Tag Archives: nature

Sand Hills Success

Having explored the Pine Ridge of northwestern Nebraska and the Black Hills of South Dakota, it was time to turn my attention to the vast central Nebraska Sand Hills. My original plan was to leave the Pine Ridge area early … Continue reading

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

Rattled in the Black Hills

My first day in the Black Hills of South Dakota was spent at McNenny State Fish Hatchery near Spearfish – on the north side of the Black Hills. I went to this place on the advice of my esteemed colleagues … Continue reading

Posted in Cerambycidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Reptilia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

In Memoriam – Gayle H. Nelson

It was a very productive first day in the Black Hills of South Dakota, with several rather significant finds. However, I’m going to forego an update on these and instead dedicate this post to the memory of my friend and … Continue reading

Posted in [No taxon] | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Goin’ fishin’

For the past two days I’ve been in Sioux County, Nebraska – just east of Wyoming and just south of South Dakota. As I traveled up through the western panhandle to arrive at this spot, I was pleasantly surprised by … Continue reading

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Digging tiger beetles

After driving almost 600 miles on Friday, I was ready for some tiger beetle action. A quick 2-hour drive this morning got me to the first set of localities in extreme southwestern Nebraska and just across the border into Colorado … Continue reading

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A hunting we will go!

Maps have been prepared. Relevant emails from my esteemed colleagues to the northwest have been read and re-read. Summary sheets on the distribution, biology, and biogeography of the many different species I hope to encounter are in hand. Google Earth … Continue reading

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

“All the better to see you with, my dear!”

Click me! Cicindela formosa (the big sand tiger beetle) is a not uncommon species that occurs across much of North America east of the Rocky Mountains in deep, dry, open sand habitats. It is absent in Appalachia and much of … Continue reading

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The Loess Hills in Missouri

The term Mountains in Miniature is the most expressive one to describe these bluffs. They have all the irregularity in shape, and in valleys that mountains have, they have no rocks and rarely timber. – Thaddeus Culbertson, missionary, 1852 One … Continue reading

Posted in Acrididae, Agavaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Asteraceae, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera, Fabaceae, Orthoptera, Poaceae, Scarabaeidae, Scrophulariaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments