Måndag mal

Dagens nattfjäril är en diskret brun Crambidae, Loxostege brunneitincta. Även om detta inte är en särskilt fängslande nattfjäril har den en intressant historia som illustrerar behovet av vetenskapliga samlingar och museilån. Om du läser etikettbilden kommer du att märka att malen ursprungligen samlades in 1927 by E. P. Van . . . → Läs mer: Måndag mal

Back to Blogging!

As I’m sure you’ve noticed things have been awfully quiet around here for the last two months. Most of January I was busy with a move, from San Francisco to Chicago. Unfortunately the foundation that was supporting my work at the California Academy of Sciences had some tough financial calls to make and my position . . . → Läs mer: Back to Blogging!

Måndag mal

Konvertera nigrorufa (Megalopygidae)

 

Den här måndagen är en fantastisk hona av de neotropiska Megalopygidae – Konvertera nigrorufa. Ed Ross och Ev Schlinger samlade detta prov i Peru år 1955, och jag har hört många historier om dessa episka expeditioner. Jag kan inte riktigt föreställa mig att resa med lastfartyg, being gone for six or more . . . → Läs mer: Måndag mal

Måndag mal

Hoppsan, I skipped last monday’s moth, so here are two! These are some stunners from the CAS Philippines expedition and I think I have figured out their names. If you know better, please correct me.

 

Parasa darma (Limacodidae)

 

Parotis marginata (Crambidae)

 

. . . → Läs mer: Måndag mal

Insects of the Philippines I

A month ago or so the California Academy of Sciences launched a full fledged expedition to the Philippines. While the majority of the cash was spent on a clipper ship and dive teams, there was a terrestrial component. While I didn’t get to go (and sat at home and pouted), I did talk some of . . . → Läs mer: Insects of the Philippines I

Måndag mal

Last week Jim Hayden guessed the moth I posted was an Australian Oecophoridae. It was a good guess because there are so many large and stunning moths in this family from Australia. One of the best has to be this one, Wingia lambertella (Oecophoridae), captured on Black Mountain in Canberra October 23, 1955 (CAS collections). . . . → Läs mer: Måndag mal

Måndag mal

ANSWER: This wasn’t easybut this large and beautiful moth was from Australia and is in the family Xyloryctidae (Philarista sp.). We have a handful of representatives of this group here in the US and Ted MacRae over on Beetles in the Bush has a few great photographs of them. Somehow I think we . . . → Läs mer: Måndag mal

Måndag mal

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 LAalthough in recent decades the numbers of this moth have been declining with habitat destruction and the invasion of beach grass (Ammophila arenaria). Men . . . → Läs mer: Måndag mal

Måndag mal

Jag kommer att hålla bollen i rullning med denna serie och försöka göra det mer regelbunden. Jag kommer också att fokusera på att lyfta fram en ny art varje vecka från de massiva samlingar här på California Academy of Sciences. Detta bör ge mig tillräckligt med material för… åtminstone ett par hundra år.

Gram . . . → Läs mer: Måndag mal

Araknologerna har landat

OK, inte en insekt…

 

For the next three weeks my colleagues from the Arachnology lab at the California Academy of Sciences are in the Philippines! (no, not jealous at all…) The trip is part of the CAS Hearst expedition, a massive effort spanning all of our research departments to survey . . . → Läs mer: Araknologerna har landat