Photo Details: Canon EOS 50D w/ Canon 100mm macro lens, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/20, MT-24EX flash w/ Sto-Fen diffusers.
- Entomology Quiz: Name the beetle.
- Botany Quiz: Name the plant.
- History Quiz: Name the location (yes, attentive readers will be able to deduce this).
While you ponder these questions, please make note of two upcoming blog carnivals:
- Circus of the Spineless – I’ve waited almost a year to host issue #47 of this venerable blog carnival – look for its appearance early next week. Send me your submissions by January 31 if you want to be included in this issue – ossified homeotherms need not apply.
- An Inordinate Fondness – The inaugural issue of this monthly blog carnival devoted to beetles is set to debut in mid-February at the home site. Post submissions are already starting to come in, so don’t miss this chance to be a founding participant. Submissions are due by February 15 – either by email or using this handy BlogCarnival submission form.
I’ve discovered a few more interesting blogs since my last blogroll update – the following are definitely worth a visit:
- Biodiversity in Focus Blog – A new blog by graduate student Morgan Jackson. Amazing photographs of stilt-legged flies (Diptera: Micropezidae).
- BunyipCo – David Rentz writes about entomology from Queensland, Australia, with a focus on orthopteroid insects and the rain forest.
- I Love Insects – Entomology student and insect enthusiast Erika Lenz really loves insects.
- nbell.dk/BLOG – A relatively new blog by a dragonfly/butterfly enthusiast in Denmark.
- Forest Fragments – Just a stone’s throw from my backyard, the staff at Washington University’s Tyson Research Center has begun a blog about their 2,000-acre experiment.
- Exploring the Remnants – A brand new blog from Aaron Brees, who explores Iowa’s natural history. Drop by and give him a jump start.
For those really interested in exploring entomology-related blogs, Anna Miller has provided nice descriptions of her Top 25 Entomology Blogs. Yes, I made the list, as did most of the other usual suspects, but you might find one or two that you didn’t know about.
Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2010
Beetles In The Bush 
I’m not the greatest at beetles, plants, or history, so I’ll skip the quiz, but thanks for including me in your blogroll, and for providing more places to check in!
You’re welcome – good start on the blog!
1. Stranglia luticornis
2. Hydrangea arborescens
3. I’m going to guess southeast Missouri, Trail of Tears Park
Looks like future Prof. Geek is the real deal – 3 for 3!
Woot!
I can give you the beetle (Strangalia luteicornis) but not the flower (I was thinking wild carrot or hemlock or something along those lines, though I’d need to see more of the plant to figure it out–I told you flowers were not my strength!). Location I suspect is Missouri, though a good quiz would throw in a trick question: in which case it’s from Oklahoma.
Future bug prof beat you to the punch, but you get credit for the corrected spellings 🙂
Aak! I definitely lose points for editing there!
I will agree with the first reply. The beetle matches some you identified for me in my collection Strangalia luteicornis (Fabricius). Mine were collected on Wild Hydrangea Flowers – Hydrangea arborescens. I got mine in Carter County MO. You may have photographed them anywhere in the Ozarks.
Another case of oneupsmanship – adding the author to the species name. Nice! Flower is right too – see Geek’s answers for the location.
Looks like the geek in question knows you pretty well. I’ll bet there were T. deceptus nearby.
Yes, but you still manage to pick up points for naming an associated insect 🙂
No need for me to take a turn, since the quiz was aced by the first responder. Great fun though!
There are still points up for grabs – like the date of the photo, for instance?