Blog Archives

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

Posted in Featured Photos | 4 Comments

Leaf-mining Leaf Beetle

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

8mm long | July 12, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This attractive little beetle was resting when I found it. Looking at it here, it almost appears to be nature’s idea of a gaudy holiday light display. Just imagine each of those elytral punctures as a tiny LED, and then imagine them programmed so that the dorsal patterns shift down the eltytra, one puncture at a time. Jokes aside, it actually blends in pretty well with the browning foliage.

This is a leaf-mining leaf beetle, so called because the larvae feed between the surfaces of leaves, creating mines. Adults feed on foliage, and it may be responsible for some of the leaf damage visible here, though I didn’t actually see it eating. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 1 Comment

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

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Chalcid Wasp

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

5mm long | July 12, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This is the first time I can recall encountering one of these wasps in the field. Chalcid wasps are easily recognized by their enlarged hind femora.

If you missed the one that emerged from a chrysalis I collected, check out this earlier post.

Posted in Featured Photos | 1 Comment

Parasitic Wasp Cocoon

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

6mm long | July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

These attractively patterned little cocoons seem to be a common sight no matter where I travel. Each one holds the pupa of a parasitic wasp. I’ll often find what’s left of a caterpillar host nearby. The ones I notice are usually suspended by a thread, as here. That’s not always the case though.

Posted in Featured Photos | 3 Comments

Mesmerizing Mantispid

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

Don’t stare at the eyes too long; you might fall under its spell.

January 7, 2012 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Phorid Fly Attempting to Oviposit on a Leafcutter Ant

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Troy Bartlett

Leafcutter ants are a common sight in the Brazilian cerrado. I admit to being apathetic when it comes to photographing them. In order for me to turn my lens on them, something unusual generally has to be happening. In this case, I first noticed something odd occurring around one of the nest entrances. Looking closer, I could see the ants were being attacked by a small fly. I had read about that, but had never seen it personally. Intrigued, I figured I’d spend a few minutes shooting, even though I fully expected to end up with nothing usable. I was pleasantly surprised that one of the images managed to get both an ant and the fly in focus. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 2 Comments

Assassin Bug

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

This assassin bug mimics a bee quite well. It even seems to have pollen baskets on its hind legs.

Posted in Featured Photos | 3 Comments

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

Posted in Easter Eggs, Featured Photos | 1 Comment

Ant Mimicking Spider and Possible Model

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park

Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

These two photos of critters both 4mm long were taken less than an hour apart in spots just a few feet apart. I believe these two are probably a mimic and its model.

I first photographed the jumping spider. I only got a few shots before I lost it. Later I spotted the ant and took quite a few photos. Here I selected one that would show roughly the same pose as the spider.

The area around the rearmost eyes of the jumping spider is darkened to better match the larger black eyes of the ant. The dark spots on the spider’s abdomen are an anomaly though. Maybe this ant isn’t the model after all? read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 1 Comment