Tag Archives: Missouri

The very dirty tiger

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

In my post Very wary tigers!, I lamented my inability to photograph one of our state’s less commonly encountered tiger beetles, Ellipsoptera cuprascens (Coppery Tiger Beetle), on an open Mississippi River beach under a blazing sun. There are solutions to such problems, however, … Continue reading →

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

Unexpected visitors

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

In late July I began blacklighting on a weekly basis at different locations along the Mississippi River in an effort to gain more detailed information on the distribution of certain tiger beetles along that great watercourse. While attraction of tiger beetles to ultraviolet … Continue reading →

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

Ghosts in the night

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

This summer I’ve spent quite a few nights hanging out along the Mississippi River—lamp on my head, vials in my pocket, and an ultraviolet (UV) light setup on the sandy banks. UV light collecting for insects (also called “blacklighting”) is … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

ID Challenge #20

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Has it really been seven weeks since the last ID Challenge? BitB Challenge session #6 overall leaders Brady Richards (66 pts), Mr. Phidippus (58 pts), and Sam Heads (54 pts) must think I’m trying to duck the final standings so I … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , | 47 Comments

Shooting 8X hand-held in the field

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Just to prove it can be done, here is an uncropped photograph of the seed weevil Althaeus hibisci (or the closely related A. folkertsi) (order Coleoptera, family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Bruchinae). Adults of these species measure only 1.5–2.5 mm in length (Kingsolver 2004), … Continue reading →

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

Very cozy tigers!

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

In my post Very wary tigers!, I spoke of the frustrations of trying to photograph tiger beetles when conditions of temperature and terrain conspire to make them too wary to approach. This is a common feature of tiger beetle photography … Continue reading →

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

Very wary tigers!

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

In late July I found a new tiger beetle site in southeastern Missouri—a small sandbar along the Mississippi River near Cape Rock Park on the north side of Cape Girardeau. I originally went to the park to look for Cylindera … Continue reading →

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

Working with Cerceris fumipennis—Epilogue

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

In Working with Cerceris fumipennis Part 1 and Part 2, I talked about the use of this species as a biosurveillance tool for Buprestidae. These wasps are specialist predators of jewel beetles, which they capture almost exclusively and paralyze with … Continue reading →

Posted in Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera, Crabronidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments