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Coreid Flashback

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm body | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I’ve seen this coreid here before.

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Chrysalis Surprise

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

10mm | July 4, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I collected this little chrysalis while I was in the field the day before I took this photo. I didn’t think I’d be able to get a good photo at the time, and I was curious to see what might emerge. Strangely, looking at this with my own eye, it appears opaque with a silvery and gold surface. With the camera and flash, it appears as above, somewhat transparent and showing what looks like a wing inside. I figured it would only be a short time to see the butterfly that might emerge. Well, I was half right. read more

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Velvet Ant

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

4mm body | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Velvet ants are challenging to photograph. They always seem to know when you’re after them. They are either running so fast you can’t keep them in the frame (much less focus) or they find cover to hide under. I always just shoot like crazy and hope for the best.

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Parasitised Caterpillar

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

13mm | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The more I observe nature, the more I realize that parasites rule. Â So far this trip, I’ve accumulated dozens of photos to prove my point, including the one above.

Believe it or not, this caterpillar was still alive. The parasites, wasps presumably, are long gone.

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Termite Soldiers

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 2, 2011 | Monte Alegre, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I generally overlook termites, but this trip I decided I’d change that. These were the first ones I found. They were busy pulling grains underground.

Now that I’ve been paying attention, I can see there’s quite a variety. In this species, the soldiers and the workers are about the same size.

Soldier with worker

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Cockroaches

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

30mm | July 2, 2011 | Monte Alegre, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I saw quite a variety of cockroaches in my relatively short outing to Monte Alegre. The first one, above, was the largest and was not altogether unattractive. It blended in well with the leaf litter.

The second one was a bit smaller, and was spotted in some low foliage.

25mm | Dorsolateral view

This last one was the smallest, but the most robust.

20mm | Dorsal view

It was moving slowly about until it encountered something tasty (rodent dropping?).

Lateral view | Feeding

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Ants Tending Leafhoppers

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 2, 2011 | Monte Alegre, Minas Gerais, Brazil

These ants are tending to some treehopper nymphs. Most of the ants are busy collecting honeydew, but the one on the bottom has noticed me and is on alert. I accidentally bumped the branch after this shot and all of the ants started running around looking for something to attack. I held up a leaf for a background here so that the ants would stand out.

In this next shot, I’m assuming the white areas are either treehopper eggs or a protective covering for the eggs. One of the adult treehoppers is also visible here, a darker shade of red than the nymphs. read more

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Crypsis Challenge #11 Reveal: Moth

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Did you find the moth in the image above? If not, don’t feel bad. I might not have seen it either, except I originally spotted the moth in a more conspicuous location. After a few shots (below), I deliberately spooked it in hopes that it would land in a location suitable for a crypsis challenge. Here’s an outline if you still need a little help finding it.