Tag Archives: nature

North America’s most bizarre lizard

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Hmm, something funny going on here.  This is a bug blog – specifically a beetle blog, yet it’s a post about a lizard that generates a flurry of comments.  I don’t know if lightning will strike twice so quickly, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Reptilia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

North America’s most beautiful lizard

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Whew! My fingers and keyboard are still smoking after that long series on Cylindera celeripes (parts 1, 2, and 3). Exciting as my celeripes finds were, there were other “tiger beetle moments” from the Oklahoma trip as well that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Reptilia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 43 Comments

Revisiting the Swift Tiger Beetle – Part 3

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

…continued from Revisiting the Swift Tiger Beetle – Part 2. The Oklahoma trip had been an unqualified success. Not only had I managed to find the rare Cylindera celeripes (swift tiger beetle) at Alabaster Caverns, I had also determined the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Revisiting the Swift Tiger Beetle – Part 2

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

…continued from Revisiting the Swift Tiger Beetle – Part 1. The rain that cut short my visit to Alabaster Caverns in northwestern Oklahoma followed me as I drove east towards Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma. I had called Mike … Continue reading →

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

Revisiting the Swift Tiger Beetle – Part 1

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

When my hymenopterist friend, Mike Arduser, came back from his first trip to Oklahoma’s Four Canyon Preserve last September, my first thought upon seeing his photos of the area was, “Ooh, that looks like a good place for tiger beetles!” … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Dryinidae, Hymenoptera, Mammalia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Friday flower

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

While photographing small Acmaeodera beetles on flowers of Tradescantia ohioensis at Packsaddle Wildlife Management Area, I thought I should take a photo of the flower itself.  Flowers of Tradescantia species, or spiderworts, are notable for their bright yellow anthers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Commelinaceae | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

A Silver Anniversary

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Twenty-five years ago tomorrow, I discovered my first new species.  I didn’t know it at the time – in fact, it would be several years later before the budding, young entomologist that I was would finally conclude that the large, spectacularly beautiful, cerambycid beetle … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Four Canyon Preserve, Oklahoma

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

On my recent week-long collecting trip, the first three days were spent at Four Canyon Preserve in far northwestern Oklahoma.  This nearly 4,000-acre preserve features a stunning landscape of rugged, wooded canyons dissecting ridges of mixed-grass prairie which provide critical habitat for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments