Tag Archives: taxonomy

North America’s smallest rattlesnake

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Despite tramping through the brush with great frequency during most of my life, I haven’t really seen that many noteworthy reptiles.  I don’t know whether its because I’ve failed to actually encounter them or whether my singleminded obsession with insects … Continue reading →

Posted in Reptilia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Western hognose snake

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Another herp interlude… Photo details: Canon 100mm macro lens on Canon EOS 50D, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/14, MT-24EX flash 1/4 power w/ diffuser caps. During my visit to Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Oklahoma this past June, tiger … Continue reading →

Posted in Reptilia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Dromochorus pruinina in Oklahoma

Posted on July 21, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

As my colleague Chris Brown and I continue to study the tiger beetle fauna of Missouri, one of the species we have become very interested in is Dromochorus pruinina (frosted dromo tiger beetle).  This is another of North America’s more … Continue reading →

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

Typocerus deceptus in Missouri

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

It has been fifteen years now since I published an annotated checklist of the longhorned beetles (families Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) of Missouri (MacRae 1994).  That publication (and a similar one on Buprestidae) was the product of eight years of collecting … Continue reading →

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

Treatise of Western Hemisphere “Cicindelitae”

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Tiger beetles have long enjoyed a popularity that is disproportionate to their diversity, abundance, and economic importance relative to other groups of beetles. This seems as much due to their charismatic behavior – toothy jawed predators in extreme habitats – … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Brachys on oak

Posted on June 8, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Although the beetles I photographed for my springtime Acmaeodera post are among the smaller buprestids occurring in Missouri, they are by no means the smallest. That honor belongs to the curious little genus Mastogenius, measuring only around 2 mm in … Continue reading →

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

A festive (tiger beetle) birthday

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Last Thursday was my birthday, and as has become my custom, I took the day off and went on my ‘Annual Season Opening Birthday Bug Collecting Trip.’  One or two of you might remember how these plans were scrubbed last … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments