Pa Chris Grinter, nan dat 19 avril, 2011
 sous: Wikipedya Li sanble ke Richard Branson gen yon nouvo lide; pou konsève pou maki la bag-Vijini (maki catta) pa importation yo prive li Britanik Vyèj Island. Kòm pwen yo atik soti Branson pase dè milyon de liv ak ane nan efò yo vire zile a nan “zile a ki pi ekolojik zanmitay nan mond lan”. Men, li parèt Mr Branson te deside renonse syans konsèvasyon ak reyekri li nan yon pi plis PR fason zanmitay. Nan vini lemor yo malgre prekosyon yo nan pwòp evalyasyon ekolojik li paske li vle “…yo kreye yon dezyèm zile abita ak kondisyon yo sou Moskito yo se pafè.” Petèt Branson gen yon diksyonè mond Bizarro kote definisyon an nan pafè nan mo se “yon bagay konplètman disparèt soti nan orijinal la”.
OK w, nan premye son yo lide tankou yon amann youn – lemor yo ap an danje, poukisa pa eseye ba yo yon dezyèm refij nan bwa? Oke, Dr James Lazell nan Ajans la Konsèvasyon te gen 31 ane eksperyans nan Zile Vyèj e li te fè remake ke “Lemor yo ajil, ajil, agresif, bèt omnivor ki ta ka gen yon efè prejidis sou sa yo ekoloji senp zile. Yo manje absoliman tout bagay - leza, fwi, rasin, ensèk, zwazo’ ze.” Oh men pa fè sa enkyete, pa gen anyen move ka rive lè ou prezante Primates nan yon zile (prezante Primates devaste Florid kle). Branson konnen ke lemor a pral sèlman “pran jeko la enpè” (tankou ra andemik tinen-jeko nan Sphaerodactylus parthenopion), nou pa mansyone yo pwobableman pa pral gaye nan zile lòt depi yo “rayi naje” (bag Vijini maki naje).
Se konsa, poukisa Lè sa a, bag-Vijini nan? Se pa paske li se pi an danje nan (genyen anpil nan lòt plis an danje lemor), men paske li se Iconiţă ki pi. Sa se sa ki vrèman kondui m 'miray ranpa a nan sou ide sa a ridikil. Se pa sèlman se li naivman entwodwi yon espès pètèt pwogrese nan yon abita zile sansib – men paske li ap gaye yon mesaj fo nan konsèvasyon. Tankou yon timoun ralanti Branson te pwese kouri ale bag la-Vijini pou konsève pou li pandan y ap konplètman manke lide a tout antye dèyè konsèvasyon. Bag an-Vijini se yon espès bato, youn ki trase atansyon a dega ki fèt ki fèt nan Madagascar. Youn bèl bèt cuddly ki reprezante abita yo staggeringly inik ak divès nan peyi li yo. Men, pa si Richard Branson gen anyen yo di sou li. Poukisa deranje pwoteje Madagascar lè ou ka plongée nan ak kreye yon nouvo kay pou yon lanmou tout moun primates? Phew, kriz evite. Richard vyèl pandan y ap Madagascar boule.
Mwen sispèk sa a etranj zile zou se tou senpleman maske tankou konsèvasyon ak ankourajman an reyèl dèyè li se komèsyal. Plis pase ane kap vini yo pral gen yon ti ponyen nan “liksye, kay kabòn-net bati sou zile a”. Yon konplo bèl briyan yo ankouraje achte a nan kay ki san dout ap koute dè dizèn de dè milyon de dola chak – epi ou ka pretann yo santi bon sou pwoteje mond lan pandan w ap fè li. Apre yo tout Zile Vyèj manke nenpòt bèt sovaj karismatik; nati w fè yon travay terib nan kreye yon milyardèr Meservey. Ki sa ki vini pwochen nan zile a?
Petèt… jis petèt… Branson gen Dr. Moreau k ap deplase nan premye.
Pa Chris Grinter, sou Avril 18th, 2011 Kèk semèn de sa, mwen te envite nan yon klas entomoloji Berkeley soti nan jaden an pou fen semèn nan. Our destination was the Blue Oak Ranch Rezèv; youn nan rezèv yo dernye nan sistèm University of California ki sitiye jis deyò nan San Jose sou mòn Hamilton (kat jeyografik anba a). It was a joint spider and beetle class trip, hosted by Charles Griswold ak Dave Kavanaugh respectively. And despite a frost on Saturday night we managed to find some interesting insects. You’ve already seen my images of the Scaphinotus (Carabidae), but here is a larger set of images from both myself and colleague and fellow blogger Tamas Szuts.
 Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae?  Pholcidae : likely Pholcus sp.  Salticidae: Phidippus sp. Continue reading Blue Oak Ranch Reserve
Pa Chris Grinter, on April 6th, 2011 OK – 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 from Monday was indeed the larvae of a Scaphinotus beetle feasting inside the shell of a native terrestrial snail. This challenge was a hard one since these predatory Scaphinotus larvae are rarely encountered and there are zero images of out there – and none of them feeding. Better luck next time!
For now, here is an undetermined Scaphinotus species. In the coming weeks I will have 4-5 species photographed and identified (by Meghan) – and the larvae will have to be sequenced for species ID. Stay tuned.
Pa Chris Grinter, on April 4th, 2011 
Came across this guy while out in the field the other day, what’s going on here? Points awarded for Order/Family/Genus – but even experts in this group can’t figure out the species quite yet.
(everyone in the field with me should hold their comments until the guesses come in!)
Pa Chris Grinter, sou 30 mas, 2011  Lasia klettii: Foto pa avril Nobile, KA
Pou pifò pati mouch yo pa yon ensèk mwen jwenn tro eksite sou. Sepandan, Fanmi enigmatik Acroceridae yo se eksepsyon an. Mwen pral kòmanse pataje kèk jenera enteresan de tan zan tan – mòfoloji fanmi an se etonan divès. Pifò nan jou mwen yo pase nan mize a envantè koleksyon masiv nou an sou 16,000 Akòserid (aka ti-tèt mouch). Sa ka pa son tout twò enpresyonan lè ou konpare li ak lòt fanmi ki pi abondan (epi li pal an konparezon ak sou la 17,500,000 lòt espesimèn nou genyen nan mize a); men li sanble reprezante anpil moun, si se pa pi fò, nan tout espesimèn li te ye pou tout fanmi an. Pandan ke gen chans pou gwo asanblaj mouch sa yo nan lòt enstitisyon, Kalifòni Akademi Syans yo ka fasilman reklame dosye a depi lè li resevwa koleksyon Dr. Evert mwen. woule (ki detanzantan antre nan travay nan mize a).
Acrocerids yo tounen yon gwoup olye difisil pou etidye paske yo ra nan lanati, byoloji parazitoid yo, ak ki jan difisil yo ka trape sou zèl la. Gwo thorax yo chaje ak misk ki lanse vole nan lè a – donk si ou pa kenbe yo nan yon flè ou rete anvi wè yon pèlen Malaise. Ev te di m 'yon istwa nan aprann trape sa yo sou zèl la nan Costa Rica. Ou kanpe anba van nan yon kòlèg nan jaden an – le pli vit ke yon moun tande yon bagay zip pase, ou balanse sovaj espere pèlen vole a pa chans… li travay chak fwa nan yon ti tan. Mouch sa yo tou se sèlman endoparazit li te ye nan areye granmoun (ka gen yon dosye sou yon Tachinid…). Genus ki pi wo a, NeoLazya, se yon parazit nan tarantul Theraphosid (yon bagay tankou Aphonopelma). Kòm yon lav, mouch la ap monte nan pye yon arenyen epi li antre nan vant la, kote li answit etabli akote poumon liv la epi li fè yon ti twou pou l respire.. Lè sa a, li tann avèk pasyans pou arenyen an tou pre matirite. Avèk tarantul fi, vole a ta ka andòmi pou dè dekad. Evantyèlman yon bagay ki sanble ak fim Etranje a rive ak lav yo manje sou ògàn entèn yo nan arenyen an Lè sa a, parèt nan pupate.. Men, kalkile si wi ou non yon arenyen gen yon parazit se enposib san yon disseksyon – Se konsa, gwo koleksyon areye vivan yo dwe konsève pou jwenn dosye lame. Biyoloji parazitoid se jis tèlman fre.
Echantiyon ki anwo a (Lasia klettii yon nouvo, san non, espès) te kolekte nan 1977 pa Schlinger toupre vil Alamos, Meksik – sou flè ak modèl la imite chans, yon skarabe Chrysomelidae (moun skarabe, nenpòt lide ki depase fanmi?).
Pa Chris Grinter, sou 24 mas, 2011 Better be careful of what you do while out in the countryside. Fèm yo ka kote danjere, sitou si w se yon fotograf. Lejislasyon pwopoze nan Florid, tit tou senpleman “fèm”, ap eseye fè fotografi oswa desen, on or nan a farm without explicit written consent a first degree FELONY (jiska 30 years in prison). What could possibly be the justification for this legislation? Journalist Barry Doyle suggests the good Senator is tightly in the pockets of Agribusiness – looking out for those poor farmers who are targeted by animal rights groups or even worse – human rights groups! I tend to concur, this legislation is a disgusting piece of corruption. It gets pretty bad:
(2) A person who photographs, video records, or otherwise produces images or pictorial records, digital or otherwise, at or of a farm or other property where legitimate agriculture operations are being conducted without the written consent of the owner, or an authorized representative of the owner, commits a felony of the first degree…
I strongly encourage any of my Florida readers to write to Senator Norman and express your absolute disgust in his legislation.
14031 N. Dale Mabry Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33618
(813) 265-6260
Senate VOIP: 41200
I also encourage everyone else everywhere else to write to your US representative and exclaim your outrage over this possible violation of first amendment rights (only a proposed violation at this moment).
And just for good measure, here is a bad cellphone picture I took while in Oregon with lots of farms.
Pa Chris Grinter, sou mas 22nd, 2011 Anjeneral mwen rankontre atik entomoloji terib regilyèman ase ke mwen sove yon reta pou seri nan lavni. Sa a pa te ka a nan kèk semèn ki sot pase yo, Mwen pa te vini atravè etalaj la nòmal nan crud medya terib. Petèt mwen jis jwenn fade epi sispann gade ak anpil atansyon – but this week I even came across a moth related correction from the Maui News. They fixed their error, but must have deleted the original article…
And for this week I found this article with the image below. Should be pretty easy to spot the weirdness (yo do at least manage to point out that the moth is pa the LBAM (light brown apple moth)).
Pa Chris Grinter, sou Mas 18th, 2011 
Petèt kote a sèlman nan mond lan kote ou ka jwenn yon bizon Ameriken (vs. Buffalo) kanpe bò kote yon plaj pwochen nan yon pye palmis. Semèn nan sou Santa Catalina te yon yon sèl bèl bagay, e malgre yon sezon prentan fre ak yon kèk frima inabituèl, kèk kolekte desan te fè. Here are just a few amusing images and you’ll notice one thing right away: no fields of wildflowers! As it turns out, almost a century of goat, pig and bison grazing has left mostly grass and cactus on the island. At one point there were over 1000 bison and countless herds of goats; it’s a wonder anything survived at all! Jodi a, there are thankfully only a modest ~200 bison left that are even on birth control (you guessed it, you can’t shoot the damn things since people “love” them – just like the stupid eucalyptus you can’t cut down). Nan 1924 a small heard of bison were brought over to shoot the movie The Vanishing American. Natirèlman, the project went over budget, the scene was cut and the animals were let loose instead of paying to return them home. 80 years later and you’re left with an island you can only fight to “conserve” and not restore. Sad fact is that we have no clue what the island actually used to be like. It’s even hypothesized that the endemic island fox (of which we saw 6!) was brought over by indigenous peoples a few thousand years ago from neighboring islands. I guess it’s in our nature to mess with our environment.
As I was photographing the above, this beast walked up behind me. It wasn’t running, I was!
Pa Chris Grinter, sou 8 mas, 2011 [cetsEmbedGmap src = http://maps.google.com/maps?ll = 33.393039, -118,416824&von Spn = 0.359452,0.715485&t = h&z = 11 lajè = 600 wotè = 330 marginwidth = 0 marginheight = 0 frameborder = 0 defile = oto]
Maten Denmen mwen se koupe pou yon 10 jou kolekte vwayaj desann nan Catalina Island. Mwen te chans ase yo dwe envite nan rantre nan Dr. Jerry Powell nan UC Berkeley sou yon sondaj mit k'ap manje rad, ak sa a pral premye fwa mwen nan nenpòt nan zile yo. Zile Chèn yo konnen pou nivo segondè yo nan endemism, e pa gen youn ki pi popilè pase a Sou entènèt jwèt Channel Island Fox. Genyen tou yon ti ponyen papiyon andemik ak papiyon ke mwen pral espere jwenn, men omwen mwen konnen li nan sezon flè sovaj e mwen te gen kamera mwen prime.
Mwen pral gen anpil chans pa gen aksè a entènèt la pandan y ap rete sou zile a, se konsa kwoke sere pou yon semèn. Si mwen te planifye davans mwen ta gen pwograme posts oswa yon otè envite! Tanpri rete branche pou kèk nan premye imaj mwen nan la 2011 sezon jaden.
Pa Chris Grinter, le 3 mas, 2011 
Aparamman something in the Mazda 6 fuel line is warm and inviting for the yellow sac spider, ase pou yo bati webs sou sistèm vantilasyon yo nan 4 machin silenn (epi pa la 6!). Yo te konsidere pwoblèm nan yon “enfeksyon arenyen” pa konpayi machin lan, and the clogged vent lines then can lead to a cracked gas tank and the possibility of a fire.
“A certain type of spider may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent line and this may cause a restriction of the line”
So far only 20 cases are confirmed, but this problem is prolific enough that it has lead to a recall of over 52,000 sedans! I think it’s high time the major car companies hire entomology consultants – after all, my retainer would be a lot less than the cost of that recall…
I consulted with our resident team of arachnologists here at the KA, and the above image does appear to be a sac spider. It’s too hard to tell from the image, but it’s probably not an egregious taxonomic failure.
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