Tag Archives: techniques

Pseudoxycheila tarsalis – remounted

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to mounting beetles. That is, I mount them so that they take up minimal space – legs tucked neatly and symmetrically against each side of the body and antennae laid straight … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , | 34 Comments

Cleaning Tiger Beetles

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

This is Cicindela scutellaris (festive tiger beetle), one of the six species of tiger beetles that we found last September at Monroe Canyon in the Pine Ridge area of northwestern Nebraska.  The red elytra and green head and pronotum are characteristic of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments

Amblycheila cylindriformis on white

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

It’s been four months now since I went to the Glass Mountains of northwestern Oklahoma on a hunch to look for Amblycheila cylindriformis (Great Plains giant tiger beetle).  The five adults that I brought back from that night are still alive in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 37 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

…the “better” Eleodes suturalis

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

As I mentioned in my previous post, I really wasn’t satisfied with the photographs I took of the clown beetle, Eleodes suturalis, that I brought back from Oklahoma. I had placed the beetle in a terrarium of native soil and taken … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Lens and lighting comparisons

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve had my macrophotography rig for one year and a summer now, and while I still hesitate to regard myself a bona fide insect macrophotographer, I’ve learned a lot, feel I’m on the right track, and have had immeasurable fun … Continue reading →

Posted in Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Rearing the Prairie Tiger Beetle (Cicindela obsoleta vulturina)

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I had so looked forward to the long Memorial Day weekend collecting trip – time of season and the weather were perfect, and it had been several years since I’d made a late spring swing through the woodlands, glades, and … Continue reading →

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

“A good photographer is invisible…”

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Yesterday I shot down to the southeastern lowlands of Missouri to spend some quality time in the field with friend and fellow cicindelophile Kent Fothergill. We were primarily looking for migrants of the Ascendent Tiger Beetle (Cicindela trifasciata ascendens), a … Continue reading →

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