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Contorted Moth

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

45mm wingspan | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I have no idea what kind of moth this is, but I like its attempt to look very unlike a moth.

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Heliconia Bug

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

20mm | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This true bug in the family Coreidae is probably Leptoscelis tricolor. It’s #5 on this plate from the electronic Biologia Centrali-Americana. It also matches these photos from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Bocas del Toro Species Database (Bocas del Toro is only 30 miles or so from where I took this photo). Finally, the Costa Rica Biodiversity Portal only shows two species for this genus. These photos from STRI eliminate the other species, Leptoscelis quadrisignata.

This coreid is commonly known as the heliconia bug simply because it’s often found feeding on heliconias. read more

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Mystery Exuvia

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

What do you make of this exuvia? I found it just like this, sticking out of a large downed tree spanning a small creek.

Not sure if you can tell, but there’s a few small horns on the side and then one larger forked horn extending out from the bottom. Whatever left it squeezed out through a split on the top.

It measured 10mm in diameter, and there’s about 18mm extended out of the tree. I carefully pulled the rest out, and it measured 45mm long overall.

The whole thing

Even the rear end is somewhat bizarre looking. read more

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Waxy Planthopper Nymph

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

6mm | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Underneath that elaborate waxy shelter lies a planthopper nymph.

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Identification Challenge #11 Reveal: Derbidae

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm (wingspan) | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Both commenters on the last identification challenge correctly identified the critter above as a planthopper in the family Derbidae.

At a glance, you might mistake these hemipterans for lepidopterans. The first thing you might notice as being a bit off are those antennae. If you look closely enough, you’ll see the typical hemipteran rostrum.

Here’s another one, with what appears to be an abdominal injury.

Another derbid

Reference:
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Concealed Pupa

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

23mm | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I noticed a plant whose large leaves had been eaten right down to the leaf ribs. Curiously, portions near the tips had been folded over. I couldn’t resist opening one of those up.

The pupa shown above is what I found inside. The caterpillar’s last head capsule is still attached.Â The pupa is flipped in the photo above because I opened up the leaf. Normally it would be suspended inside by that thread.

For some reason, the head end of the pupa reminds me of a walrus’s head.

There were quite a few other folded-over leaves, but I was too late to find a caterpillar still fattening itself up. read more

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Identification Challenge #11

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm wingspan | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Can you identify what family this critter belongs to? Comments will be held in moderation until the answer is revealed in a few days.

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Stingless Bee Nest

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This stingless bee nest was nestled in the hollow of a tree. The nest entrance is only about a centimeter wide, making the bees themselves only 5 or 6mm long.

As their common name suggests, these bees have no sting to defend themselves. Knowing that, I got quite close. Harmless though they may be, they certainly look mean.

Looking mean

New arrival below

In that last photo, you can see a new arrival hanging below the nest, with pollen visible in the basket on its hind tibia.

According to Hogue, there are three genera of stingless bees. Lestrimelitta can be eliminated here because it doesn’t have a pollen basket. Of the other two, Melipona is larger, hairier and the wings don’t extend beyond the tip of the abdomen as they do here. These must then be a Trigona species. read more