The pictures today are brought to you by the letter 'B'
May 6, 2018 12:43:18 #
I am working through the last batches of pictures from last season, and for the moment I am just doing it alphabetically. Already have a lot of new things to show from 2018, and wow does it feel good to be out there!
A final entry from last seasons’ trips to the Magic Field are the large blister beetles that make their appearance in the waning days of summer. These are in the genus Meloe, and it is the largest species of blister beetle that I see around here. At the time I only found males, which are identified by their weird antennae. Soft and plump and slow moving, they can be found by following the meandering groove that they leave in the finely powdered dirt as they wander in their search for a female. Although they want to walk continuously, putting them on a finger does make them pause for a moment. One can also get them to hold still by annoying them so that they curl up into a defensive posture. They will secrete an irritating fluid, but it does not bother me.
Blister beetle larvae are parasitic on various kinds of insects. I am not sure, but these may be one of the species that parasitizes grasshopper eggs since ‘hoppers are abundant in the Magic Field and these beetles seem to emerge from the ground. The larvae are noted for going through hypermetamorphosis, meaning that they pass through several different forms that are rather different from each other.
I was delighted to find a colony of a new species of tortoise beetle. The bumpy tortoise beetles (Plagiometriona clavata) in the next pictures were on plants alongside a river. The species is really the ‘clavate’ tortoise beetle, but I call them bumpy t.b. because they are. There were tortoise beetle larvae as well, and as people may know these are trilobite-like larvae that carry a package of feces on their backs. I was unable to get acceptable pictures of them, unfortunately, but I expect they will be back this summer.
Next we have a giant water bug, Belostoma (possibly B. flumineum, since that is a Michigan species). This was sitting on the margin of a pond, late in the Fall.
The damselfly is a bluet, of course, but I am having a hard time identifying this male to species. It looks to be either the familiar bluet (Enallagma civile), or river bluet (E. anna). Those two species are very hard to tell apart. I am also puzzled by its dark legs, which is not something I had noted in either species. Could this be an entirely different species? As always, I am hoping that docshark will help me out on this mystery bluet.
Finally, we have a brown lacewing (Micromus posticus, I think). I always really like the intricate wing vein patterns of this species.
A final entry from last seasons’ trips to the Magic Field are the large blister beetles that make their appearance in the waning days of summer. These are in the genus Meloe, and it is the largest species of blister beetle that I see around here. At the time I only found males, which are identified by their weird antennae. Soft and plump and slow moving, they can be found by following the meandering groove that they leave in the finely powdered dirt as they wander in their search for a female. Although they want to walk continuously, putting them on a finger does make them pause for a moment. One can also get them to hold still by annoying them so that they curl up into a defensive posture. They will secrete an irritating fluid, but it does not bother me.
Blister beetle larvae are parasitic on various kinds of insects. I am not sure, but these may be one of the species that parasitizes grasshopper eggs since ‘hoppers are abundant in the Magic Field and these beetles seem to emerge from the ground. The larvae are noted for going through hypermetamorphosis, meaning that they pass through several different forms that are rather different from each other.
I was delighted to find a colony of a new species of tortoise beetle. The bumpy tortoise beetles (Plagiometriona clavata) in the next pictures were on plants alongside a river. The species is really the ‘clavate’ tortoise beetle, but I call them bumpy t.b. because they are. There were tortoise beetle larvae as well, and as people may know these are trilobite-like larvae that carry a package of feces on their backs. I was unable to get acceptable pictures of them, unfortunately, but I expect they will be back this summer.
Next we have a giant water bug, Belostoma (possibly B. flumineum, since that is a Michigan species). This was sitting on the margin of a pond, late in the Fall.
The damselfly is a bluet, of course, but I am having a hard time identifying this male to species. It looks to be either the familiar bluet (Enallagma civile), or river bluet (E. anna). Those two species are very hard to tell apart. I am also puzzled by its dark legs, which is not something I had noted in either species. Could this be an entirely different species? As always, I am hoping that docshark will help me out on this mystery bluet.
Finally, we have a brown lacewing (Micromus posticus, I think). I always really like the intricate wing vein patterns of this species.
Blister beetle
(Download)
(Download)
(Download)
(Download)
Bumpy tortoise beetle
(Download)
(Download)
Belostoma
(Download)
Bluet
(Download)
Brown lacewing
(Download)
May 6, 2018 12:45:50 #
May 6, 2018 12:50:38 #
I give your B an A+May 6, 2018 12:55:24 #
May 6, 2018 14:17:04 #
May 6, 2018 15:15:08 #
May 6, 2018 18:12:43 #
You find and shoot skillfully the most interesting critters. I must search for that tortoise beetle.
May 6, 2018 20:15:24 #
EnglishBrenda wrote:
You find and shoot skillfully the most interesting critters. I must search for that tortoise beetle.
Thank you. I like how its color pattern looks like a teddy bear.
May 6, 2018 22:38:36 #
Very nice set Mark. I find the blister beetle most interesting and would love the opportunity to photograph one.
May 7, 2018 12:10:34 #
A-PeeR wrote:
Very nice set Mark. I find the blister beetle most interesting and would love the opportunity to photograph one.
There are different species that emerge at different times of the year. In places where the occur, they can be pretty common.
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