Category Archives: Hymenoptera

Ants, bees, sawflies, wasps. About 125,000 species worldwide. Biology is diverse: phytophagy, parasitism, predation, gall forming. Parthenogenesis is universal – diploid females and haploid males.

Bichos Argentinos #10 – Friday Formicine

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

One of the insects I saw abundantly during my visit last month to La Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur (Buenos Aires, Argentina) was this species of black ant that looks well enough like one of our typical North American species. They were quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Bichos Argentinos #2 – Pseudomyrmex sp.

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

One of the insects I tracked at La Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur in Buenos Aires, Argentina last weekend was this twig ant in the genus Pseudomyrmex.  I had noticed these slender, wasp-like ants previously on trips to the U.S. desert southwest, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Brazil Bugs #15 – Formiga-membracídeos mutualismo

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Of the several insect groups that I most wanted to see and photograph during my trip to Brazil a few weeks ago, treehoppers were near the top of the list.  To say that treehoppers are diverse in the Neotropics is … Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Membracidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

Brazil Bugs #11 – Formigas cortadeiras

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

This week is Army Ant Week, and while Alex Wild’s stunning photographs of this diverse and charismatic group reign supreme, some of the cooler bug bloggers are nevertheless getting into the spirit of things with army ant posts of their own.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Brazil Bugs #9 – Formiga hostil

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I found this ant crawling over the blossoms of the Ixora shrubs on the grounds of my hotel in Campinas (São Paulo state). Normally I wouldn’t even try to identify a South American ant, but the individual quickly and easily keyed out … Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Brazil Bugs #2

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

A few more photographs from this past week in Campinas, Brazil.  It rained during the afternoon but stopped by the time I arrived back at the hotel, allowing me to stroll the lavishly landscaped grounds during the mild evening hours.  There … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicadidae, Coccinelidae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Sarcophagidae, Vespidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Rush skeletonplant pea gall wasp

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

The Loess Hills landform along the western edge of Iowa and extreme northwestern Missouri is home to a unique assemblage of plants and animals.  The majority of these are associated with loess hilltop prairies – grassland remnants that have their origins in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asteraceae, Cynipidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Promiscuous Plants

Posted on September 28, 2010 by jtrager

Naturalists have long been aware of the greater tendency for plants than for animals to create viable interspecies hybrids. This is attributable not only (as some might expect) to a higher likelihood of passive plants whose mating is mediated by pollen-hungry … Continue reading →

Posted in Apidae, Gentianaceae, Hymenoptera | 22 Comments