Category Archives: Insecta

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

Kirby’s Tiger Beetle

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

At the northern edge of the Pine Ridge in northwestern Nebraska, the land drops precipitously from verdant High Plains to the eerie Badlands below.  The sterile landscape of eroded slopes and irregularly shaped landforms is at once beautiful and harsh.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Litaneutria minor – agile ground mantid

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Have you ever seen a mantid that lives exclusively on the ground?  Most mantids are ambush predators, hiding amongst the bushes while patiently waiting for unsuspecting prey to happen within striking range.  However, a few small groups of mantids have adopted a different strategy – … Continue reading →

Posted in Dictyoptera, Mantidae, Mantodea | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Desmocerus palliatus – elderberry borer

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Last June I made two trips to the Loess Hills in northwestern Missouri to survey additional sites for Cylindera celeripes (swift tiger beetle), which my colleague Chris Brown and I had discovered in some of the area’s few remaining loess … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

The “best” Eleodes suturalis

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Testing with my new diffuser setup¹ continues. I’ve kept this “sutured” clown beetle (Eleodes suturalis) alive since last July as a terrarium-mate with my Great Plains giant tiger beetles (Amblycheila cylindriformis). The first photos I took of it in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Cicindela pulchra on white

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Two more photographs taken with my new diffuser, this time the spectacular Cicindela pulchra (beautiful tiger beetle). Which one do you like better? Photo Details: Canon 50D w/ 100mm macro lens (ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/16), Canon MT-24EX flash w/ … Continue reading →

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

Amblycheila cylindriformis on white

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

It’s been four months now since I went to the Glass Mountains of northwestern Oklahoma on a hunch to look for Amblycheila cylindriformis (Great Plains giant tiger beetle).  The five adults that I brought back from that night are still alive in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Cicindela nebraskana – Prairie Long-lipped Tiger Beetle

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

We were only halfway through Day #1 of five days in the field and had already achieved Goal #1 of the trip.  Despite that, it took a few hours before Chris and I were ready to tear ourselves away from … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Flash solutions for the beautiful tiger beetle

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Recently I’ve been trying some different lighting and flash diffusion techniques with the Cicindela pulchra adults I brought back from South Dakota (see previous post).  While the beetles themselves are certainly among the most spectacular tiger beetles I’ve ever seen, I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments