Blog Archives

A Caterpillar to Avoid

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I found a couple of these large caterpillars very near to each other. First the one above and then the one below. I believe they are a species of Automeris.

With those spines and colors, it’s pretty obvious they are to be avoided. Each one of those spines is like a little hypodermic needle bearing venom.

Here are some closeups.

Head

Spiny cluster

And here’s a particularly intimidating display.

Back off!

So what would mess with this spiny critter? I discovered while reviewing photos of the latter caterpillar that there was a small fly up to no good. Sorry for the photo quality. These are extreme crops. read more

Posted in Easter Eggs, Featured Photos | 3 Comments

Ants Herding Treehoppers

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

These ants have quite effectively corralled their herd of honeydew producing treehoppers.

There’s a lot to see here if you look carefully. First, it looks like quite a few of the life stages of the treehoppers are present. There’s the dark adult in the center, an early instar in the bottom center, and the majority appear to be middle instars.

In the detail below, you can see the ant on the right has just taken a drop of honeydew and the dark adult has a drop waiting.

Detail

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Identification Challenge #2 Reveal

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

What was this?

September 5, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA

As revealed in the comments, it is the rear end of a saddleback caterpillar, Sibine stimulea.

I neglected to take a good dorsolateral shot, but here’s a couple more shots of this individual.

More complete view

Front view -- head is tucked underneath

Posted in Identification Challenges | Leave a comment

Ant tending Caterpillar

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 27, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Here’s an ant in the Formica genus tending a caterpillar in the Lycaenidae family. The ant has just taken a drop of a sugary substance produced by a gland at the rear of the caterpillar. Here’s a shot from about 10 seconds earlier where you can see the drop sitting atop the gland and the ant fast approaching.

Sugary drop produced for tending ants

I’m not sure what flowers these caterpillars are eating, but they are pretty well camouflaged settled in among the flower buds. Once I spotted the first one, I started looking for them and found quite a few wherever I spotted these flowers. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 5 Comments

Crypsis Challenge #2 Reveal

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I suspect most people didn’t have too much difficulty finding the caterpillar in the image above (upper right, in the middle of a fern leaflet). Here’s another shot.

Caterpillar Closeup

I like how the white bands help break up the body and coincide nicely with the gaps on the little fern leaves. Looking up from below, it just sort of disappears against the light filtering from above.

I first spotted this caterpillar the previous night by the light of a headlamp. It stood out under those lighting conditions, but I resolved to return the next day and try to take some photos under natural lighting. read more

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 1 Comment

Paper Wasps and Parasitoids

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

When I spotted these paper wasps alongside the trail, I only halfheartedly took a few shots. Mostly, I just didn’t think I’d be able to get an attractive photo out of it. So when I was reviewing my shots, I just about deleted all of them, including this one.

At the last second though, I noticed something unusual in the photo. I call these sorts of discoveries where I notice something in the photo that I didn’t realize was there when I took it “easter eggs.” It happens often enough that I just decided to add a new category for that here on my blog. read more

Posted in Easter Eggs, Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Globular Stink Bug Invasive

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

This post’s featured creature is Megacopta Cribraria.

August 5, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA | ~5mm

Just outside the entrance to my subdivision, there’s a stand of kudzu, Pueraria montana var. lobata, at the border of a city park. If you’re not familiar with kudzu, it’s a major invasive here in the Southeast that pretty much takes over wherever it manages to take root. Many of the volunteer outings with the local nature conservancy are focused on eliminating this invasive from conservancy lands. Here are a few photos of the area to give you an idea. read more

Posted in Featured Creatures | 7 Comments

Spittlebugs sans Spittle

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Isn’t it cool to see these normally hidden spittlebugs exposed like this?

These spittlebugs surprised me by having no bubbles present to camouflage them. I have a few theories about what’s going on here, but it’s all speculation.

Their orange color suggests they might be unappetizing in some way. Or maybe that sap flow itself is poisonous. Of course, they drink it, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t evolved an immunity and that the toxin isn’t broken down once ingested. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 1 Comment

Resigned Parasitized Caterpillar

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

September 5, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA

This caterpillar from a nearby park with head held low seems resigned to its fate as a parasitoid host. OK, I know that’s a normal position — allow me to anthropomorphise a bit.

You can see some white eggs on its back. I assume a tachinid fly left those, placing them close enough to the head that they couldn’t be removed.

In this next image, you can see there are also some already hatched eggs, sealing this little guy’s doom.

Closeup showing hatched eggs

I know tachinid fly larvae have breathing tubes that pierce the host’s skin. Could those long fibers amongst the eggs be those breathing tubes? I wouldn’t think they would be so long. I’m more inclined to think those are just bits of debris that maybe got stuck to whatever holds the eggs in place. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Crypsis Challenge #1 Reveal

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

July 2, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA

Did you spot the hidden critter from this earlier post? No one commented, but I’ll go ahead and reveal the answer.

There’s a hint about two thirds of the way down on the left hand side. That’s a lacewing egg on a thread. And just to the right of that is the creature itself, a trash carrying lacewing larva. I circled the two in red below.

Reveal

Still having trouble seeing it? Try this side view.

Side View

Of course, all you can really see is the debris. To see the actual critter, you have to turn it over, as I did here. read more

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 1 Comment