Tag Archives: Missouri

Working with Cerceris fumipennis—Part 2

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

During the 6-week period from late May to early July this year, I collected ~400 jewel beetle specimens representing at least 20 species (see Working with Cerceris fumipennis—Part 1). A final accounting of the species represented won’t be done until this winter, but the … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Crabronidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Working with Cerceris fumipennis—Part 1

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

For nearly 30 years, jewel beetles (family Buprestidae) have been my primary research interest. While some species in this family have long been regarded as forest and landscape pests, my interest in the group has a more biosystematic focus. A faunal … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera, Crabronidae, Hymenoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

The importance of background and apparent light size

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

I’m still getting submissions for ID Challenge #19 and don’t quite have the followup post ready yet, so I’ll give it a couple more days. In the meantime, I’d like to re-share the photo below, originally shown a few weeks ago … Continue reading →

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

ID Challenge #19

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Here is a bit of a different ID Challenge—can you identify the beetles represented in the photo, but more importantly can you deduce what all of these beetles have in common (other than the fact that they belong to the same family)? Obviously … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

More on Chalcosyrphus

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Here are two more photos of the fly I tentatively identified as Chalcosyrphus sp. The first photo shows the all-black coloration with no trace of either steel blue highlights (seen in C. chalybea) or red abdominal markings (seen in C. piger). … Continue reading →

Posted in Diptera, Syrphidae | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

T.G.I.Flyday – Chalcosyrphus?

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

When I was an entomology student, I learned that flies in the family Syrphidae are called “hover flies,” due to their habit of hovering in front of flowers, and that the larvae are predators of aphids. As is the case for … Continue reading →

Posted in Diptera, Syrphidae | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Beetle botanists

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

While Dicerca pugionata (family Buprestidae) is, for me, the most exciting beetle species that I’ve found in Missouri associated with ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius). it is not the only one. The beetles in these photographs represent Calligrapha spiraeae, the ninebark leaf beetle (family Chrysomelidae). Unlike … Continue reading →

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

Dicerca pugionata – safe and sound!

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

One of my favorite beetle species in Missouri is Dicerca pugionata—a strikingly beautiful jewel beetle (family Buprestidae) found sporadically across the eastern U.S. Unlike most species in the genus, which breed in dead wood of various species of trees, D. pugionata … Continue reading →

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