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Tree Sharpening Caterpillars

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Troy Bartlett
~30mm long | January 5, 2013 | Panga Ecological Reserve, Minas Gerais, Brazil

~30mm long | January 5, 2013 | Panga Ecological Reserve, Minas Gerais, Brazil

What appears to be a flower here is actually a group of caterpillars working their way down a sapling trunk.

They look like they could do a decent job sharpening a pencil, about the same width as this tree(?) trunk.

Side view | Trunk ~5mm wide

Side view | Trunk ~5mm wide

Despite the black background, this was taken a few hours before sunset. At the time there was probably a few feet of the trunk left. I marked the location and returned after dark. I found no trace of the trunk or the caterpillars. They apparently ate the whole tree.

I know there are defoliating caterpillars. I know there are wood boring caterpillars. I never imagined there are caterpillars that consume an entire tree though. That’s assuming they eat leaves, which I didn’t observe. read more

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Sign Challenge #1 Reveal: Spinybacked Spider Egg sac

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Troy Bartlett

This reveal for Sign Challenge #1 is long overdue. Here’s the challenge photo again:

~15mm long | August 23, 2012 | Sebring, FL, USA

~15mm long | August 23, 2012 | Sebring, FL, USA

Commenter Daniel Heald correct guessed it was a spider egg sac. Here’s another angle:

Dorsal view

Dorsal view

When I took the photos, I assumed it was a cocoon. I was curious to see what moth would emerge, so I took it home with me.

After looking through Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates, I realized it was actually an egg sac for a Spinybacked spider (Gasteracantha cancriformis). In fact, I had seen many of those spiders in the area. The egg sac’s yellow silk, dark longitudinal line, and placement on the underside of a leaf all point to this species. read more

Posted in Sign Challenges | 2 Comments

Highlands Tiger Beetle

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

~7mm | August 21, 2012 | Lake Wales Ridge, Polk County, Fl, USA

I wasn’t properly excited when I photographed this tiger beetle. I now know this species, Cicindela highlandensis, is a somewhat rare endemic species. There were no shortage of them at this particular spot though.

Honestly, I ignored them at first, not being sure I wanted to invest the effort required to get some good shots. Eventually, I had already prostrated myself for some shots of other subjects, so I figured what the heck. I’ll admit I was also somewhat motivated by a desire to share some tiger beetle shots here for frequent commenter Ted C. MacRae to see. 🙂 read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 5 Comments

Female Amanda’s Pennant

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

~30mm long | August 22, 2012 | Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve, Haines City, Fl, USA

A female Amanda’s Pennant, Celithemis amanda, perches along a sandy trail in a relatively unvisited state park.

Posted in Featured Photos | 3 Comments

Red Widow with Egg Sac

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

~15mm long | August 21, 2012 | Tiger Creek Preserve, Babson Park, Fl, USA

While on my way to BugShot 2012, I spent several days exploring parks along the way. My favorite spot was the Nature Conservancy’s Tiger Creek Preserve for the variety of habitats its trails pass through.

Here, I was curious about some some palmetto leaves that had been sealed up. Peeling a layer of leaves away, I found a red widow guarding her egg sac.

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Sign Challenge #1

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

This’ll be the first in a new series of challenges focused on sign. What is “sign”, you might be asking? Generally, it’s something whose presence indicates the presence of something else. Here on this blog, of course, I’m referring to sign in nature. That could be tracks an animal left behind, scat or other droppings, a shed skin, feeding damage, and so on.

So, with that in mind, what is this sign and what critter does it reveal?

~15mm long | August 23, 2012 | Sebring, FL, USA

I highly recommend Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates. I find that it’s one of my most used references of late. If you already have it, you’ll find the answer to this challenge in it. read more

Posted in Sign Challenges | 5 Comments

Black-Dotted Ruddy / Holly Looper

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

Being National Moth Week, I have every excuse to post about one of my favorite subjects. Admittedly, I get more excited about caterpillars, but I enjoy seeing the moths that most of them become.

Back at the end of April, I was distracted by something while going to check the mailbox. Actually, I’m often distracted any time I venture into my yard, but that’s kind of the point of having one for me. Anyway, some large hollies form a hedge along part of my driveway. I spotted a caterpillar dropping from from the holly to the ivy beneath it. I grabbed it for a closer look and started scanning the holly for others. I quickly found another one and brought them inside for rearing. Less than a month later, I was rewarded with a Black-Dotted Ruddy, Ilecta intractata. read more

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Striped Anole, Displaying

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

April 23, 2012 | Arikok National Park, Aruba

The Striped Anole, Anolis lineatus, was probably the species of lizard I most encountered in Aruba. I assume the common and scientific names refer to those dark broken lateral stripes, but it’s known locally as Waltaka.

Here’s another one, a female perhaps.

Female? Or a young male?

My earlier post of the lizard on a tree is also one.

After a good bit of googling, I came across a good free resource on the reptiles and amphibians of Aruba, link below.

Reference:

Amphibians and Reptiles of Aruba
by R. Andrew Odum
PDF hosted at WildAruba read more

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Yellow/Black Treehoppers with Ants

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

~5mm | January 7, 2012 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Here’s yet a different species of colorful treehopper. These too were found in association with ants.

A busy photo, but packed with natural history.

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Ants Tending Treehoppers, Poorly Perhaps

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

~3mm | January 7, 2012 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I had planned to post just a single photo of this scene with ants tending treehoppers. Here we see at least two different colorful treehopper instars, with one actively molting. Ants like the one shown above tended to this small grouping of treehoppers. As I was choosing a photo to post, I noticed something strange about the treehoppers though. Do you see it too?

Look closely and you’ll see that a few nymphs have parasites. I wasn’t sure at first, so I started looking through my other photos. Sure enough, almost every one had one or more parasites. The parasites seem to prefer hiding under the wing pads and below the thorax. read more

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