Category Archives: Hemiptera

True bugs, hoppers, aphids, whiteflies, & scale insects. Largest order of Exopterygota. Fossil record from Lower Permian to Recent. Predominantly plant feeding insects, some predaceous or parasitic.

To the land of Gauchos

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Today I leave for an extended stay in Argentina. Many have asked me if my trip is for work or fun, and my standard response has been, “It’s for work, and it will be fun!” For the next eight weeks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coreidae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Best of BitB 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Welcome to the 4th Annual BitB Top 10, where I get to pick my 10 (more or less) favorite photographs of the year. As an insect macrophotographer I still feel like a relative newcomer, although with three seasons under my belt fewer … Continue reading →

Posted in Acrididae, Anthribidae, Arachnida, Araneae, Carabidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Fungi, Hemiptera, Membracidae, Orthoptera, Pentatomidae, Tettigoniidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Crazy Eyes

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Spissistilus festinus (three-cornered alfalfa hopper) is one of the few truly economic pests in the otherwise bizarre and innocuous family Membracidae (treehoppers).  Its common name alludes to one of the crops it affects, but my encounters with this species are most often in soybean … Continue reading →

Posted in Hemiptera, Membracidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 70 Comments

BugShot 2011 – Lesson 2

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Most of my insect photography is done up close using fast shutter speeds (to prevent motion blur) and small apertures (to maximize depth of field).  This necessitates the use of full flash – the amount of light reaching the camera sensor … Continue reading →

Posted in Hemiptera, Membracidae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

BugShot 2011 – Lesson 1

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I’m a lucky guy! First, I’m one of the fortunate attending this weekend’s BugShot insect photography workshop. Second, this first-of-a-kind event is being held only 13 miles from my home at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri. Third, I was “adopted” by … Continue reading →

Posted in Hemiptera, Membracidae | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Vinerunt, futuerunt, ierunt

Posted on July 13, 2011 by jtrager

Very rough translation: They loved us, then left us. (the cicadas, that is.)¹  ¹ Guest blogger’s subtext — Maybe if I dazzle the readers with a title in the colorful language of Pompeiian graffiti, they’ll forgive me for not posting … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicadidae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Predator Satiation

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve probably used the term predator satiation more often during the past couple of weeks than I have during the entire rest of my life.  Students of ecology know this as an antipredator adaptation in which prey occur at such high population … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicadidae, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Vespidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

They’re baaaaack… finally!

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

For almost a month I waited—waited for that spaceship-sounding drone from the trees; waited for their bodies to drip from the vegetation and their skins to litter the yard; waited for their delightful shrieks every time I jostle a tree … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicadidae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , | 21 Comments