Iñapari, Peru on the Brazilian/Peruvian Border
Workers were found in a makeshift termite bait made of a PVC pipe with holes drilled into the side, it was buried in the ground (the top of it was surface level so you could access the inside and a stone was placed on top to act as a cover) and pine wood was put inside, the wood was rotting when I checked it. Termites (Reticulitermes sp.) were present and workers were seen walking in the tunnels that the termites made in the wood. Workers were also seen on the inside and bottom of the PVC pipe.
Very happy to have found these and definitely wasn't expecting to.
The first photo shows its poop
Lots of fruiting bodies at various stages on one log
Day 82, one individual.
Relacionado con // Related to:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2667158
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2667199
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2667420
Sphingicampa hubbardi
Hubbard's Small Silkmoth
Caterpillar
Along TX 118
Jeff Davis County, TX
27 August, 2017
ID suggested by Hanna Roland; this is the photo on which the CRG-logo is based; the caterpillars are Hannas darlings! We always look for them intensely - and also find many. Unfortunately we can't rear them. But we contribute by posting the pictures - and Hanna can ID quite a lot of them.
I spoke with the owner of this truck, he was very proud of his epivehicular fern colony. Apparently at one time it had been larger but someone stole a portion of the plant.
19 total flies found infected between 5:30pm and midnight.
Watched a few progress through the entire infection from not being able to fly to sticking to the substrate with their proboscis, abdomen swelling, rupturing and then shooting spores (~4hrs).
Microscopy
Spores = 19 x 14.5 um, girdle 12 um in diameter. Nucleus 12 um diameter
A female of the European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae Scolytinae)
This brilliant colour is caused by IIV-31 (Isopod Iridescent Virus). I've been checking hundreds of pill bugs over several years for this unusual phenomenon and my persistence finally paid off!
Sadly, this total colour change is usually the later stage of the virus; once a pill bug is this bright it generally doesn't have much longer to live.
Tony told me they are this color after a molt. Never knew...
Complete set:
MALE
QUEEN
WORKER
Male of Megachile (Chalicodoma) parietina.
Technique: It was a cool day (18C) with partly cloudy skies and intermittent light showers -perfect weather to go looking for solitary bees since they'll have a tough time keeping their metabolism up. I got lucky and found this Hairy Footed bee semi-dormant in my Lavender.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-24EX (both flash heads on the Canon flash mount, E-TTL metering). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I used an artificial flower to keep the background from being black.
The first thing that popped into my head when I saw this Long Horned Beetle was that it looked like an Ox.
About 4mm long, walking on leaves and deadwood - forest floor