Category Archives: Coleoptera

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

North America’s most beautiful tiger beetle

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Five years ago this month, I got my first glimpse of North America’s most beautiful tiger – Cicindela pulchra.  This is not just my opinion – its name, given to it by Father-of-North-American-entomology Thomas Say, literally translates to “beautiful tiger beetle.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

An Inordinate Fondness #9

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Welcome to An Inordinate Fondness, the monthly blog carnival devoted to beetles.  I started this carnival nine months ago, hosting the inaugural issue at the home site before sending it out into the big, wide world.  Seven very capable bloggers have … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Missouri’s disjunct population of Cicindela obsoleta vulturina

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Although I’ve been collecting insects since I was a kid (and seriously for nearly three decades), it has only been in more recent years that fall has become an important part of the collecting season for me. With the notable … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Quick Business…

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ll have a “real” post ready shortly, but I wanted to make a quick note of a few items that have popped up recently: Cylindera celeripes – this, of course, is the swift tiger beetle, a quite rare species of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Colorfull Cockroach” discovered in Panama

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I won’t call this a taxonomy fail, since Patrick is clearly not a taxonomist, or even the first person to confuse a beetle with a cockroach.  Nevertheless, I was amused at Patrick’s amazement with the “colorfull cockroach” that he found … Continue reading →

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

Sweet Sixteen!

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

The 7th Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip™ is officially over – Chris and I rolled back into town a little after midnight last night. It was an amazing trip – perfect weather, unparalleled scenery, and a record-breaking 16 species of … Continue reading →

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

2 days, 6 localities, 10 species…

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Here’s an updated itinerary for the 7th Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip that fellow cicindelophile Chris Brown and I are in the midst of. We’ve spent the past two days visiting six localities in Nebraska and South Dakota. So far, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 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