Tag Archives: nature

Bichos Argentinos #8 – “Mosca de la Carne”

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Here is the full-sized photo from which the “super-crop” featured in Super Crop Challenge #4 was taken.  As many of you guessed, this is a higher fly (order Diptera, suborder Brachycera) in the family Sarcophagidae, with the photo crop showing frontal portion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Diptera, Sarcophagidae | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Super Crop Challenge #4

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

It’s been a long time since the last Super Crop Challenge – can you identify the structures and the organism they belong to?  As always, each correct taxonomic and descriptive answer is worth 2 points, and bonus points are awarded at my discretion … Continue reading →

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , | 46 Comments

Bichos Argentinos #7 – Naupactus xanthographus

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

This weevil (family Curculionidae) was one of just a few beetle species that I encountered earlier this month in Buenos Aires, Argentina at La Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur.  Weevils are, of course, one of the most taxonomically diverse and difficult groups of … Continue reading →

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

Bichos Argentinos #6 – Jumping Spider

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I photographed this jumping spider (family Salticidae) two weeks ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina at La Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur. In gestalt it is very similar to our North American species of the genus Phidippus, but I can’t say for … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

BitB Does CoO

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Although my fondness for beetles is well known, I also have an inordinate fondness for systematics.  For this reason, Catalogue of Organisms by Christopher Taylor has long been high on my ‘must read’ list.  While there are no limits to the … Continue reading →

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Bichos Argentinos #5 – Cyrtocoris egeris

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Despite its obvious membership in the order Hemiptera, I knew the insect featured in ID Challenge #7 would be a difficult subject to identify.  This bizarre bug is Cyrtocoris egeris, a member of the small pentatmoid family Cytocoridae (congratulations to HBG Dave, who was … Continue reading →

Posted in Cytocoridae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

ID Challenge #7

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

I hadn’t planned on doing another ID Challenge so quickly after the previous one¹; however, this critter is just too cool to keep in my pocket any longer.  Order-level identification shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but I’ll be … Continue reading →

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

A thrips is a thrips…

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

The critter in ID Challenge #6 is, as most surmised, a thrips¹, and although the black-and-white banding of the elytra make the predaceous “banded thrips” (Aeolothrips sp. of the family Aeolothripidae) a logical ID choice, the species in the photograph is actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Thripidae, Thysanoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments