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Blog Archives
Leafcutter Ant
July 6, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I mostly ignore these ubiquitous ants, but I thought the plant part this one was carrying might make for an interesting photo.
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Fruit Fly
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:
[book:9968927147]
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Huntsman Spider
13mm body | July 2, 2011 | Monte Alegre, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I’m pretty sure this is a huntsman spider in the family Sparassidae.
Frontal view
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Katydid
January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
If not for the long antennae, this large katydid could easily be mistaken for a grasshopper.
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Female Yellow-headed Gecko
January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
Compared to the male, this female Gonatodes albigularis is quite drab.
She looks as if she has suffered some unfortunate incident. Not only does she appear to be regrowing the tip of her tail, but one of her hind feet seems a bit mangled.
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Stingless Bee Nest
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.
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Apterostigma collare
4mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
I spotted the structure below on the underside of a large leaf. I really didn’t know what it was, and I gently poked at it. It was quite fragile as it turns out, and it fell open to reveal an ant nest. I then immediately regretted not having taken a photo beforehand. The next day I was lucky enough to find another one, also pictured.
6cm x 4cm | Unexpected ant nest
4cm x 2cm | Nest with an ant entering
These nests are the work of an ant in the genus Apterostigma. Ants of Costa Rica has an info page for this genus in Costa Rica. I tried to use the key there to identify these, but it was a bit technical for me. I’m basing the species identification on the statements from the site that seem to indicate that only Apterostigma collare builds these nests under leaves. There are some more photos of nests at that same site.
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Amplypygids – Tailless Whip Scorpions
20mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
These fearsome looking arachnids have an order to themselves, Amblypygi. Though commonly called tailless whip scorpions or whip spiders, they are neither. Intimidating though they may look, they aren’t dangerous and possess no venom. They are quite timid in fact, and I had to take care not to scare them away while photographing them.
Here’s how you might expect to see one actively moving about, with its oversized first pair of legs outstretched.
Longest legs extend outside frame
That first pair of legs is modified for use as antennae. They wave them about, sensing and probing. While the body of this one measured only 2cm, each one of those antenniform legs was 8cm long!
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Cockroach Mating Call
5cm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
I found this impressively large two inch long cockroach just like this, sticking out its abdomen from the side of a creek bank after dark. I found the behavior odd, and I suspected that it might be releasing pheromones to attract a mate. I really had no idea if cockroaches did that or not. After some recent reading, that does appear to be part of the courtship ritual. To initiate courtship, a female will call nearby males in this manner. Presumably then, this is a female.
A while later, I managed to catch her in a different pose.
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Bullet Ant
January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
This species, Paraponera clavata, is the infamous bullet ant. In Costa Rica, its common name is “bala,” which also means bullet. If somehow you don’t already know, the name derives from its powerful sting. Getting stung is said to be as painful as getting shot. I’ve also heard it referred to as “hormiga veinticuatro”, or  24 hour ant, for the duration of the pain. I’m happy to say I can’t testify to any of this personally.
I saw plenty of these large ants. It was difficult to get any images though, as they seem to be constantly on the move. These images were taken at night as the ant crawled around on a tree trunk.
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