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.

T.G.I.Flyday – Triorla interrupta

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

While I was visiting the glades near Calico Rock, Arkansas this past June, I went into town to look along the White River.  With the amount of sandstone bedrock in the area, I thought there I might find sandy loam deposits … Continue reading →

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

Lined Jewel Beetle

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Here is another of the several wood-boring beetle species that I encountered during my June trips to the sandstone glade complex near Calico Rock in north-central Arkansas.  Shortleaf pines (Pinus echinata), the only native pine in this region, are common on … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

More on ‘Conspicuous Crypsis’

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

In my previous post (Oedipodine Rex), I used the term ‘conspicuous crypsis’ to describe the sumptuously beautiful lichen grasshopper, Trimerotropis saxatilis, as an example of an insect that, despite strikingly conspicuous colors/patterns, blends in perfectly with its native surroundings. I don’t … Continue reading →

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

Oedipodine Rex

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Ever since my current fascination with band-winged grasshoppers (family Acrididae, subfamily Oedipodinae) began, I have been obsessed with photographing one species above all others—Trimerotropis saxatilis, the lichen grasshopper. Like most species in the group, lichen grasshoppers utilize an interesting survival strategy that … Continue reading →

Posted in Acrididae, Orthoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Burrowing Owl in Argentina

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I’m not normally one to try to photograph birds—I have neither the expertise nor the long lenses that are generally required for good bird photographs.  However, during my March trip to Argentina I scared up this burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), who … Continue reading →

Posted in Aves, Vertebrata | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Diminishing Stag Beetle

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

This past June I made a couple of trips to north-central Arkansas. They were my first real efforts to collect insects in Arkansas, despite hundreds (literally) of trips to various localities throughout the Ozark Highlands in adjacent southern Missouri. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Lucanidae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Four-humped Longhorned Beetle

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

On a recent collecting trip, I went over to Chalk Bluffs Natural Area in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain of northeastern Arkansas.  My quarry was a population of Cylindera cursitans (ant-like tiger beetle) that has been reported from the site—one of the only … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

ID Challenge #9

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Despite the super close-up nature of the photograph in today’s challenge, this is not a crop and is thus a straight up ID Challenge (making this either a very giant insect or maximum magnification of my 65mm lens).  I’ll award … Continue reading →

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , , , , , | 62 Comments