Alex Wild on insects, science, and photography
Among the more conspicuous insects we encountered during our Australian travels were Paropsisterna eucalyptus leaf beetles. Most trees I looked at in southern Australia hosted clusters of pudgy yellow larvae hanging around in plain view, munching on the aromatic leaves in happy abandon. The beetles have good reason to be seen: they are toxic. Unusually among [...]
A flashback to last year’s buggiest Super Bowl commercial: I can’t be bothered to choose between the Patriots or the Giants this year, so I’m just going to enjoy my beer and hope for more insects in the advertising.
And now, a parable from my recent Australia trip. One morning, in the forests of Cape Tribulation, I happened across a lovely stag beetle. I took it back to the cabin where I’d set up an insect mini-studio. My photography session did not go smoothly, however. The set was persistently interrupted by pesky Tapinoma melanocephalum [...]
The insect news is carrying stories of soldier beetle swarms overrunning Australia: A local Bondi resident, Sandra Bianchi, said she and her husband first noticed the beetles on Tuesday afternoon. ”We were looking out onto the balcony and then all of a sudden there was a swarm,” Mrs Bianchi said. ”There were millions of them. When [...]
From the steaming jungles of north Queensland, a beetle looking as if cast from plastic: This odd creature, a wrinkled bark beetle, is a specialized predator of slime moulds. Although at first glance they don’t appear related, wrinkled bark beetles are actually highly modified ground beetles. ***update: Since a number of you have asked, here [...]
Note the soothing green backdrop. Take a deep breath. Relax. Ahhhhhhhh……. photo details Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro on a Canon EOS 20D ISO400, f/20, 0.5sec, camera mounted on a tripod ambient light
The MNM took an entire month off, but you guys are still sharp as a fossorial foreleg. What was that strange entomological extravagance? All ten points go to Kojun, who took less than 20 minutes to converge on the correct answer: the image showed the antenna of an ant-nest beetle in the ground beetle subfamily [...]
This blog has gotten heavy of late. I think it is time for pretty beetles: photo details: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D ISO 100, f/9, 1/200 sec indirect strobe in a white box
What was the mystery behind the mottled elytra? Only the most serious corn pest in North America. Diabrotica virgifera is not only tremendously damaging to crop yields, it is also rather clever. Farmers have traditionally fought this insect by rotating corn out with soybeans every year. The insect lays its eggs in the soil, and in [...]
The late afternoon sun was hitting the goldenrod just right, so I snapped a few shots of a beetle enjoying the last nectar of the season. This species- the goldenrod soldier beetle- is common across eastern and central North America in late summer. photo details: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens on a Canon EOS [...]
A personal weblog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild.
Myrmecos- derived from the ancient greek word for "ant"- hosts Alex's musings about these and other little creatures that share our planet.
Questions? Comments? Email alwild [at] myrmecos.net
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