Walking around the Morris Arboretum wetlands
Aug 18, 2017 17:06:13 #
Had a hard time finding creatures in the heat & humidity yesterday. Guess they're smarter than me and were hiding among the flora. Curious about what I think is a Blister Beetle and thinking Doc might inform me on the Blue-eyed Damsel Fly?
Blister Beetle
(Download)
Blue-eyed Damsel Fly
(Download)
Differential Grasshopper
(Download)
Gray Hairstreak
(Download)
Silver-spotted Skipper
(Download)
Aug 18, 2017 17:10:02 #
Aug 18, 2017 17:47:23 #
The first is not a beetle, but there are lots of species of beetles from different families that mimic it, or mimic what it is mimicking. This is the yellow-collared scape moth, Cisseps fulvicollis. It is often toxic, due to food plant that many of the larvae eat, and so its colors are more-or-less a warning color. But it also mimics some wasps, and then there are lots of beetle species and other moth species that also have this color pattern - mostly black with an orange prothorax. Some are also toxic, and some are not. Its complicated.
That is a really nice picture (all the pictures are good!), but a goal for the moth is to capture the lovely iridescent blue abdomen that it has. That is tricky, but well worth it.
That is a really nice picture (all the pictures are good!), but a goal for the moth is to capture the lovely iridescent blue abdomen that it has. That is tricky, but well worth it.
Aug 18, 2017 17:55:17 #
Aug 18, 2017 18:32:12 #
Aug 18, 2017 19:21:25 #
Aug 18, 2017 20:35:28 #
First, thanks for IDing the insect for me Mark. I spent a lot of time trying to find it and that beetle was the closest I could find to a match. I had absolutely no thought of it being a moth, since it's shape is nothing like any moth I'm even remotely familiar with. Second, I took about 50 shots of the moth trying to make sure I had something reasonably well-focused that I could try to ID and to post on UHH because I was pretty sure I'd be iffy on whatever ID I came up with. Here's the best shot I have of the blue abdomen.
Aug 18, 2017 20:36:07 #
Aug 18, 2017 20:36:45 #
Aug 18, 2017 20:37:29 #
Aug 18, 2017 20:39:17 #
Thanks, Tinusbum - I've got a long way to go to catch up to your shots!
Aug 19, 2017 00:27:53 #
Aug 19, 2017 03:06:00 #
Wow, you found some interesting subjects. That moth is quite stunning, as you say, different from how one would expect a moth to look.
Aug 19, 2017 07:24:01 #
Aug 19, 2017 11:51:38 #
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