Category Archives: Coleoptera

Beetles. The largest order of animals with more than 300,000 species in about 2000 genera.

9th Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip: Day 3.2

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

My plan to retrieve beetle-infested wood in Oklahoma’s Glass Mountains has morphed from a quick stop to an all-morning affair, and by the time I loaded up the bundles it was well past noon. Fortunately, my next planned stop—Alabaster Caverns State … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Meloidae, Melyridae | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

9th Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip: Day 3.1

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

I’d had a very enjoyable 2nd day on this year’s fall tiger beetle trip, but I couldn’t say it had been particularly successful. My primary reason for coming to the Glass Mountains in northwestern Oklahoma was to confirm a hunch … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

9th Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip: Day 2

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

I didn’t mind my late start to the 9th Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip—my first stop on Day 1 was only ~30 miles south of St. Louis, so I would get in a good chunk of collecting on the day … Continue reading →

Posted in Cantharidae, Coleoptera, Meloidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

9th Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip: Day 1

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Once again, I have embarked upon my Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip, this being the ninth consecutive year that I have done such a trip. Unlike previous editions, however, the quarry on Day 1 (Sept. 15) was not a tiger … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae, Asteraceae, Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A classic fall ‘bycid

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

In eastern North America, autumn is the beginning of the end for most insect groups. Preparations for winter are either complete or well underway—eggs have been laid, nests have been provisioned, and larvae (hopefully) have eaten well enough to endure … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The very dirty tiger

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

In my post Very wary tigers!, I lamented my inability to photograph one of our state’s less commonly encountered tiger beetles, Ellipsoptera cuprascens (Coppery Tiger Beetle), on an open Mississippi River beach under a blazing sun. There are solutions to such problems, however, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Unexpected visitors

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

In late July I began blacklighting on a weekly basis at different locations along the Mississippi River in an effort to gain more detailed information on the distribution of certain tiger beetles along that great watercourse. While attraction of tiger beetles to ultraviolet … Continue reading →

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

Shooting 8X hand-held in the field

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Just to prove it can be done, here is an uncropped photograph of the seed weevil Althaeus hibisci (or the closely related A. folkertsi) (order Coleoptera, family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Bruchinae). Adults of these species measure only 1.5–2.5 mm in length (Kingsolver 2004), … Continue reading →

Posted in Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments