Tag Archives: entomology

Why did it take 30 years to collect these beetles?

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

This is the best known of the American species of Poecilonota, and the one most commonly collected east of the Rocky Mountain.—Evans (1957) I’ve been interested in insects since I was a kid, but I didn’t really become a dedicated … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Stalking tigers in Argentina

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

Most of you know that I have spent a lot of time in Argentina over the years, and while most of my time there has been for work I have had a fair bit of opportunity to collect insects as … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Party on a pin oak

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

In September 2012 while collecting in western Oklahoma (Weatherford) I came across this interesting scene. It had been exceedingly dry in the area, and because of this few insects were out and about in the small city park that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Diptera, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Mutillidae, Nymphalidae, Sarcophagidae, Scarabaeidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A belated Happy Birthday

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

It seems that November 24th came and went without me even realizing that BitB turned six years old that day! Six years—wow, has it really been that long? I guess forgetting birthdays officially puts me in the old-timer camp (both … Continue reading →

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

Pedantic Sunday: Blister beetles don’t suck

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

The beetle featured in today’s photo is the blister beetle (family Meloidae), Nemognatha cribraria cribraria. The genus Nemognatha and its relatives in the subfamily Nemognathinae are distinctive due to the greatly elongated adult mouthparts that are modified for feeding on flowers. Specifically, parts … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Meloidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

T.G.I.Flyday: Soybean nodule fly

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve been walking the rows of soybean fields for many years now, and while it might seem that I would have very quickly seen all there was to see in terms of insects associated with the crop, this is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Diptera, Platystomatidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

One-shot Wednesday: Hawk moths suck!

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

I admit it—I give short shrift to Lepidoptera compared to other groups of insects. This is not because I don’t think they deserve attention; they are a stunning group with an amazing suite of adaptations to life on earth. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Lepidoptera, Sphingidae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A winter longhorned beetle

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

According to the calendar it’s still autumn; however, in practical terms winter has settled in across much of the U.S. For those of us who study wood-boring beetles in the families Buprestidae (jewel beetles) and Cerambycidae (longhorned beetles), our time … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments