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Blog Archives
Identification Challenge #7
January 26, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
This challenge will be straightforward. Is this a butterfly or a moth? Why?
Here’s a habitat shot, showing the shot above was taken during the day. The subject above is the yellow speck near the bottom, center right.
Subject above is just barely visible here
Posted in Identification Challenges
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Mass Pupation
January 27, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I found one other grouping of exuviae in the area where I found the one above. I’ve never seen anything like this locally. I believe these are from lepidopterans. There is a slight layer of silk on the bark. Up close, I saw some cast off head capsules. Look closely above, and you’ll notice a leg that must have broken off while struggling free.
I know some caterpillars are gregarious as early instars, but I thought they generally went their separate ways as final instars. I thought this was interesting evidence that in at least one species, they pupate and perhaps eclose together.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Young Rattlesnake
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I haven’t yet driven MG-223 that leaves Tupaciguara in the direction of Araguari at night without seeing a snake crossing the road. Here’s the most recent one I spotted, which I assume is a young rattlesnake. It’s small, maybe 6 inches or so, and it looks like it has a button at the end of its tail.
My real dilemma when I spot one is whether or not to stop and risk getting hit by another vehicle. At any rate, I’m definitely in a hurry to get a photo and get back up to speed.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Flashy Coreid
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Despite their common name of leaf-footed bugs, not all coreids have flattened hind tibiae. Â This flashy specimen instead has rather impressive hind femurs.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Another Bizarre Treehopper
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I’ve shown a couple of odd treehoppers already, but here’s yet another variation on that theme. This time, I do kinda see a resemblance to an ant.
Dorsal view
Marshall’s 500 Insects includes a very similar looking treehopper identified as a Cyphonia species.
[book:1554073456]
Posted in Featured Photos
4 Comments
Crypsis Challenge #7 Reveal
January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Commenters had no trouble finding the cryptic critter circled above on a partially eaten leaf. No one figured out that it was a caterpillar though, and a rather bizarre one at that. Here’s a closer look.
It's a caterpillar
It does a pretty good job, I think, of blending in with the damaged areas of the other leaves. I suspect the brown leaf areas were damaged by an earlier instar that chews away at the surface of the leaf rather than eating the entire thing. It looks formidable and I didn’t risk touching it. Those black structures are unlike anything I’ve seen on a caterpillar.
Posted in Crypsis Challenges
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Lacewing under Leaf
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Most lacewings are nondescript. So when I spotted this one on the underside of a leaf, I couldn’t pass it up. The markings are not unlike some Leucochrysa species here in the US.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Blister Beetles Defoliating
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
This plant was being devoured by dozens of these attractive blister beetles. Above I’ve caught one with a leaf fragment in its mouth. Below, you can see how they’ve stripped a branch clean. The frass seems to be exiting just about as fast as the plant goes in (must be a good source of fiber).
Beetles Defoliating
As these pictures show, the plant was literally crawling with these beetles.
Working on another branch
The dark backgrounds here are an effect of the camera flash. This was actually happening in broad daylight. How are they able to risk doing that? Blister beetles are so named because they defend themselves with a caustic compound, cantharidin, found in their blood. Predators soon learn to avoid them.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Dinner at the Cow Patty
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Remember I said in the location profile for Tupaciguara that cattle are abundant? I was driving through one of the many cattle pastures at night when I noticed that some of the fresher cow patties were being visited by moths.
I suppose this shouldn’t be too surprising. I’ve seen plenty of butterflies taking nourishment from bird droppings and other animal scat. Well, at least something is benefiting from those cattle.
Some other random thoughts:
I wondered if anyone has ever done a study on how many and what types of species come to cow patties? That might be worthy of an Ig Noble prize.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Unidentified Nymph
January 31, 2010 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Remember the recent crypsis challenge where Ted C. MacRae thought he also saw a noctuid moth in addition to the more obvious praying mantis? Well, that wasn’t a moth at all, but what sure looks like the nymph of some sort of homopteran.
I actually saw quite a few of these in the area. Here’s another one.
Another individual
I’ve been puzzling over this for quite awhile now. While I’ve encountered and seen pictures of plenty of homopteran nymphs with waxy appendages extending from their abdomen, I’ve never seen one with anything like the plumose structure shown here.
Posted in Featured Photos
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