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Shield Bug, Taking Flight

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

22mm long | July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This shield bug caught caught my eye mostly based on its relatively large size. What made the pursuit worthwhile though was accidentally catching it as it took flight. I enjoy getting to see some parts of the anatomy that are generally hidden.

Wings outstretched

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Jumping Spider with Hooked Chelicerae

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

5mm body | July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This attractive male jumping spider has some interesting hooks on his chelicerae. Take a closer look at this crop from the image above.

Hooked chelicerae

He really has a lot going on colorwise as well. I imagine those banded front legs might be used in some sort of courtship ritual. One has to wonder if and when those hooks come into play though.

Dorsal view

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Micromoth

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Micromoth

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

8mm long | July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Side view

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Mystery Egg Mass

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

25mm long | July 12, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

What looks a bit like peanut brittle is presumably an egg mass. I found this on lichen covered bark at the base of a tree. Overall it was about 25mm long, which would make each of the embedded eggs less than 2mm long.

Side view

Each egg appears to be elliptical, with a sort of knob at the exposed end.

Closeup

I don’t have a clue what is responsible for this, so I’d love to see comments from anyone that might have an idea. I’ve been through the “Eggs and Egg Cases” chapter of Tracks & Sign of Insects a few times already, but I haven’t spotted any likely suspects. read more

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Mystery Eggs

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

Egg, ~1mm wide | July 12, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

These curiously textured and patterned eggs were placed on a dried leaf tip. I don’t recall ever seeing anything quite like them. I don’t know what they are, but I’d guess moth eggs.

Some of the ones around the edge are a bit crumpled.

Edge shot, showing crumpling

Here’s a wider view, to give you some context for the placement.

Wider shot, showing placement

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Parasitoid Wasp Emerging

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Each one of these eggs from the underside of a leaf was parasitized by a wasp.  Their barrel shape with round fringed caps suggests they might be stink bug eggs. Had a stink bug nymph emerged, the caps would have been neatly opened. Instead, they each have a roundish hole chewed in them. In fact, there’s a parasitoid wasp straggler chewing its way free from the rightmost egg.

I might be seeing things, but you can almost make out the wasp’s body through the transparent egg shell.

View from the other side

I didn’t notice at the time, but a mite came along. read more

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Delphacid With Unusual Antennae

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

5mm long body | July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Those are some weird looking antennae for a planthopper. After a bit of research, I determined that this member of the family Delphacidae belongs in the genus Copicerus. There are at least three species in Brazil according to this page. One of those species, Copicerus irroratus, ranges into temperate North America.

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Aetalionid

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

11mm long | July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This atypical treehopper belongs not to the family Membracidae, but to a separate family, Aetalionidae.

Searching around on the internet, it seems most photographers generally seem to catch these hoppers while tending their eggs, as shown here.

To learn a bit more about the family check out Ted C. MacRae’s post from earlier this year.

Reference:

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Bagworm Cocoon

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

9cm tall | July 6, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This is the largest bagworm I’ve ever seen. The twigs look like they’ve been cut up by a beaver. It was empty, so a moth must have already emerged. I know it’s a bagworm because later in the trip I found another one that still had a caterpillar in it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me.

Closeup of cocoon construction

With my hand, for scale

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