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.

A wiley wasp

Posted on July 21, 2010 by myrmecos

[The following is an invited post by Alex Wild of Myrmecos blog] Little did Ted know that giving me the keys to his beetle blog meant I’d be able  to use his own soapbox to convince everyone that Hymenoptera (the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hymenoptera | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

The joys of ecological restoration

Posted on July 19, 2010 by jtrager

The daily rewards of restoration, to the practicing ecological restorationist and to those who visit his or her work, are many. Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Gentianaceae, Hymenoptera, Liliaceae, Orchidaceae, Orthoptera, Plantae, Primulaceae, Tettigoniidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Collecting in Australia’s remote McIlwraith range

Posted on July 17, 2010 by myrmecos

The following is an invited post by Alex Wild of Myrmecos Blog: Ted MacRae so graciously guest blogged for me last week, so I figured it’s time to turn this around and send one Ted’s way. One of the great … Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Guest Blogger: Dogbane for Dinner

Posted on July 15, 2010 by annemccormack

Our guest blogger for today is Anne McCormack. I have known Anne (or known of her) for more than 25 years now, first as a long-time editor of Nature Notes, the journal of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Apocynaceae, Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera, Hesperiidae, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Plantae, Vespidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Pseudomethoca simillima – a model for Enoclerus ichneumoneus?

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Last week, I posted the above photograph of Enoclerus ichneumoneus (orange-banded checkered beetle) and mentioned its possibly mimetic appearance to velvet ants in the family Mutillidae (order Hymenoptera).  By some stroke of serendipity, I encountered a species of Mutillidae the very … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleridae, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Mutillidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Revision of the Formicidae of North America

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I recently came across this ant in the southeastern Missouri Ozarks sitting in a hole in the trunk of a standing dead black oak (Quercus velutinus) tree, apparently guarding the entrance to its nest. This big black ant is frequently … Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 66 Comments

Pismire Puzzle

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I returned home from a much-needed vacation late last night, and even though it was a family trip I have much to share from the past 10 days. However, I must remain coy about where I was for the time … Continue reading →

Posted in Formicidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 69 Comments

The Inexorable March of Spring!

Posted on March 19, 2010 by jtrager

Granted, the progress of spring seems to advance in halting baby steps with occasional falls onto its muddy bottom, rather than as a determined forward march, but spring is welcome, no matter how it arrives. When little green tips start poking up and there’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Reptilia, Vertebrata | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments