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.

Forgotten Foto Friday: Eudioctria sp.

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

In keeping with my recent theme featuring insects from Shaw Nature Reserve, I present here a long-forgotten photograph that I took back in May 2009.  In fact, not only was this photo taken on the maiden voyage of my Canon dSLR setup, but … Continue reading →

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

A Missouri hotspot for Cylindera unipunctata

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Long before I began studying tiger beetles in earnest, I became aware of one of Missouri’s more interesting species—Cylindera unipunctata (one-spotted tiger beetle).  One of my favorite woodboring beetle collecting spots back in the 1980s was Pinewoods Lake Recreation Area near … Continue reading →

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

Predator Satiation

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve probably used the term predator satiation more often during the past couple of weeks than I have during the entire rest of my life.  Students of ecology know this as an antipredator adaptation in which prey occur at such high population … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicadidae, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Vespidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Do you think I’m tasty?

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

As I hiked the upper stretch of the Shut-Ins Trail at Sam A. Baker State Park in southeastern Missouri, I encountered this 2-inch long millipede slowly making its way across the rocks.  Many millipedes, of course, produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as their primary method … Continue reading →

Posted in Diplopoda, Polydesmida | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Eye to eye with a copperhead

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I don’t know what it is about Osage copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster) that makes every encounter with one so special. They are perhaps the most common of Missouri’s five venomous snake species, and I’ve seen them more often than I can count. Still, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reptilia, Vertebrata | Tagged , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Pardalophora phoenicoptera – Orange-winged grasshopper

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

For some reason, I’ve found myself increasingly fascinated with certain grasshoppers—not just any grasshoppers, but band-winged grasshoppers (family Acrididae, subfamily Oedepodinae).  And not just band-winged grasshoppers, but band-winged grasshopper nymphs.  It began last year when I found adults and nymphs … Continue reading →

Posted in Acrididae, Orthoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

They’re baaaaack… finally!

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

For almost a month I waited—waited for that spaceship-sounding drone from the trees; waited for their bodies to drip from the vegetation and their skins to litter the yard; waited for their delightful shrieks every time I jostle a tree … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicadidae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , | 21 Comments

Wrong lens

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

During the past couple of years, as I’ve transitioned from strictly a net-wielding entomologist to one that also carries a camera, I’ve had to start making choices about whether to keep the camera in the backpack or hold it at the ready, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reptilia, Vertebrata | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments