Tag Archives: Missouri

North America’s smallest rattlesnake

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Despite tramping through the brush with great frequency during most of my life, I haven’t really seen that many noteworthy reptiles.  I don’t know whether its because I’ve failed to actually encounter them or whether my singleminded obsession with insects … Continue reading →

Posted in Reptilia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Friday flower – Sabatia angularis

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

During my explorations of the glades in the White River Hills in southwestern Missouri this past July, I noticed large populations of a flower that I couldn’t recall having ever seen before.  Vivid, striking pink petals with contrasting yellow anthers … Continue reading →

Posted in Gentianaceae | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

North America’s longest insect

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

This past June might be the most successful month entomologically that I’ve ever had.  The excitement of discovering a robust population of Cylindera celeripes (swift tiger beetle) (previously considered one of North America’s rarest tiger beetles) in northwestern Oklahoma lasted … Continue reading →

Posted in Diapheromeridae, Phasmida | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Ospriocerus abdominalis

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

My dipteran digression continues with this photograph of the robber fly, Ospriocerus abdominalis (Diptera: Asilidae).  More than just a pretty picture, this represents yet another apparently new state record that I and my colleague Chris Brown discovered a few weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in Asilidae, Diptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Overlooked, needle-tailed, thick-headed fly

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

While photographing the rare Typocerus deceptus on flowers of wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) at Trail of Tears State Park in southeast Missouri last June, I encountered this strange fly also visiting the hydrangea blossoms.  At first I thought it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Conopidae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The last tiger beetle

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Our recent discovery of Cylindera celeripes (swift tiger beetle) in Missouri was arguably the most exciting moment that I and colleague/fieldmate Chris Brown have experienced since we first began surveying the tiger beetles of Missouri back in the year 2000.  It … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

North America’s smallest cicada

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

While searching the hilltop prairies for Cylindera celeripes (swift tiger beetle) at McCormack Loess Mounds Natural Area in northwestern Missouri, I ran across a species of cicada that I’d not yet encountered in the state – Beameria venosa.  Cicadas as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicadidae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Dromochorus pruinina in Oklahoma

Posted on July 21, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

As my colleague Chris Brown and I continue to study the tiger beetle fauna of Missouri, one of the species we have become very interested in is Dromochorus pruinina (frosted dromo tiger beetle).  This is another of North America’s more … Continue reading →

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