|
Post by bandrow on Dec 20, 2021 16:45:26 GMT -8
Greetings, The image is a little blurry, but it looks to be a species of 'spider beetle' in the family Ptinidae. They're generally scavengers on organic materials, and rarely of any concern - although some can be pests in stored grains and cereals. Here's a link to a page on BugGuide: spider beetle - genus PtinusThe genus Ptinus is diverse and difficult to identify to the species level... Hope this helps! Bandrow
|
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Dec 13, 2021 17:59:24 GMT -8
Okay - now that I have the whole paper - Alaus patricius IS restricted to the southern tip of Florida. I sent a lot of specimens to Blaine for this project, but primarily from Georgia - I was thinking the patricius record came from there... guess it was wishful thinking - easier to get to Georgia to chase them, than get to the Keys!!
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Dec 13, 2021 17:33:25 GMT -8
Hi All,
Thanks for the heads-up on this - right now, I have 28 of 44.8 MB downloaded - it's creeping along!
I had thought A. patricius was restricted to the Florida Keys. I don't personally know anyone who's collected it, but maybe some of the Florida guys have come across it. I know of one species probably not in the paper - Chalcolepidius slibermanni - a single specimen showed up in a Lindgren funnel trap sample from Savannah, GA, a few years ago. I sent it to SEL as a new country record, but haven't gotten it back yet. Probably flew right off a cargo ship in the Savannah River and right into the trap!
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 20, 2021 7:16:46 GMT -8
Greetings,
I just saw this, so I'm a little behind...
On one hand, so sorry to hear of the passing of a dedicated entomologist, but also glad that he passed his passion on to you, so that it lives on. All of us need to somehow "pass the baton" to keep the science alive and moving forward. So many factors work against this kind of passion for nature, so if we all end up encouraging just one person to follow in our footsteps, it can make more difference than all the bugs on pins we leave behind.
When the question of a depository for this collection arose, I initiated a discussion at work about whether we (CMNH) would be appropriate. Our decision was that we would not be the best fit for it, as it was a primarily NE collection and we currently have no microlepidopterist on staff. Hearing that it went to Cornell is very good news, and it being associated with the Franclemont collection is a perfect fit for it.
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 19, 2021 17:55:45 GMT -8
I do repair on parts like papilio tails if I have the part- such as got busted in the net. I don’t substitute parts from other specimens because then it’s not a specimen, it’s a collage. Chuck I fully agree. I regularly reattach broken parts (antennae, legs, tarsal claws, etc.) using a transparent glue. If done well, it can be almost undetectable. In one case of a Titanus giganteus with a detached front leg, I ran one end of a thin wire into the profemur and the other into the trochanter to reinforce the leg before gluing. Looked great when done, and the wire supported the weight to help hold it. On the other hand - I once met a gentleman in Arizona - now long deceased - that had one of those multi-drawer organizers with the little sliding plastic drawers, full of parts! All kinds of antennae, claws, legs, etc. When he had a specimen missing something, he dug into his "parts" drawers and pulled out the closest match - regardless if it was from the same genus, let alone species. Definitely a 'Dr. Frankenstein' move, as Trehopr1 says!! Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 17, 2021 18:21:21 GMT -8
Greetings,
I don't count toward either, but this question reminded me of being a manager in retail decades ago. On the work application was a simple question: "If you are not between the ages of 18 and 65, state your age." 9 out of 10 applications had an age entered - 22, 35, 51, etc.
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 14, 2021 14:40:49 GMT -8
Greetings,
I have one specimen with that beautiful wine color as well - an enormous male specimen - one of the biggest in my series. I was visiting Terry Taylor of Insects International at his home/business in the Davis Mountains some decades ago, and going through his papered stock. He offered to sell me a P. friendii for $10.00 and I could pick any specimen I wanted. I was able to unearth a red monster - something I could never have done through his catalog.
I also bought a large coffee can of papered mixed beetles from California for $10, grab-bag style, with no looking first. The top few layers were Dytiscidae, Tenebrionidae and mixed little stuff, but about a third of the way down, it turned to all southern California Cerambycidae, like Eburia falli, Tragidion armatum, Plionoma rubens, and lots of other goodies. One of the best $10 gambles I ever made!!
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 13, 2021 8:52:42 GMT -8
Greetings,
Your beetle is definitely a scarab in the Rutelinae, and I'd be inclined to agree with Adam that it is likely a species of Anomala. However, there are a number of very closely related genera; some workers consider Anomala a single genus, while others think it is composed of several distinct genera requiring splitting out; and finally, if it is Anomala - that genus is huge with many species needing the male genitalia examined for accurate ID. No easy final answer on this one...
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 12, 2021 14:33:19 GMT -8
Also - please state where you are located. I jumped to the conclusion you are in the U.S. - sorry!
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 12, 2021 14:31:38 GMT -8
Could you possibly flip this specimen over and post another image? I'm suspicious that this may be the ventral side of a specimen of the introduced Asian ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridis, but the image is just unclear enough to be sure. The bold white coloration on the front end doesn't look like a bedbug to me, and I'm counting 5 visible abdominal segments, seems like a few more segments should be visible if it were a bedbug. Another image should be helpful... Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 11, 2021 19:39:40 GMT -8
I've always considered Cicindela scutellaris scutellaris to be the finest U.S. tiger beetle. A close second is Cicindela pulchra - which I finally collected myself in Kansas in 2015. The third for me is Cicindela dorsalis - not only beautiful, but one of the hardest to catch, in my experience - it's like chasing ghosts on the beach! And fourth - are all the rest!!
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 10, 2021 19:32:45 GMT -8
Strange carrion beetles are endangered, i recall collecting my first on a cat, along with a few other beetles, it was a little gross- It was the early 80's or possibly late 70's, it can't be a lack of dead animals. Maybe poisons for rodent control are the issue, or would those poisons be an issue for the insects? Don't quote me, but I've heard that the best theory is that Nicrophorus americanus was closely associated with the carcasses of carrier pigeons, and once they went extinct, a suitable-sized host wasn't numerous enough to support them. I think they've been found to be loosely associated with dead prairie chickens in some of the Plains states where the beetle still occurs in small local populations. I saw one specimen in the Ohio University collection from around 1973 in Hocking County, Ohio, with a label stating "on dead deer". Don't suspect it was going to bury that, and likely a coincidence, but that is the last documented wild specimen from Ohio that I've seen. It's just this one species of Nicrophorus that is in such a decline - other species can be numerous to abundant in bait traps... Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 9, 2021 18:57:40 GMT -8
Nice pair! These were relatively east to get 20 years or more ago, but I haven't seen many available recently. However, other species like Prionacalus cacicus were impossible to get then, and now are available all the time. Interesting how the market shifts on these things... not sure if it's any real measure of a species' rarity, but more likely distribution of the active dealers...
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 7, 2021 8:12:43 GMT -8
Chuck, I have just three words for you... too damned funny!!!
Cheers! Bandrow Surely, Sir, you might contribute a photograph? I'd love to, but I have an Android phone with a marginal camera and no other camera at the house. However, I've taken the first step toward improving my image-posting capabilities by having just made a donation to InsectNet! I'll at least be able to post directly into the thread instead of posting Imgur links. I think this can be done without being a premium member, but I felt it was time to contribute more than words to the site to help keep it up and running... Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Nov 5, 2021 17:39:26 GMT -8
Chuck,
I have just three words for you... too damned funny!!!
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|