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.

Reunion in the Badlands… and beyond

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Two years ago I targeted Nebraska and South Dakota for that year’s Fall Tiger Beetle Trip. I had gotten my first experience with what Nebraska had to offer with a long weekend trip to the Nebraska Sand Hills during the … Continue reading →

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The last survivor

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

This past June I made two trips to the Loess Hills of extreme northwestern Missouri as part of a follow-up survey for Cylindera celeripes (swift tiger beetle).¹ I was hoping to identify additional populations, however small, of this tiny, flightless, … Continue reading →

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

An Inordinate Fondness #8 – Meet the Beetles

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

An Inordinate Fondness #8 is now up at Arthropoda, and I must say it is one of the most impressive issues to date. Mike Bok has given us yet another delightful version drawing on the obvious parallels between the “beetles” … Continue reading →

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…the “better” Eleodes suturalis

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

As I mentioned in my previous post, I really wasn’t satisfied with the photographs I took of the clown beetle, Eleodes suturalis, that I brought back from Oklahoma. I had placed the beetle in a terrarium of native soil and taken … Continue reading →

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

The real Eleodes suturalis…

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I recently posted a photograph of a clown beetle (Eleodes hispilabris) (family Tenebrionidae) that I found last July in the Glass Mountains of northwestern Oklahoma.  I had encountered that individual while stumbling through the mixed-grass prairie in the middle of the night in … Continue reading →

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

Lens and lighting comparisons

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve had my macrophotography rig for one year and a summer now, and while I still hesitate to regard myself a bona fide insect macrophotographer, I’ve learned a lot, feel I’m on the right track, and have had immeasurable fun … Continue reading →

Posted in Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

New blogs of note

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Every now and then, I like to feature some of the more interesting blogs that I’ve encountered recently. This update features six blogs – five dealing with entomology and one dealing with herpetology. Aphonopelma: Tarantulas of the United States is … Continue reading →

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Rearing the Prairie Tiger Beetle (Cicindela obsoleta vulturina)

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I had so looked forward to the long Memorial Day weekend collecting trip – time of season and the weather were perfect, and it had been several years since I’d made a late spring swing through the woodlands, glades, and … Continue reading →

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