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Chiricahua multidentata (Geometridae) This Monday’s moth is a spectacular species from the mountains of Arizona – Chiricahua multidentata, a Geometrid. The only known location for this species is at the very top of the Chiricahua mountains above 9,000 feet (which was just bruned to a crisp). Hopefully the fire was not . . . → Read More: Monday Moth Share this!This Monday I am departing from the usual Arctiinae for something completely different – a microlep! This is a Nepticulidae, Stigmella diffasciae, and it measures in at a whopping 6 mm. I can’t take credit for spreading this moth – all of the nepticulids I have photographed are from the California Academy of Sciences and . . . → Read More: Monday Moth Share this!It’s been a little while since the last GOP challenge, but this is a softball. I’m hoping they were just too lazy to find a more suitable image…
Share this!I’ll keep the ball rolling with Arctiinae and post a photo today of Ctenucha brunnea. This moth can be common in tall grasses along beaches from San Francisco to LA – although in recent decades the numbers of this moth have been declining with habitat destruction and the invasion of beach grass (Ammophila arenaria). But . . . → Read More: Monday Moth Share this! One comment - (Comments are closed)  Entomology  California Academy of Sciences, Entomology, Lepidoptera, Monday Moth, Moths, Species Well as you may have guessed the subject isn’t as shocking as my title suggests, but I couldn’t help but to spin from the Guardian article. I really find it hilarious when I come across anything that says scientists are “astounded”, “baffled”, “shocked”, “puzzled”, – I guess that’s a topic for another time… Nevertheless a . . . → Read More: Curators Astounded! Share this! 2 comments - (Comments are closed) Entomology Butterflies, Entomology, Evolution, Genetics, Lepidoptera, Museums Today’s moth is a beautiful and rare species from SE Arizona and Mexico: Lerina incarnata (Erebidae: Arctiinae). Like many other day flying species it is brilliantly colored and quite likely aposematic. After all, the host plant is a milkweed and the caterpillar is just as stunning (below). Lerina incarnata (Erebidae: Arctiinae)
This . . . → Read More: Monday Moth Share this!
It seems like there is a preponderance of urban legends that involve insects crawling into our faces while we sleep. The most famous myth is something along the lines of “you eat 8 spiders a year while sleeping“. Actually when you google that the number ranges from 4 to 8… up to . . . → Read More: All New, Attack Moths! Share this! 5 comments - (Comments are closed) Entomology, Skepticism Entomology, Health, Media, Moths, Myths, Skepticism, Spiders Micronecta scholtzi The hills of the European countryside are alive in the chorus of amorous, screaming, male aquatic bugs. The little insect above, Micronecta scholtzi (Corixidae), measures in at a whopping 2.3mm and yet produces a clicking/buzzing sound easily audible to the human ear above the water surface. To put that in . . . → Read More: The incredibly loud world of bug sex Share this! 2 comments - (Comments are closed) Entomology Bugs, Entomology, Genitalia, Hemiptera, Mating, Research Blogging, Sound Production I’m going to keep the ball rolling with this series and try to make it more regular. I will also focus on highlighting a new species each week from the massive collections here at the California Academy of Sciences. This should give me enough material for… at least a few hundred years. Grammia . . . → Read More: Monday Moth Share this! One comment - (Comments are closed) Entomology California Academy of Sciences, Collecting, Ecology, Entomology, Extinct, Lepidoptera, Monday Moth, Moths, Species Maps/containment % updated: 16 June As July approaches I being to look forward to the Pacific Coast meeting of the Lepidopterists’ Society. This year it will take place in Prescott Arizona, about 2 hours north of Phoenix. And as of this moment it is one of the few places in Arizona not on fire. . . . → Read More: Arizona on Fire Share this! One comment - (Comments are closed) Entomology Arizona, Conservation, Entomology, Fire, Hazards of Collecting, New Species |
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