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Post by bandrow on Oct 3, 2021 8:57:16 GMT -8
Wow, Bandrow those sure are ant scraps ! But, at least a discerning scientist can tell from these that the species exist in those locations... You're exactly right! When I learned how to find the larvae, my first place to look was in the same area where I had found the elytra, 30 years earlier. Bingo! got the larvae in that area and reared the beetles - kind of one of those "full circle" moments in life! Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Oct 3, 2021 8:38:36 GMT -8
Hi All, I thought I'd better get some beetles represented here too! The first is my only specimen of Lissomelas flohri, a rare scarab related to the genus Cremastocheilus from Arizona. This is as much of the species as I've ever been able to find! Lissomelas flohriThis next one is the first "specimen" of Sphaenosthethus taslei that I collected off of the top of an ant nest many years ago... and the only representative of the species in my collection for several decades... Sphaenostethus elytraFinally - this is one of a few specimens of Sphaenostethus that I recently reared - so much nicer looking than my original!! Sphaenostethus tasleiCheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Oct 3, 2021 7:47:36 GMT -8
Greetings,
Nice assortment - the diversity in the Cetoniinae (yes - I follow the subfamily taxonomy - I know some European workers break these out as families) is remarkable, and just the tip of the iceberg of diversity when you consider scarabs broadly.
One of your series is a species that I have always considered one of the most beautiful - Ischiopsopha jamesi coerulea. These are in the top box, column 5, the bottom 3 specimens. Just gorgeous!! The 3 specimens to their right are also the same species, but the nominate subspecies. I'm not 100% sure about the third specimen down - it might be yet a third subspecies, or maybe just a color variant of jamesi jamesi.
If you need names on any particular specimens, let me know which ones, and I can try to help. I'm no expert in these, but most seem to be familiar enough to get pretty close...
Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Sept 26, 2021 17:12:00 GMT -8
Hi All, I may be on the track - this looks a lot like a species of Helopeltis in the true bug family Miridae. Common name is 'Coco mirid'. The character that jumped out at me is the vertical spine arising from the scutellum - in the original image, I mistook it for a leg showing from the backside, but in the images of the various species at the link below, that is characteristic of these bugs. coco miridsI'd be happy to hear some feedback on what others think about this - pretty cool insects that I had never seen before - but that's the wonderful thing about the insect world - just endless diversity!! Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Sept 26, 2021 16:47:30 GMT -8
Greetings, Nothing catches my eye faster than the word "Cerambycidae"!! I've blown this image up and am convinced it is not a cerambycid, nor do I think it is any kind of beetle. It looks a lot like a small grasshopper, or other member of Orthoptera. However, the antennae seem to have 4 segments, which would put it somewhere in Heteroptera - the 'true bugs'. But that being said, there seem to be palps under the head, which true bugs wouldn't have. And the eye is round - which could be a character in either Heteroptera or Orthoptera. I'll dig some more and see if I can come up with a candidate, but no self-respecting long-horned beetle would fall into a fish tank... just kidding... Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Sept 7, 2021 18:58:11 GMT -8
Greetings,
That looks a lot like a species of Pelidnota, now that the moisture is removed and the surface can be clearly seen. Can't give you more than a genus, but hopefully this much helps...
Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Sept 2, 2021 21:36:19 GMT -8
Greetings,
Based on the hind tarsi, I would say this is definitely a member of the Rutelinae, as is the genus Chrysina. This may be a species of Pelidnota - while we only have a couple of species in the U.S., there are numerous species in Central America. The C.A. Pelidnota vary in coloration from a rather dullish orange, as in our P. punctata, to species with highly iridescent elytra.
Question - some droplets of moisture are clearly visible, but is the surface of this specimen deeply pitted, or is that just a effect of the liquid?
Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Sept 2, 2021 21:27:26 GMT -8
Greetings,
Rather than gnats - I might suggest springtails - in the most recent image, some are definitely springtails. Their ability to jump could explain why so many are scattered all over the surface of the trap. As opposed to crawling onto it, they could be dropping onto it. However, why so many are bouncing around and getting caught is something I can't explain...
Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Aug 20, 2021 16:58:30 GMT -8
Greetings,
I missed those dark marks on the abdomen - I was trying too hard to see green on the prosternum! Go to BugGuide.net and scan the images of the genus Euschistus - some of them are very similar to Halyomorpha. Focus on those annulated antennae - not many eastern U.S. stink bugs have that coloration on the antennomeres.
Good hunting - and let us know if you nail down a match...
Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Aug 19, 2021 17:50:46 GMT -8
Greetings,
This is an immature of a species of Pentatomidae - and I suspect it is Halyomorpha halys, the 'brown marmorated stink bug" - an invasive species from Asia. I can't be 100% sure, but the banded antennae and the apparent darker patches on the ventral side of the pronotum - metallic green if you can get a good look - help ID this species in the PA fauna.
Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Aug 10, 2021 19:08:16 GMT -8
Greetings, The surest way to end up being wrong, is to assume to be right... but here goes! Sounds to me like Monochamus notatus - a common, and striking long-horned beetle with the common name of "Northeastern pine sawyer". Check here to see if this is your beast: Monochamus notatusCheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Jul 24, 2021 12:26:49 GMT -8
Bandrow, just pop a few pix of your showier drawers, both domestic & exotic. No need to put a lot of work into it. If you want to entertain us over a long period of time, I'd like to see the N. American families of Callichromatini, Megacyllene, Dryobini, Trachyderini, Stenaspis, Purpuricenus, Tragidion, Monochamini (Lamiini), Goes, & Saperda. I'm not asking you to photograph all these at once, just spread out over a year or so (i.e. whenever you feel like doing it). No urgency at all. Sounds good! I need to do a dermestid check of the collection, so I can image some drawers as I go. Just for fun, here's a link to a new species page I just added to BugGuide with a very cool little 'bycid I finally found this past June (along with InsectNet member Ken Karns), on my 5th trip to hunt it: Plesioclytus morrisiCheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Jul 24, 2021 8:31:01 GMT -8
Thank you indeed everyone for your kindness in helping to ID this specimen ! Bandrow, that is an amazing story of how you found your true purpose in life. I have always admired folks who become specialists in the taxonomy of insects. It is through the dedicated work, passion, and personal endeavor of such individuals; that humans have learned so MUCH more about the world around them. Also, you sound like you have an "amazing" personal collection of these beloved beetles ! Good heavens, just having 80 drawers of NA material (alone) is staggering !! I read some years ago that the Cerambycidae of the world numbered approximately 35,000 species known. That number has had to have increased and could you tell us where that number sits approximately now ? Thanks! I think a lot of people kind of wander in life to eventually find their path, but I was lucky to hop right onto it and run from there. I know I'm lucky to have turned my hobby into my career - not something easy to have happen, and it involved as much luck as planning. I can honestly say that I rarely grumble about having to "go to work" - a regular complaint for most people. However - it can be like any job - many days involve as much mundane drudgery as anything exciting - but a bad day working on bugs is better than a good day doing almost anything else!! I honestly haven't kept up on the number of species worldwide, but the 35,000 number must be close. Recent decades have seen a lot of descriptions of new species from South America and China/Southeast Asia in particular. However, there are a few prolific workers that, IMO, are over-describing mere variants. The new "Thomas Casey"s, I fear - but time will tell... Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Jul 24, 2021 8:21:19 GMT -8
Wow Bandrow, sounds like you have an amazing cerambycid collection. If it's not too much trouble, please post some pictures. Do you know a cerambycid collector named Dan Heffern? His collection rivals yours in size. Hi 58chevy, I do know Dan well! I took my first trip to Arizona with him in 1986, but actually haven't been in the field with him since, although we've stayed in close contact for all these years. I think his collection well surpasses mine in the number of species, especially exotics. But I think if I could ever find more time to ID my exotic stuff, I could close the gap a bit! I'll try to post some images at some point. All I have at home is a phone camera and it's not so great. Are there any particular groups of 'bycids that you'd like to see? Maybe I can grab images of full drawers at some point... Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by bandrow on Jul 24, 2021 7:38:00 GMT -8
Hi Trehopr1,
That is indeed Monochamus - more specifically, Monochamus carolinensis, a female. The shape of the elytral apices and coloration combine to help ID it to species.
This genus holds a special place in my sentiments. In 1975, I was sitting at a picnic table at Mohican State Park in Ohio, during a camping trip with my parents, when a huge male Monochamus notatus goes slowly floating over my head. I can still see those beautiful antennae trailing behind it! I tossed my food, ran for the net, and captured it - the first longhorned beetle I ever collected. The next day would bring my second and third - Orthosoma brunneum and Xylotrechus colonus.
I was hooked - from general collecting to focusing on Cerambycidae in a matter of 2 days - and I never looked back! While I've continued to collect generally, the 'bycids have kept my focus all these years and I now have about 80 Cornell drawers of N.A. Cerambycidae and another 120 or so drawers of exotic material. Never know what that first bug will lead to, but I still have that specimen and will always cherish it for what that simple insect motivated me to do with my life...
Cheers! Bandrow
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