Blog Archives

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:
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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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Only Termites Shall Pass

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

A phalanx of termite soldiers forms a first line of defense in front of foraging workers (not shown). I accidentally breathed on them shortly after this shot and they all quickly retreated.

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Bee Mimicking Assassin Bug

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

10mm body | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

For me, those wings are what really give this assassin bug in the family Reduviidae the appearance of a bee.

Dorsal view

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Marimbondo-chap̩u РHat Wasp

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The local common name for these social wasps is marimbondo-chapéu in Portuguese or hat wasp in English. The name refers to the form of the nest, seen above.

Seen from below, I’d say it looks more like a sunflower. They are really packed in there. I’d estimate there are probably a couple of hundred of them.

Sunflower?

Here’s another crop that I like of that same image.

A different crop

You’ve probably noticed by now these images were taken during the day. So what are all of them doing hanging out on the nest? Taking a siesta? I wondered the same thing. I spent around 45 minutes taking pictures and attempting to gauge just how closely I could approach without alarming them. During that whole time, not a single one flew off or arrived. read more

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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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Owlfly

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

I rarely find owlflies (family Ascalaphidae, order Neuroptera). Even though this one was in an unphotogenic location, I couldn’t resist a few photos.

Dorsal view

This was a large one. The body was around 4cm long.

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Two Flies Sharing a Meal

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

These two flies are sharing a meal.

I can easily identify the larger one as a micropezid.

Micropezid

I’m not sure about the smaller one though.

Smaller fly

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Jumping Spider with Prey

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

This little salticid has captured a small fly of some sort.

White scales on the chelicerae almost look like a mustache.

Frontal view

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Another Micropezid

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

This one looks a lot like the one I found ovipositing.

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