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Author Archives: Troy Bartlett
Doomed Caterpillar
25mm | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Despite its defenses, this caterpillars appears to have ended up with some parasite eggs, a tachinid fly perhaps.
Closer look at parasite eggs
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Fruit Fly
8mm | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I start with low expectations whenever I try to identify a fly. I’m happy if I get to family, but I think I got as far as genus on this one. This female fruit fly in the family Tephritidae might be an Anastrepha species.
Reference:
[book:9968927147]
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Crooked Jaw Termites
5-10mm | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
As promised in my last post, here are some termites where the soldiers are much larger than the workers. Large is relative though, since although they are twice the size of the workers, these soldiers still only measure one centimeter.
Soldiers are twice the size of workers
Based on Hogue’s Latin American Insects and subsequent web searches, I believe these are termites in the genus Neocapritermes, which he refers to in an illustration as crooked jaw termites. The name certainly fits. My first thoughts after seeing one of these soldiers was that it was deformed.
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Nasutitermes Termites
2-3mm | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Previously, I showed you some termites where the soldiers and workers were about the same size. Here, the soldier (at top) is actually smaller. Termites in the subfamily Nasutitermitinae, like these, have soldiers called nasutes. Nasutes don’t need to be big because they don’t rely on strength. Instead, they have specialized snouts for spraying a defensive substance.
In some species the substance is sticky and serves to disable or slow down small predators, like ants. In others the substance is noxious and repellent.
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Polyxenid Millipede
3mm | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I don’t recall ever seeing one of these little millipedes before, but it’s probably just that I never paid attention. These small millipedes in the order Polyxenida never measure more than 4mm based on everything I’ve just read. The only reason I recognized this one was because of a recent appearance in one of Ted C. MacRae’s identification challenges. This one was found crawling around in the soil beneath a log.
Unfortunately I didn’t get as good a photo as I had hoped. Not a single one had the whole critter in focus. The head is to the right, by the way. You can make out the antennae and what look kinda like compound eyes, but are actually just a grouping of ocelli.
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Moss Caterpillar
30mm body | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I suspect this caterpillar is closely related to similar looking nymphalid butterfly caterpillars in the genus Adelpha. Some are generally referred to as moss caterpillars because the various body projections give the appearance of moss. It may not be obvious from these photos, but check out this photo from Flickr user artour_a.
Side view
Closeup of head
I’ve encountered a similar caterpillar before in a different part of Brazil, although that one was probably an earlier instar and was shades of brown.
Reference:
[book:0674021908]
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Hidden Caterpillars
10mm body | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Scanning the foliage, I spotted some overturned leaf fragments suspiciously resting on top of the leaves they’d been carved from. Lifting the first one up, I found it was concealing a small caterpillar.
Here’s a leaf fragment concealing another smaller caterpillar. That might be the egg the caterpillar hatched from at the top of the photo.
Overturned leaf fragment
And here the little inhabitant is revealed. Note the silk used to secure the leaf fragment in place. I like that it was careful to leave a small hinge.
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Spitting Spider
5mm body | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Spitting spiders in the family Scytodidae are easily recognized by their high dome-shaped carapace. They are named for their behavior of spitting a liquid that turns gooey on contact, ensnaring their prey.
Although they occur in my area, I’ve never seen one around my home. For whatever reason, I don’t think I’ve made a trip to Brazil yet where I haven’t seen at least one. This one was on the underside of a small log.
Dorsolateral view
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Webbed Eggs
9mm high | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I’m not sure what type of eggs these are, but I saw several clutches like this. I thought at first perhaps a fungus had grown over them and that might be the case. I’m more inclined to believe the webbing was added as some sort of protection by whatever is responsible for the eggs.
I suppose these could also be cocoons, but I’d be surprised if the larvae managed to align themselves so well.
Had I found these in my own backyard, I’d have kept them to see what emerged.
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Mystery Larvae
July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
These mysterious larvae were found underneath a piece of wood. At first I didn’t notice them as my eyes fixed on other more obvious things. Then I spotted one or two and thought perhaps they were some sort of plant tubers as they didn’t move at all. Even after picking up a few and examining them I still wasn’t convinced it was animal and not vegetable. In the hand, they felt stout and unyielding. After some test shots so I could zoom in for a closer look I still wasn’t sure. In the end I gathered some together for the shot above.
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