Tag Archives: science

Cicindela nebraskana – Prairie Long-lipped Tiger Beetle

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

We were only halfway through Day #1 of five days in the field and had already achieved Goal #1 of the trip.  Despite that, it took a few hours before Chris and I were ready to tear ourselves away from … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Halloween ID challenge answer – Argiope trifasciata

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Here is another photo of the spider in the previous post with a closer view of its spiny pedipalps (mouth feeler thingys).  Troy Bartlett and BitB’s own James Trager got it right – the spider is, indeed, Argiope trifasciata, the banded … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Halloween ID challenge

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Class and order are gimmes – can you name the family, genus, and species? Common name? Something significant about its biology or behavior? Photographed 25.ix.2010 in shortgrass prairie habitat atop the Pine Ridge in Sioux Co., Nebraska. Photo Details: Canon … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Flash solutions for the beautiful tiger beetle

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Recently I’ve been trying some different lighting and flash diffusion techniques with the Cicindela pulchra adults I brought back from South Dakota (see previous post).  While the beetles themselves are certainly among the most spectacular tiger beetles I’ve ever seen, I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

North America’s most beautiful tiger beetle

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Five years ago this month, I got my first glimpse of North America’s most beautiful tiger – Cicindela pulchra.  This is not just my opinion – its name, given to it by Father-of-North-American-entomology Thomas Say, literally translates to “beautiful tiger beetle.” … Continue reading →

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

Phreaky Phalangid

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

While searching through shortgrass prairie atop the Pine Ridge in northwestern Nebraska in hopes of finding Cicindela nebraskana (prairie long-lipped tiger beetle), this harvestman caught my eye.  Harvestmen are, of course, arachnids related to spiders, but they lack fangs and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Opiliones | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Euhagena nebraskae… again

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Earlier this year I showed a photograph of a mating pair of the clearwing moth (family Sesiidae) species, Euhagena nebraskae – seen last year in the Gypsum Hills of south-central Kansas on a cold, early-October day.  It was an okay photograph, … Continue reading →

Posted in Lepidoptera, Sesiidae | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

A “leafless” leaf-footed bug

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

This is Merocoris distinctus, a true bug in the family Coreidae whose members are usually recognized by their distinctive flattened hind tibiae (and hence the common name, leaf-footed bugs). This diminutive species, however, lacks that character, instead sporting strangely curved … Continue reading →

Posted in Coreidae, Hemiptera | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments