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Another Micropezid

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

13mm (body) | January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Here’s another micropezid, waving its front legs like they are apt to do.

Frontal view

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Identification Challenge #12 Reveal: Emesinae

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

30mm (body) | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Only one reader commented on the latest identification challenge. Bryan Reynolds found it easy to identify this as a thread-legged bug in the subfamily Emesinae (family Reduviidae). Be sure to check out Bryan’s new non-profit, The Butterflies of the World Foundation.

This thread-legged bug was spotted in some leaf litter, finishing off some sort of nondescript prey.

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Another Micropezid

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This one looks a lot like the one I found ovipositing.

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Feeding Derbids

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

30mm (wingspan) | January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

These planthoppers in the family Derbidae are feeding on the yellow stem.

You can clearly see the left one’s beak (rostrum) inserted in the stem. Next time I’ll have to try and get a good profile shot. They really are odd looking.

Face on

Also odd are those Velcro like hooks along the leading edge of the wing.

What purpose might these hooks server?

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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. 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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