Tag Archives: entomology

The “best” Eleodes suturalis

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

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

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

Forgotten Foto Friday: Centruroides vittatus

I got this idea from Doug Taron over at Gossamer Tapestry, who credits Steve Borichevsky at Shooting my Universe for an occasional feature called Forgotten Photo Friday (hopefully my use of the alternative spelling “Foto” won’t be considered too presumptuous).  Perfect timing, as I recently … Continue reading

Posted in Arachnida, Scorpiones | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Cicindela nebraskana – Prairie Long-lipped Tiger Beetle

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

Halloween ID challenge answer – Argiope trifasciata

Here is another photo of the spider in the previous post with a closer view of its spiny pedipalps (mouth feeler thingys).  Troy Bartlett and BitB’s own James Trager got it right – the spider is, indeed, Argiope trifasciata, the banded … Continue reading

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Halloween ID challenge

Class and order are gimmes – can you name the family, genus, and species? Common name? Something significant about its biology or behavior? Photographed 25.ix.2010 in shortgrass prairie habitat atop the Pine Ridge in Sioux Co., Nebraska. Photo Details: Canon … Continue reading

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Flash solutions for the beautiful tiger beetle

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