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Blog Archives
Another Bizarre Treehopper
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.
[book:1554073456]
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Lacewing under Leaf
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Most lacewings are nondescript. So when I spotted this one on the underside of a leaf, I couldn’t pass it up. The markings are not unlike some Leucochrysa species here in the US.
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Blister Beetles Defoliating
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
This plant was being devoured by dozens of these attractive blister beetles. Above I’ve caught one with a leaf fragment in its mouth. Below, you can see how they’ve stripped a branch clean. The frass seems to be exiting just about as fast as the plant goes in (must be a good source of fiber).
Beetles Defoliating
As these pictures show, the plant was literally crawling with these beetles.
Working on another branch
The dark backgrounds here are an effect of the camera flash. This was actually happening in broad daylight. How are they able to risk doing that? Blister beetles are so named because they defend themselves with a caustic compound, cantharidin, found in their blood. Predators soon learn to avoid them.
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Dinner at the Cow Patty
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Remember I said in the location profile for Tupaciguara that cattle are abundant? I was driving through one of the many cattle pastures at night when I noticed that some of the fresher cow patties were being visited by moths.
I suppose this shouldn’t be too surprising. I’ve seen plenty of butterflies taking nourishment from bird droppings and other animal scat. Well, at least something is benefiting from those cattle.
Some other random thoughts:
I wondered if anyone has ever done a study on how many and what types of species come to cow patties? That might be worthy of an Ig Noble prize.
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Planthopper
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Based on the snout and the wing venation, I’m gonna say this one is a dictyopharid planthopper.
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Identification Challenge #6 Reveal
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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Identification Challenge #5 Reveal
As usual, Ted C. MacRae was right on all counts for this challenge:
January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I thought perhaps the swept-back antenna across the bottom third of the photo might throw people off. Not so.
Here’s a better shot of the katydid which was cooperative enough to allow some good closeups. This should put all the body parts shown above in context.
Katydid
My sister guessed a dragonfly via a Facebook comment. I can see the resemblance so not a bad guess.
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Freshly Molted Treehopper Nymphs
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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Gonyleptid Harvestman
January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
This image of a harvestman in the family Gonyleptidae is one of my favorites from my trip to Caraça Natural Park.
As a kid, I cherished my Golden Guide to Spiders and Their Kin. Ever since I saw an illustration therein of a wild looking Gonyleptid, I’ve wanted to find one. I got excited early in the trip when I found a shed skin. On the last night, I was out with my headlamp and I encountered not just one but two!
They were both difficult to photograph. Although slow moving, they just wouldn’t stand still. I had to keep herding them back onto the trail. Eventually, this one stopped in an area that made for a relatively uncluttered background.
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Silver Argiope with Wasp Prey
January 27, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
This spider was on an exposed ridge overlooking the sanctuary. She appears to have caught a nice sized wasp.
This species often creates an X-shaped design (stabilimentum) in their web, and you can just see a hint of one extending to the lower right.
The common name Silver Argiope is consistent with the scientific name (argentata = silvery). Even the common name in Portuguese, Aranha-de-prata, translates as Silver Spider. It is indeed silvery.
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