Category Archives: Insecta

Insects – Collembola, Protura, Diplura, Archaeognatha, Thysanura & Pterygota (winged insects).

Return to La Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Last March I discovered La Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur—a gem of natural beauty in the heart of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Though its origins are semi-artificial, its biota a mix of native and introduced species, and its pathways continually choked with pedestrians and … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Melyridae, Nymphalidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

“Sunflower looper” – Rachiplusia nu

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

With a planted area approaching 20 million hectares, soybean has become Argentina’s most important agricultural crop.  Most of the planted area is located within the so-called “Humid Pampas” region of central Argentina (Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe and Entre Rios … Continue reading →

Posted in Lepidoptera, Noctuidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

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