Tag Archives: science

Scorching plains, screaming cactus

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

One of my greatest pleasures with collecting insects is not only the sights of the habitats that I visit, but the sounds. How many a night I’ve spent camped out in the Ozarks and watched royal moths fluttering at the blacklight sheet while dueling katydids traded … Continue reading →

Posted in Cactaceae, Cicadidae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Guess who just turned 7?

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

No, not this very alarmed male Prionus heroicus (among North America’s largest longhorned beetles) seen this past June at Mills Rim Campground in northeastern New Mexico—although he could very well have spent several years underground as a ever-fatter grub feeding on tree … Continue reading →

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

How to catch “bucket loads” of Prionus fissicornis!

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

Fresh off our unexpected success at finding Prionus integer in the shortgrass prairie of southeastern Colorado, field mate Jeff Huether and I made our way down into northeastern New Mexico to see if the prionic acid lures we used to attract … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Missouri’s largest planthopper

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

Although I have long dedicated myself to beetles, I must confess that my first love was the so-called “Homoptera”—that now defunct order containing some really cool bugs (cicadas and hoppers—i.e., leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, froghoppers, armadillohoppers, etc.) and some not-so-cool bugs (aphids, whiteflies, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fulgoridae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Guest Post: Burrow Hole Blues

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

For today’s post, I am pleased to introduce nature writer and guest blogger Sharman Apt Russell. Epitomizing the increasingly important role of citizen scientists in conservation and natural history study, Sharman recently engaged in a year-long study of the Western red-bellied tiger … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

My first experience with Prionus lure

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

Our quick stop in Hardtner, Kansas to see “Beetle Bill” Smith at the beginning of our Great Plains Collecting Trip had already produced one unexpected success—the long-sought-after Buprestis confluenta. However, our trip didn’t really begin in earnest until noon the next day when field mate Jeff … Continue reading →

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

North America’s Most Beautiful Agrilus Jewel Beetle

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

For the past few years I’ve spent the summers traveling once a month or so from my home near St. Louis to research plots in western Tennessee. I enjoy these trips immensely—not only are my research and the colleagues that I spend time with fun, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Buprestis hat-trick!

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Ted C. MacRae

In North America, few beetles can rival jewel beetles in the family Buprestidae for sheer beauty, and within the family this beauty is perhaps best exemplified by species in the family’s namesake genus Buprestis. Often flashing yellow, green, coppery, or red, species in this genus … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments