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Feeding Derbids

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

30mm (wingspan) | January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

These planthoppers in the family Derbidae are feeding on the yellow stem.

You can clearly see the left one’s beak (rostrum) inserted in the stem. Next time I’ll have to try and get a good profile shot. They really are odd looking.

Face on

Also odd are those Velcro like hooks along the leading edge of the wing.

What purpose might these hooks server?

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Identification Challenge #11 Reveal: Derbidae

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm (wingspan) | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Both commenters on the last identification challenge correctly identified the critter above as a planthopper in the family Derbidae.

At a glance, you might mistake these hemipterans for lepidopterans. The first thing you might notice as being a bit off are those antennae. If you look closely enough, you’ll see the typical hemipteran rostrum.

Here’s another one, with what appears to be an abdominal injury.

Another derbid

Reference:
[book:1554073456]

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Identification Challenge #11

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm wingspan | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Can you identify what family this critter belongs to? Comments will be held in moderation until the answer is revealed in a few days.

Posted in Identification Challenges | 4 Comments

Hammerhead Fly

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

7mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I spotted this little fly on the underside of a large leaf. I was really thrilled to find something so unusual. I probably spent about a half hour chasing it around from one perch to another. Luckily, it always flew just a short distance.

Dorsal view

I had heard of antler flies before, and I figured this was a good candidate to be one. Initial internet searches using that phrase didn’t turn up anything though. On a whim I tried searching for “hammerhead fly” since that seemed like an obvious common name for this fly. That turned out to be a good guess, and I found lots of similar looking images of Richardia telescopica in the family Richardiidae. I’ve been unable to eliminate the possibility of similar looking species. If not for that uncertainty, I’d have made this into an identification challenge. read more

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Micropezid, ovipositing

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

8mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

While recently reviewing my shots of this fly in the family Micropezidae, I was surprised to find that I unknowingly got a shot of her laying an egg. Here’s another shot for comparison, where she has concealed her ovipositor beneath her abdomen.

Ovipositor concealed

Here’s a crop from the first photo, showing the ovipositor and the egg.

Ovipositor and egg

Everything I’ve read indicates that most larvae develop in decomposing matter, so it seems strange she would be placing an egg on a leaf surface. Perhaps this is  just a method of random distribution, and the egg just falls where it may on the ground below. read more

Posted in Easter Eggs, Featured Photos | 3 Comments

Another Nogodinid Planthopper

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

13mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica


Here’s another one of those planthoppers from the family Nogodinidae, pretty much just like the earlier one I posted.

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Mantidfly

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I was thrilled to find this mantidfly (family Mantispidae) on the underside of a large leaf. I’ve seen plenty of these attracted to lights at night, but I rarely encounter one in a natural setting.

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Richardiid Fly

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

6mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I’m pretty sure this fly is a species in the family Richardiidae.

Dorsolateral view

It was really concentrating on mopping up whatever that blob is, allowing me to get several shots from various angles.

Dorsal view

Reference:

[book:9968927147]

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Dictyopharid Planthopper

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

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Nogodinid Planthopper

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

13mm | January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I saw these little planthoppers every day of my trip. They are a bit skittish though, and jump/fly away easily.

One of my references has a very similar looking Costa Rican planthopper identified as a Nogodina species. That at least makes me feel comfortable that I’ve gotten the right family here, Nogodinidae.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot known about this family. There’s not even a wikipedia page yet :). According to Marshall, it’s restricted to Central and South America.

Reference: read more

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