Crypsis Challenge #6

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Can you find and name (generally, say to order) the hidden critter in this image?

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Identification Challenge #6

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

Now that Alex Wild has posted about my identification challenges (among others), I feel obligated to do another one.

October 8, 2009 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA

Here’s a closeup of a rather distinctive part of an easily recognized critter. Can you name it?

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Tupaciguara

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

Google satellite image

Tupaciguara (too-pah-see-GWAH-luh), in the state of Minas Gerais, is my wife’s hometown and her family still lives in the area. We frequently visit and often stay in our condo in a nearby city, Uberlândia.

Location

Location within Minas Gerais and Brazil (inset) (c) Raphael Lorenzeto de Abreu (Source: wikipedia)

The city itself is roughly at latitude -18.6, logitude -48.7, at an elevation of around 900m (~3000ft). It’s located in what’s known as the Mineiran Triangle, which is basically that Western part of the state of Minas Gerais jutting out in the map above (the part below the inset). read more

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Attractive Caterpillar

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This caterpillar seems fairly distinctive, but I haven’t been able to find anything similar. The white bands are odd. I can’t decide if they are normal or evidence of an injury.

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Identification Challenge #5 Reveal

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

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

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

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

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

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. read more

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Identification Challenge #5

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Here’s a closeup of an unidentified insect. Can you identify the family to which it belongs and the body parts shown?

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Silver Argiope with Wasp Prey

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

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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Identification Challenge #4 Reveal

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

As Ted C. MacRae correctly guessed, the chrysalis in the latest identification challenge yielded a specimen of Papilio glaucus, an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

April 25, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA

The blue on the upperside of the hindwings indicates this is a female. Here’s the underside of the wings:

Underside of wings

If I’d had some daylight, I’d have tried to get something other than a black background. I saw she had emerged after arriving home one evening though, so I took these shots in my home office before releasing her.

Being a fresh specimen, I thought I’d try for some closeups of the wing scales. read more

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