Stag Beetle
2009/08/17 02:56 PM Filed in:
Video
Added video of a Reddish Brown Stag
Beetle I picked up and played with
for a while then let go. In the
Critter section.
Giant Grub
2009/05/15 09:08 AM Filed in:
Video
Added another video of one mean
looking Giant Beetle Grub in the
Critters section. It looks like it
was on its back with what I suppose
are legs in the air. The sucker was
a good 1.5 to 2” long. Yikes!
Summer bug time
2007/07/12 06:47 PM Filed in:
Picture
Been a while since I've posted. I
updated my PowerBook to OSX 10.4.10
and ever since I've had random
crashes and kernel panics. After
about 2 weeks of this and 4
format/reinstalls later I finally
did a memtest. Bingo! Bad RAM
module. At least it has a lifetime
warranty so I sent it off today
with an RMA. 1GB of RAM instead of
2 certainly makes a difference when
you run dozens of apps all the time
at the same time. Anyhow.. I'll
start posting some pics of things
I've found around.
Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decimlineata)
Description : 1/4-3/8" (6-11mm). Oval, convex. Pronotum yellow-brown to orange-yellow with 2 black spots, often joined to produce a V-shaped mark, and a number of smaller black spots on each side. Each elytron has 5 black lines on whitish background. Larva is dark red, maturing to orange with black head black spots on sides.
Habitat : Mountain meadows and potato fields..
Range : Most of the United States and Canada.
Food : Potato foliage and wild members of the nightshade family.
Life Cycle : Small clusters of orange elongate eggs are attached to the underside of leaves. Larvae reach full size in 15-20 days, then drop to soil, where they pupate. Adults emerge in 10-15 days. 1-2 generations a year.
One native species of tachinid fly and at least 3 kinds of predacious bugs attack adults or prey upon their larvae. The large False Potato Beetle has a black dot on each femur and lives on nightshades in the South.
Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decimlineata)
Description : 1/4-3/8" (6-11mm). Oval, convex. Pronotum yellow-brown to orange-yellow with 2 black spots, often joined to produce a V-shaped mark, and a number of smaller black spots on each side. Each elytron has 5 black lines on whitish background. Larva is dark red, maturing to orange with black head black spots on sides.
Habitat : Mountain meadows and potato fields..
Range : Most of the United States and Canada.
Food : Potato foliage and wild members of the nightshade family.
Life Cycle : Small clusters of orange elongate eggs are attached to the underside of leaves. Larvae reach full size in 15-20 days, then drop to soil, where they pupate. Adults emerge in 10-15 days. 1-2 generations a year.
One native species of tachinid fly and at least 3 kinds of predacious bugs attack adults or prey upon their larvae. The large False Potato Beetle has a black dot on each femur and lives on nightshades in the South.
Giant Stink Bug
2006/08/16 10:26 AM Filed in:
Picture
These are all over the place out
here but one was hanging out on my
back porch so I thought I'd capture
the moment. Guess I should have
read about it before picking it up.
They can dish out a nice stab when
threatened.
Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)
Description : 1 1/8 - 1 3/8" (28-36 mm). Gray-brown to black. Prothorax raised into a curved series of coglike teeth along midline, inspiring the common name. Nymph is blood-red with black markings.
Habitat : Meadows and crop fields.
Range : East of the Rocky Mountains, from southern Canada south to the Gulf states.
Food : Caterpillars, even large ones including hornworms, Japanese Beetle larvae, and other insects.
Life Cycle : Eggs are laid in clusters on foliage. 1 generate a year.
This handsome predator can give a painful stab when it defends itself from a careless handler.
Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)
Description : 1 1/8 - 1 3/8" (28-36 mm). Gray-brown to black. Prothorax raised into a curved series of coglike teeth along midline, inspiring the common name. Nymph is blood-red with black markings.
Habitat : Meadows and crop fields.
Range : East of the Rocky Mountains, from southern Canada south to the Gulf states.
Food : Caterpillars, even large ones including hornworms, Japanese Beetle larvae, and other insects.
Life Cycle : Eggs are laid in clusters on foliage. 1 generate a year.
This handsome predator can give a painful stab when it defends itself from a careless handler.
More bugs
2006/08/03 10:22 AM Filed in:
Picture
I guess this is becoming the Bug
show instead of Beaker's site. I
respect and enjoy all types of wild
life so I can't help myself.
I heard a thud on the window the other night and found this Cicada buzzing around. Just had to get some snaps. Last year I caught a green one. This one is almost entirely black.
Dogday Harvestfly (Tibicen canicularis)
Description : 1 1/8 - 1 1/4" (27-33 mm), wingspam to 3 1/4" (82 mm). Black with green markings. Wings clear green along rear 1/2 of fore wing margin.
Habitat : Coniferous and mixed woods.
Range : Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada.
Food : Adult is not known to eat. Nymph feeds on root juices, especially pine.
Sound : A powerful call that sounds like a circular saw cutting through a board.
Life Cycle : Nymphs take 3 years before maturing to adult. A new generation hatches each summer in the same area.
Since this cicada disappears from mixed forests soon after all the pines are eradicated, it probably feeds on pine roots. It is seen during the hot, "dog days" of summer, hence its common name.
I heard a thud on the window the other night and found this Cicada buzzing around. Just had to get some snaps. Last year I caught a green one. This one is almost entirely black.
Dogday Harvestfly (Tibicen canicularis)
Description : 1 1/8 - 1 1/4" (27-33 mm), wingspam to 3 1/4" (82 mm). Black with green markings. Wings clear green along rear 1/2 of fore wing margin.
Habitat : Coniferous and mixed woods.
Range : Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada.
Food : Adult is not known to eat. Nymph feeds on root juices, especially pine.
Sound : A powerful call that sounds like a circular saw cutting through a board.
Life Cycle : Nymphs take 3 years before maturing to adult. A new generation hatches each summer in the same area.
Since this cicada disappears from mixed forests soon after all the pines are eradicated, it probably feeds on pine roots. It is seen during the hot, "dog days" of summer, hence its common name.
Japanese Beetle Bug
2006/07/14 11:05 AM Filed in:
Picture
This isn't Beaker related but there
were a bunch of these neat green
beetles on my front lawn. Just had
to get some pictures. Bugs are so
neat. I've seen quite a few rather
large beetles here in PA so this
guy isn't huge but still quite
cool.
Green June Beetle (Cotinus nitida)
Description : 3/4 - 7/8" (20-23 mm). Robust, elongate, somewhat flattened. Head dark, with a horn. Pronotum and elytra are metallic green with brownish yellow on the sides; the underside is glittery green and brownish yellow. Tibiae green; femora are brownish yellow. Larva, to 2" (50 mm), is yellowish white with brown head.
Habitat : Gardens, orchards, open woods, and crop fields, particularly above sandy soil.
Range : New York to Florida and Gulf states, north to Missouri.
Food : Adult drinks pollen from open flowers, such as hollyhock, and devours ripening fruits, especially peaches, and the foliage and fruits of many trees and shrubs. Larva eats roots of grasses, alfalfa, vegetables, tobacco, ornamental plants, and many other plants.
Life Cycle : Grayish, spherical eggs are laid in soil with high organic content. Larvae often emerge after a prolonged rain, crawl on their backs over soil or through sod, and over winter deep in soil. Larvae develop in earthen cells near soil surface and pupate in the late spring of the 2nd year after hatching. Adults emerge June-July. 1 generation a year.
Adults fly noisily at night in search of food. This beetle is often an agricultural pest because its larvae destroy the roots of valuable plants, especially tobacco.
Green June Beetle (Cotinus nitida)
Description : 3/4 - 7/8" (20-23 mm). Robust, elongate, somewhat flattened. Head dark, with a horn. Pronotum and elytra are metallic green with brownish yellow on the sides; the underside is glittery green and brownish yellow. Tibiae green; femora are brownish yellow. Larva, to 2" (50 mm), is yellowish white with brown head.
Habitat : Gardens, orchards, open woods, and crop fields, particularly above sandy soil.
Range : New York to Florida and Gulf states, north to Missouri.
Food : Adult drinks pollen from open flowers, such as hollyhock, and devours ripening fruits, especially peaches, and the foliage and fruits of many trees and shrubs. Larva eats roots of grasses, alfalfa, vegetables, tobacco, ornamental plants, and many other plants.
Life Cycle : Grayish, spherical eggs are laid in soil with high organic content. Larvae often emerge after a prolonged rain, crawl on their backs over soil or through sod, and over winter deep in soil. Larvae develop in earthen cells near soil surface and pupate in the late spring of the 2nd year after hatching. Adults emerge June-July. 1 generation a year.
Adults fly noisily at night in search of food. This beetle is often an agricultural pest because its larvae destroy the roots of valuable plants, especially tobacco.
