Tag Archives: tiger beetles

A First Class Box of Beetles

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Warning: post contains lots of hardcore, beetle-collector geekery! A few weeks ago I got an email from fellow buprestophile Henry Hespenheide (Professor Emeritus, UCLA) asking if I needed any specimens of Agrilus coxalis auroguttatus – recently dubbed the “goldspotted oak borer” after it was discovered damaging … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 31 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

Monroe Canyon – A Tiger Beetle “Hot Spot”

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

The vast landscape surrounding the Nebraska Pine Ridge boasts two entirely different natural communities – the High Plains shortgrass prairie atop the ridge stretching endlessly to the south, and the eerie, desolate Badlands on the north side of the ridge extending … Continue reading →

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

Kirby’s Tiger Beetle

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

At the northern edge of the Pine Ridge in northwestern Nebraska, the land drops precipitously from verdant High Plains to the eerie Badlands below.  The sterile landscape of eroded slopes and irregularly shaped landforms is at once beautiful and harsh.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Cicindela pulchra on white

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Two more photographs taken with my new diffuser, this time the spectacular Cicindela pulchra (beautiful tiger beetle). Which one do you like better? Photo Details: Canon 50D w/ 100mm macro lens (ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/16), Canon MT-24EX flash w/ … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , | 16 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

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

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