Been bitten by the love bug lately? Longing for the sweet sting of Cupid's tiny arrow? Then look no further, ladybugs and harvestmen, as we present some of Mother Gnature's cutest crawly critters. The buzz starts here with 10 adorably cute bugs...
Cute Bug 1) Big Eyed Caterpillar
Caterpillars don't look for trouble, they just want to eat (and eat, and eat) in peace. Unfortunately, their mania for munching makes them more meal-like day by day in the eyes of predators. One solution some species of caterpillars evolved is displaying oversized eye spots that give the chubby chompers the appearance of snakes. People don't (usually) eat caterpillars, of course, so to us the pastel orange beastie above tends instead to resemble a sad-eyed puppy right out of Japanese anime. (cute bug images via Jorymon and Crushable)
Cute Bug 2) Pink Lady Katydid
Bugs come in a huge variety of colors, including a few that one wouldn't normally expect. Take this pink katydid, for instance. A rare (1 in 500) genetic mutation has caused the creature's typically green exoskeleton to reflect pink light instead. That's nice for us to see but not so hot for the katydid: its Hello Kitty pink kimono acts as a glowing beacon for equal-opportunity predators. Maybe they think it tastes like bubble gum. (cute bug image via B for Bel)
Cute Bug 3) Spinybacked Orbweaver Spider
Spiders aren't the first thing that come to mind when musing on cute bugs but a few species do a great job of turning grim to grin. Spinybacked Orbweaver Spiders are odd-looking beasties whose colorful, spiked backs evoke a child's drawing of a smiling cartoon sun, Jack Skellington, or everyone's fave movie madman, hockey mask-wearing Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th film franchise. (cute bug image via WebEcoist)
Cute Bug 4) Red Milkweed Beetle
Big eyes are a big boost to cuteness but not all cute bugs have 'em. The Red Milkweed Beetle above features a pleasant, ruddy “face” that combines small contrasting black eyes, short eyebrows and a toothy grin. The long black pigtail braid antennae are the perfect finishing touch. (cute bug image via Treffly Coyne)
Cute Bug 5) Antler-Antennae Beetle from Belize
This isn't a Stag Beetle but look at those funky antlers! Looks like Mother Nature sentenced this dude to 40 lashes, in a good way of course. Don't tell Lady Gaga, she might want to copy this cute bug's style... or worse, glue a couple to her eyes. (cute bug image via Kristiina Hurme and Charles Smith)
Cute Bug 6) Jumping Spider
Jumping Spiders are small, even for spiders, but my what big eyes they have! Two of their eyes are big, to be precise – the rest are rather tiny and that's a good thing, as they therefore don't detract from this bug's quixotic cute quotient. Jumping Spiders are noteworthy in that they've successfully made the jump, as it were, from natural creature to Internet meme. (cute bug image via Cheezburger.com)
Cute Bug 7) Human-Faced Beetle
This curious two-faced beetle hails from Japan but you won't find it working at the deli... the Samurai Deli, that is. We don't mean to ascribe any duplicitous behavior to this colorful beetle, it's just that it looks a lot like a samurai warrior from one angle and a bearded wise man when flipped. Don't flip it, by the way, samurai tend to get annoyed rather easily – even tiny, six-legged ones. (cute bug images via Asahi Net)
Cute Bug 8) Ladybird Beetle
Ladybird Beetles – or “Ladybugs” to most of us – don't have smiley faces, pink bodies or other obvious cuteness indicators but still... they're cute. Is it their non-threatening and non-biting attitude that so endears us to them? Do their rounded shapes and pleasing polka-dot patterned wing covers remind us of strawberries, watermelons, VW bugs and other such delights? Who knows and really, who cares. Ladybugs are cute, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. (cute bug image via Annlat)
Cute Bug 9) Flannel Moth Caterpillar
Here's a shaggy geezer with a hairdo worthy of a primped Pomeranian... and an expression last seen on an old man at a deli who was trying to return soup. (cute bug image via The Oko Box Blog)
Cute Bug 10) The Happy-Face Spider
The Happy-Face Spider (Theridion grallator) is native to the Hawaiian Islands, which in itself might be why it's always smiling. Actually, this small and otherwise unobtrusive pale green spider uses the red & black “face” emblazoned across the back of its abdomen to distract (and possibly amuse) hungry predators. Somehow, though, we're not sure anything up to eating spiders is easily distracted or amused. (cute bug image via Cool Buzz)
Now that didn't hurt a bite, er, a bit, did it? Of course, all of these bugs aren't cute for cuteness sake: there are valid and sensible reasons for the way they look; it's only our human perspective that endows them with squeal appeal. That's cool, though, since one less squished bug is one more of nature's creatures continuing to play its part in an ecosystem we ourselves are part of! (image via NWF Wildlife Promise)
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Have you seen 14 Dogs To Melt Your Heart on Valentines Day?