Take that, vertebrates!

I’ve known for a while that beetles and other inverts occasionally have vertebrates on their menu, but I didn’t really know how large of an animal they could subdue! Even when the odd mantis grabs a hummingbird the size difference is not as substantial as is shown below. This impressive video was . . . → Прочитајте више: Take that, vertebrates!

Понедељак Мољац

Whoops, it’s almost Tuesday! Above is Schinia ligeae (Ноцтуидае) resting on its host plant Xylorhiza tortifolia, the Mojave Aster. I photographed this about three weeks ago outside the town of Big Pine, Калифорнија. The asters were thick in the valleys below the snow capped Sierra, and the moths were abundant. . . . → Прочитајте више: Понедељак Мољац

У Арацхнологистс су слетели

У реду, Не инсект…

 

За наредне три недеље колеге из Арацхнологи лабораторије у Калифорнији академије наука су на Филипинима! (не, није љубоморна уопште…) Путовање је део ЦАС Хеарст експедиције, a massive effort spanning all of our research departments to survey . . . → Прочитајте више: У Арацхнологистс су слетели

Genius of the Press XVIII

 

Who can tell me what’s wrong below? Not only is it the obvious photo problem, but the author of the article takes some logical leaps to support his premise. Who can tell me what his logical fallacies are? I won’t link to the entire article quite yet because a well known Lepidopterist has already . . . → Прочитајте више: Genius of the Press XVIII

Мецоптера из Северне Америке

Merope tuber

New to the web this week is an excellent resource on the Mecoptera of North America. Доктор. Norm Penny has put together an illustrated guide to all the North American species with habitus and genitalia images. While not very diverse, the Mecoptera prove to be an enigmatic and fascinating . . . → Прочитајте више: Мецоптера из Северне Америке

The Mission Blue Butterfly

 

Мушки – Marin Headlands

Like so many other urban animals, the Mission Blue Butterfly (Plebejus icarioides missionensis) is one that is gravely imperiled. This small blue lives in tiny fragments of habitat alongside multi-million dollar development in and around the San Francisco Bay. A century ago this butterfly . . . → Прочитајте више: The Mission Blue Butterfly

Сундаи Мотх

 

Everyone is familiar with the famous death’s head hawkmoth, but I think it’s a shame we have popularized such a grim character. Above is a much more cheery Neotropical Arctiinae from French Guiana that looks like it’s sporting a clown face. Sadly this isn’t my photograph, али . . . → Прочитајте више: Сундаи Мотх

Блуе Оак Ранцх Ресерве

Пре неколико недеља сам био позван да се придружи Беркли ентомологије класу на терену за викенд. Наше одредиште је Плава Оак Ранцх Ресерве; један од најновијих резерви на Универзитету у Калифорнији система који се налазе недалеко од Сан Јосе на планини Хамилтон (мап испод). То је био . . . → Прочитајте више: Блуе Оак Ранцх Ресерве

Mystery Revelaed

У реду – a few apologies for not having full images *yet* of the larvae in question (I will in a few days!). Over the weekend I was out with a group of Berkeley students on Mount Hamilton and PhD candidate Meghan Culpepper collected a few species of Scaphinotus and a some larvae! So the specimen . . . → Прочитајте више: Mystery Revelaed

Мондаи Мистери

 

Came across this guy while out in the field the other day, what’s going on here? Points awarded for Order/Family/Genusbut even experts in this group can’t figure out the species quite yet.

 

(everyone in the field with me should hold . . . → Прочитајте више: Мондаи Мистери