Category Archives: Coleoptera

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

A Brazilian longhorned beetle – Oxymerus aculeatus

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I was going through photographs from my visit to Brazil this past January and came across this forgotten photo of a longhorned beetle taken near Campinas in São Paulo.  Although I didn’t recognize the genus immediately, I was rather sure … Continue reading →

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

Cicindela albissima—The Coral Pink Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

The week had started off good, with three species of western sand dune endemic tiger beetles (Cicindela formosa gibsoni, C. scutellaris yampae, and C. arenicola) and a variety of sometimes spectacular Crossidius longhorned beeltes having been encountered.  Mid-week, however, had brought a lull in our … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Isn’t she splendid?!

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

This gorgeous female Cicindela splendida emerged recently from one of my rearing containers.  She was one of several 3rd instar larvae that I collected this past June from their burrows in a dolomite glade in southeastern Missouri.  I had suspected they might represent this … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

St. Anthony Dune Tiger Beetle

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

After kicking off the 2011 fall tiger beetle trip by finding Cicindela formosa gibsoni and C. scutellaris yampae in the Yampa Valley sand dunes in northwestern Colorado, I was even more optimistic about my chances of seeing the main goals of the trip—the four C. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Lytta vulnerata cooperi

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I had other quarry on my mind when I visited Idaho a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn’t help but pay attention to this blister beetle (family Meloidae) feeding on rabbit brush flowers for the following two reasons: 1) its spectacular and … Continue reading →

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

The Methocha

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

As pointed out in my recent post, Bee Fly Parasitism of Tetracha virginica, there is much to learn still regarding tiger beetle larval parasitoids. In addition to bee flies (order Diptera, family Bombyliidae) of the genus Anthrax, tiphiid wasps (order … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Different Jaws for Different Jobs

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

If you’re interested in wood boring beetles and live in the eastern  U.S. like I do, you’re sure to encounter sooner or later the region’s sole¹ “primitive weevil” (family Brentidae), the oak timberworm (Arrhenodes minutus).  This beetle develops as a larva in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Brentidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Crossidius coralinus fulgidus

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Tiger beetles may have been the primary focus of last week’s 9-day, 10-state, 4,700-mile collecting trip; however, they were not the only beetles I was hoping to see. Longhorned beetles (family Cerambycidae) of the genus Crossidius are unusual in the family … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments