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Trapjaw Ants

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

10mm | January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Not great shots, but I wanted to post these shots of some trapjaw ants, Odontomachus erythrocephalus. While taking the first photos of my trip, I knelt down on a log on the side of the trail in order to steady my camera. A few seconds later, I was stung by one of these guys on the inside of my knee. Turns out they had a nest in that log, and they weren’t happy about being disturbed. They don’t seem to like to expose themselves though, and I had a hard time trying to photograph them once they painfully made me aware of their presence. read more

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Ectatomma tuberculatum

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

12mm | January 17, 2011

Cahuita NP, Limon Province, Costa Rica

These ants, Ectatomma tuberculatum, were easily found on the vegetation shown above. Not sure what the plant is, but it dominated the coastal trail near Puerto Vargas within Cahuita National Park. The white plant parts shown attracted quite a variety of critters. I think the ants above (possibly the same ant) are waiting in ambush. Below, I tried to catch one on the move.

Dorsolateral view

I found an interesting story while reading about this ant. A USDA biologist, O.F. Cook, was convinced this species could help control the impact of boll weevils on cotton production. In the early 1900’s he introduced it to cotton fields In Texas, but it failed to colonize. read more

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Reddish Tortoise Beetles

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

4mm | January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica

There were quite a few of these reddish tortoise beetles feeding on this banana plant.

Banana plant

They feed on the large leaves, scarring them in a distinctive way.

Sign from feeding

Here you can see one munching its way forward, carefully feeding only between the leaf veins.

Machinelike feeding precision

Did you notice the little hitchhiker above? Looks like some sort of parasitic wasp to me. I suspect this is probably a female beetle, and the wasp is just hanging out until she lays eggs, which the wasp will then parasitize. Here’s a closer look.

Parasitic wasp closeup

They’d often fly away from me once I started taking pictures, but it was no trouble to find another one. read more

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Army Ant Week Post #1

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

In honor of Army Ant Week, I’m going to take a short break from my recent Costa Rica photos to post a few army ant photos.

June 7, 2004 | Barro Colorado Island, Panama

The only time I’ve ever seen an army ant bivouac was on a trip to Panama. I don’t recall if the photo above was of part of the bivouac or just an ant bridge somewhere along a foraging trail. My field notes were unfortunately lost in a house fire several years ago.

This could be Eciton hamatum, based on Alex Wild’s post today on that species. They are definitely orange, and I don’t recall being bitten or stung. If they are some other species, I’m sure I’ll be set straight in short order. read more

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Ant, Victimized by Fungus

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

Ant, 10mm | Fungal stalk, 5mm | January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This unfortunate ant fell victim to a fungus, Cordyceps perhaps.

This short sequence from an episode of the Planet Earth series gives a nice introduction to the phenomenon.

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Flashy Coreid

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Despite their common name of leaf-footed bugs, not all coreids have flattened hind tibiae.  This flashy specimen instead has rather impressive hind femurs.

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Another Bizarre Treehopper

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I’ve shown a couple of odd treehoppers already, but here’s yet another variation on that theme. This time, I do kinda see a resemblance to an ant.

Dorsal view

Marshall’s 500 Insects includes a very similar looking treehopper identified as a Cyphonia species.

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Identification Challenge #6 Reveal

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

As I suspected, this challenge was easily met by all commenters.

October 8, 2009 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA

It is of course Arilus cristatus, commonly known as the wheel bug for the very structure shown above. I didn’t get a full body shot of this specimen, but here’s a wider view.

Facing opposite direction from the previous image

Among the largest assassin bugs in North America, they can deliver a painful stab with that beak. I foolishly held one when I was a kid, and I’ll not be making that mistake twice.

For more info, see the species info page at BugGuide.

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Attractive Caterpillar

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This caterpillar seems fairly distinctive, but I haven’t been able to find anything similar. The white bands are odd. I can’t decide if they are normal or evidence of an injury.

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Freshly Molted Treehopper Nymphs

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

There are a couple of freshly molted treehopper nymphs shown here. Just below them, you can see a shed exoskeleton. Their colors will return as their new skins harden. In the meantime, they inflate themselves so that their new skins harden larger than their previous ones.

Below is an adult that was hanging around a bit farther down the stem. That’s what they’ll eventually look like. You can see how the horn gets bigger with each molt.

Adult

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