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Termites at Work

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Just after dark, termites started emerging from below ground. Here they appear to be excavating. The darker soil has been brought up from below by workers while guards form a defensive perimeter.

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Soldier Fly

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

11mm | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The wing venation, patterned eyes, and even the horns on the scutellum suggest this is a soldier fly in the family Stratiomyidae. Many soldier flies bear a resemblance to wasps. This one kind of reminds me of a yellowjacket.

Reference:

[book:9968927147]

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Crypsis Challenge #13 Reveal: Jumping Stick

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

82mm | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Were you able to find the critter in the photo above? It’s in the lower right corner. Some of you may recognize this as another stick grasshopper in the family Proscopiidae, previously featured in Crypsis Challenge #3. They are so cryptic that I couldn’t resist doing another challenge with this one. Here’s an outline of the grasshopper if you’re still not seeing it.

Grasshopper revealed

Check out how closely the color and texture of the insect matches that of the surrounding vegetation.

Can you distinguish animal from plant here?

Here’s another image where it’s blending in fairly well. read more

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Doomed Caterpillar

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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. read more

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Nasutitermes Termites

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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. read more

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Moss Caterpillar

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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] read more

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Spitting Spider

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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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Mystery Larvae

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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. read more

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