEDE
Known as “hundred leggers”; most common encountered have less than 31 pairs of legs	Known as “thousand leggers”; most have fewer than 100 pairs of legs
Flattened, elongated, exoskeletal body	Rounded, elongated, exoskeletal body
2 relatively long, segmented antennae that are sensors for feeling and smelling	2 comparatively short, segmented antennae along with sensory organs on head called Tomosvary organs
2 modified, venomous legs that is uses to capture and kill prey	No venomous legs
Single pair of legs on each trunk segment	2 pairs of legs per segment
Uses 2 modified legs on last segment and 2 modified venomous legs on first segment for defense	Uses glands to produce a hydrogen cyanide gas to discourage predators;  will also curl up when poked
Long legs	Short legs
Moves quickly	Moves slowly
Predator-feeds on insects, spiders, birds, and reptiles	Scavenger and herbivore-feeds on decaying vegetation
Male deposits sperm bundles and female finds them and impregnates herself	Male and female join for mating
Can bite-bites can be painful, but not generally fatal to humans;  small children or people with allergies should be observed if bitten	Do not bite
Have their own class, Chilopoda-from the Greek; “cheilos” meaning “lip” and “poda” meaning “foot”	In the class Diplopoda-from the Greek; meaning “double foot”

The better known species of centipede are the giant desert centipede, the banded desert centipede (or common desert centipede), and the house centipede.



Giant desert centipede; photo courtesy of John on www.wikipedia.org

Banded desert centipede; photo courtesy of www.matergardener.osu.edu

House centipede; this one was in my bathtub last summer!

From a distance, millipedes look more like worms until you can see their little legs.



North American millipede; photo credit: RJ Ferret; www.wikipedia.org

Millipede curled up; photo credit: Jud McCranie; www.wikipedia.org