Category Archives: Buprestidae

Jewel Beetles, metallic woodboring beetles. About 15,000 species worldwide. Larvae are predominantly borers in trunks and branches of dead or dying woody plants, occasionally living plants are attacked. Some species form galls or mine leaves.

Beetles by Chuck

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

A few months before his passing last August, Chuck Bellamy asked me if I was would like to have his photographic slide collection. I was, of course, deeply honored by this request, for in addition to becoming one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera, Schizopodidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Review of North American Chalcophora

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

The latest issue of The Coleopterists Bulletin arrived in my mailbox recently, and among the several papers of interest to me is a review of the North American species of the jewel beetle genus Chalcophora¹ (family Buprestidae). This genus contains some … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Best of BitB 2013

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

Welcome to the 6th Annual “Best of BitB”, where I pick my favorite photographs from the past year. Like last year, 2013 was another year of heavy travel. For work I did my annual tour of soybean field sites throughout Argentina … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Chrysopidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Meloidae, Neuroptera, Noctuidae, Reduviidae, Siricidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

ID Correction: Megaloxantha bicolor palawanica

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

In a few previous posts (here and here), I used a particularly large jewel beetle specimen as a subject to test several different flash diffusers I was working on. I chose that particular specimen because of its large size (necessitating … Continue reading →

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Why did it take 30 years to collect these beetles?

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

This is the best known of the American species of Poecilonota, and the one most commonly collected east of the Rocky Mountain.—Evans (1957) I’ve been interested in insects since I was a kid, but I didn’t really become a dedicated … Continue reading →

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

ESA Insect Macrophotography Workshop

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

Today is the last day of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, and it has been an action packed week for me. Annual meetings such as this serve several purposes. In addition to seeing talks on … Continue reading →

Posted in Aeschnidae, Arachnida, Araneae, Buprestidae, Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Membracidae, Odonata, Reduviidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Honey Locust Borer

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

Conditions for collecting didn’t look very promising when I awoke on Day 4 of my early June trip to northwestern Oklahoma. After collecting at Alabaster Caverns State Park the previous day, I had traveled a few hours further west during … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Under Blood Red Skies

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

At the start of my recent Great Basin collecting trip, I found myself presented with a rather unique and unanticipated photographic opportunity. As I landed in Reno, Nevada, the then 6-day old Rim Fire was already well on it’s way to … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments