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.

Super Crop Challenge #13

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

What are these? Where did I find them? Who do they belong to? Full rules are here, and don’t forget to look for hints. Good luck! Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2012

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

More on Chalcosyrphus

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Here are two more photos of the fly I tentatively identified as Chalcosyrphus sp. The first photo shows the all-black coloration with no trace of either steel blue highlights (seen in C. chalybea) or red abdominal markings (seen in C. piger). … Continue reading →

Posted in Diptera, Syrphidae | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

T.G.I.Flyday – Chalcosyrphus?

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

When I was an entomology student, I learned that flies in the family Syrphidae are called “hover flies,” due to their habit of hovering in front of flowers, and that the larvae are predators of aphids. As is the case for … Continue reading →

Posted in Diptera, Syrphidae | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Fathers Day at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Yesterday my girls (wife Lynne and daughters Mollie and Madison) took me and my father to the Missouri Botanical Garden for Fathers Day. Although I’m an entomologist, I also have a strong botanical bent, and although my wife and father are … Continue reading →

Posted in Orchidaceae, Reptilia, Vertebrata | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Beetle botanists

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

While Dicerca pugionata (family Buprestidae) is, for me, the most exciting beetle species that I’ve found in Missouri associated with ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius). it is not the only one. The beetles in these photographs represent Calligrapha spiraeae, the ninebark leaf beetle (family Chrysomelidae). Unlike … Continue reading →

Posted in Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Damon diadema—Tanzanian giant tailless whip scorpion

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve reared more than my share of arthropods over the years—from easy ones like Madagascan hissing cockroaches to hard ones like certain tiger beetles (in fact, I’m the only person to have ever seen the larva of Cylindera celeripes, much … Continue reading →

Posted in Amblipygi, Arachnida | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Welcome “Baby Damon”!

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Just a quick post to formally introduce “Baby Damon,” who arrived last Friday with several siblings courtesy of my friend Martin Hauser in California. Damon represents the species Damon diadema, or the Tanzanian giant tailless whip scorpion. It will take … Continue reading →

Posted in Amblipygi, Arachnida | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Poised for the bounty

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

By mid-April I was near the end of my 8-week stay in Argentina. One of the more enjoyable tasks during this time was to go back out and visit some of the soybean fields that I had seen earlier in … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments