Tag Archives: beetles

The ultimate jaws on a longhorned beetle!

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

Some 23 years ago, I departed on my first ex-U.S. insect collecting trip. I was still a youngster—barely into my 30s—but had by then a well developed interest in woodboring beetles of the families Buprestidae and Cerambycidae. I had spent the previous … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Let’s make a deal!

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

I recently conducted a complete reorganization of the jewel beetles (superfamily Buprestoidea) in my collection (TCMC). The primary purpose of this was to bring the nomenclature and arrangement of the collection into agreement with the recently published World Catalogue of … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Best of BitB 2012

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Welcome to the 5th Annual “Best of BitB”, where I pick my favorite photographs from the past year. 2012 was one of the most intensive travel years I’ve ever had—I spent 8 weeks in Argentina from February through April, made separate … Continue reading →

Posted in Blaberidae, Blattodea, Bombyliidae, Carabidae, Cerambycidae, Chloropidae, Chrysomelidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Dictyoptera, Diptera, Fulgoridae, Hemiptera, Lampyridae, Lepidoptera, Milichiideae, Noctuidae, Reduviidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

More Eocene insects

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Most of the Green River Formation (GRF) insect fossils that I have on loan clearly represent either beetles (order Coleoptera) or flies (order Diptera). I’ve already shown a few of the latter (fungus gnat, midge), as well as some that … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Eye to eye to eye to eye with a tiger beetle larva

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

After the past few years of hunting tiger beetles, I’ve learned not only how to find the larval burrows but—at least for most of the species occurring in Missouri—how to identify the larvae in the field. While conclusive identifications rely upon … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Beautiful box of Buprestidae

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve been working on identifying Buprestidae accumulated from a variety of sources over the past year—mostly exchanges and gifts, before beginning the processing specimens collected during this past season. Once identified, and combined with specimens gleaned from material submitted by … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Book Announcement: Field Guide to the Jewel Beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of Northeastern North America

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

It’s not often that I anticipate the release of a book as much as I have with the soon-to-be-released Field Guide to the Jewel Beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of Northeastern North America. Fortunately, the wait is now almost over—Morgan Jackson, author … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

One Bad Beetle

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Almost every tiger beetle trip that I take has a mix of gimmes and stretch goals. That’s alright—it’s impossible to find everything every time out, and if I eschewed the common and was happy only when I found something truly … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments