Author Archives: Ted C. MacRae

About Ted C. MacRae

Ted C. MacRae is a research entomologist by vocation and beetle taxonomist by avocation. Areas of expertise in the latter include worldwide jewel beetles (Buprestidae) and North American longhorned beetles (Cerambycidae). More recent work has focused on North American tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) and their distribution, ecology, and conservation.

Field photographs of insects can be deceiving

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

My previous post featured several photos of Cicindela formosa generosa (Eastern Big Sand Tiger Beetle). This gorgeous beetle is said to occur in open, dry sand habitats throughout the Great Plains and more sporadically across the north-central and northeastern U.S. Like most … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Big, Bold and Beautiful—Redux

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

Strange as it may seem to residents of the western U.S. or coastal areas in the east, one of my favorite sights in Missouri is dry sand! It’s a true rarity in our limestone/dolomite dominated state, a result of nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Oversized, double-concave diffuser for MT-24EX twin flash

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

This jewel beetle is, of course, Megaloxantha bicolor palawanica me beetle on several occasions while testing out different diffuser designs for my Canon MT-24EX twin flash unit. In the most recent one, I had tried combining SoftBoxes with my oversized concave … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

A Tale of Two Blogs

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

In April 2012, I wrote a post called “Is blogging dead?” – Another view in response to Alex‘s previous day’s post (Is Blogging Dead?). While Alex acknowledged that blogging provided an early social network structure now better served by Facebook and … Continue reading →

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

Giving me the weevil eye!

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

The order Coleoptera (beetles) is, of course, the largest single group of animals on earth, and by most accounts the Curculionidae (weevils) and their close relatives are the largest family-level group within the order. At 60,000 species and counting, weevils account … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Curculionidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Group mimicry in Cerambycidae… and more

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

During last year’s extended visit to Argentina, I had the chance to spend the early part of April in the northern province of Chaco. Though much of this hot, arid plain has been converted to agriculture, remnants of thorn forest remain along … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Battle of the Bug Blogs

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

Something tells me that one of our bug blogging professors has charged this semester’s crop of students to go out and figure out what makes a good bug blog. My, how classwork assignments have changed since I was in grad … Continue reading →

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

And the results are in…

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

I recently entered my first photo contest, a local competition sponsored by the Webster Groves Nature Study Society (of which I have been a member for ~30 years), and although the competition was limited to its few hundred members there were some serious … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Hamamelidaceae, Plantae | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments