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.

North America’s largest centipede

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

As I prowled the remote mixed-grass prairie of northwestern Oklahoma in the middle of the night, an enormous, serpentine figure emerged frenetically from a clump of grass and clambered up the banks of the draw I was exploring.  Although I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 69 Comments

Flaming the debate

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

As my interest in prairie insects has increased over the past few years, so has my interest in their conservation. Many insects are restricted to prairies through dependence upon prairie plants or their unique physical and trophic characteristics. Thus, preservation … Continue reading →

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

Friday Flower – green fringed orchid

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I may have been the “Beetle Group” leader for last May’s BioBlitz at Penn-Sylvania Prairie, a 160-acre tract of native tallgrass prairie in southwestern Missouri owned by the Missouri Prairie Foundation.  However, it was a plant – specifically the green fringed orchid  (Platanthera lacera) – that … Continue reading →

Posted in Orchidaceae | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Trichodes bibalteatus in Oklahoma

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Among checkered beetles (family Cleridae), the genus Trichodes contains among the largest and most strikingly-colored species.  The 11 North American species of this predominantly Holarctic genus are primarily western in distribution, although two species (T. nuttalli and T. apivorus) do occur in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleridae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Rejoicing the end of summer

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Last week I awoke to refreshingly cool temperatures for the first time in a long time – a brutal heat wave that had gripped the Midwest for some time had finally (if only briefly) passed. Missouri typically experiences substantial heat … Continue reading →

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

Clown beetle surprise

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

As I slowly scanned my flashlight through the darkness across the mixed-grass prairie in the Glass Mountains of northwestern Oklahoma last July, there was one thing that I hoped not to see (prairie rattlesnake, unless from afar) and one thing … Continue reading →

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

“A good photographer is invisible…”

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Yesterday I shot down to the southeastern lowlands of Missouri to spend some quality time in the field with friend and fellow cicindelophile Kent Fothergill. We were primarily looking for migrants of the Ascendent Tiger Beetle (Cicindela trifasciata ascendens), a … Continue reading →

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

Cicindela – A quarterly journal devoted to Cicindelidae

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Being a cicindelophile (i.e., a tiger beetle enthusiast), I have on occasion highlighted articles published in the journal Cicindela (“A quarterly journal devoted to Cicindelidae”) (see previous post – also here, here and here).  This delightful little journal is the now … Continue reading →

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