Blog Archives

Another Possible Cyphonia Treehopper

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

3mm long | July 6, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This might be another Cyphonia species. I’ve seen a few similar ones before, but not one quite like this.

Side view

I believe these photos are all of the same individual, but I can’t be sure. It was skittish, but when spooked it always seemed to land close by.

Another view

These really are very small treehoppers, only around 3mm long.

Dorsal view

Dorsal view

Posted in Featured Photos | 2 Comments

Stingless Bees

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

10mm wide entrance | July 6, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

These stingless bees have made their nest inside a termite mound. Earlier in the day, the bees weren’t clustered around the entrance like they are here. Instead they were simply flying in and out occasionally. This was taken late in the day though, and I suspect they are preparing to seal the entrance for the night. In the photo below, you get a better sense of how the nest is situated in the termite mound.

Though these bees are stingless, they aren’t defenseless. Do you see the clump of resin in the upper left? Looks like an ant has been encased there. I wonder if the bees perhaps mobbed it and secreted all that resin. read more

Posted in Easter Eggs, Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Mantispid

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Troy Bartlett
Mantispid

12mm body | July 6, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I spotted this small mantidfly hanging out on the underside of this leaf. I’m always excited to find one of these.

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Battleship-shaped Ootheca

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

31mm long | July 6, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I saw quite a few of these oddly shaped things. My guess would be that they are the oothecae (egg masses) of a praying mantis. I’ve read that each species of praying mantis has a distinctive looking ootheca. After quite a bit of searching, I’ve been unable to find one that looks quite like this.

This one was on some sort of succulent plant, but I found others on tree trunks and various other plants.

Another view

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Leafcutter Ant

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 6, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I mostly ignore these ubiquitous ants, but I thought the plant part this one was carrying might make for an interesting photo.

Posted in Featured Photos | 1 Comment

Crypsis Challenge #15 Reveal: Moth

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

Did you find the hidden moth in the last crypsis challenge? If not, here’s where it was hidden.

Moth, Hidden

Moth, Revealed

In natural light it blended in quite well. With a flash though, it really pops out.

40mm wingspan

I thought the eyespot was interesting and I managed to get a closeup before the moth took off.

Eyespot Closeup

I expected this would be an easy challenge. All commenters correctly mentioned the moth. Good job, everyone!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Immature Assassin Bug

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm long | July 5, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

It looks somewhat clumsy at this stage, but it’s nonetheless a capable predator.

Closer view

I forgot to turn off one of the flash heads so as to avoid the double eye highlight.

Posted in Featured Photos | 3 Comments

Geometrid Caterpillar with Enlarged Thorax

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

23mm long | July 5, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This caterpillar has an interesting profile. I’ve seen caterpillars with enlarged thoracic segments, but I don’t recall ever seeing a geometrid like this. I assume this is a geometrid because it only has two pairs of prolegs.

Closeup of head and thorax

I was just about to publish this and I decided to look through my copy of Caterpillars of Eastern North America to see if I saw anything similar in the section on geometrids. This is not unlike the caterpillar of the Tulip-tree Beauty (Epimecis hortaria). I’ve never actually seen one of those, even though I often see the adults. Wagner says the odd proportions are distinctive for that species for North America. Perhaps this is a Brazilian species in that genus. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Parasitized Brush-footed Butterfly Chrysalis

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

17mm long | July 5, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Metamorphosis for this butterfly appears to have been interrupted by a parasite, a small wasp perhaps. You can see the hole where the parasite chewed its way out. Oddly, there’s a similar hole on the other side. Maybe it abandoned this other exit since it looks incomplete. Or maybe there were actually multiple parasites.

Another exit hole?

I know this is the chrysalis of a brush-footed butterfly in the family Nymphalidae because other butterfly families use a a small silken thread around the thorax to help secure it. Here’s an example from an earlier post. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Crypsis Challenge #15

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 5, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Can you spot the critter hidden on the side of this tree? This is a natural light photo and under the forest canopy it really was dark as shown here.

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 6 Comments