Alex Wild on insects, science, and photography
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 [...]
One of my favorite insect artists is Rick Lieder, whose skill at composition with natural light is unparalleled. Yesterday afternoon I visited Meadowbrook park at sunset to have a go at practicing my own natural light photography. I’ve got a long way to go to match Rick’s talent with the medium, but I was pleased [...]
I photographed this pleasingly spotted erotylid beetle at the Jatun Sacha reserve in Amazonian Ecuador. Do any of you coleopterous readers recognize the genus/species? I’ve not had the time to properly ID it. Incidentally. Bright colors like these? You’re better off not eating this one.
The prairie is covered this week in shining flower beetles (Olibrus, in the family Phalacridae). They are aggregating in nearly every composite flower head, with a fair number just floating about among the grasses. The adults feed on pollen, and their sheer numbers make me wonder if there will be enough pollen left over to [...]
A high-paced action film from BBC’s Life: It’s got brutal fighting, spectacular free-falls, and plenty of sex. Just what you’ve come to expect from David Attenborough.
Calosoma scrutator, the fiery searcher Savoy, Illinois It’s a good thing Myrmecos isn’t a scratch-and-sniff blog. This beetle is a real stinker. Calosoma scrutator, the fiery searcher, measures about 3cm long and is among our largest native ground beetles. The spectacular metallic coloration serves to warn predators- and, apparently, photographers- of the noxious chemicals it [...]
Meet Dynastes granti. This behemouth of an insect is North America’s heaviest scarab beetle, found in the mountains of the American southwest where adults feed on the sap of ash trees. I photographed these spectacular insects a few years ago while living in Tucson. The impressive pronotal horn on the beetle pictured above indicates a [...]
Scarab’s shrewd cousin, Elytra warty like hide. Must be Trogidae! Photo details: Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D ISO 100, f/16, 1/250 sec, indirect strobe in white box
Notoxus desertus – Antlike Flower Beetle Pyramid Lake, Nevada This furry little beetle comes with its own sun visor, a horn-like structure that projects over the head from the pronotum. I photographed this Notoxus along the shores of Pyramid Lake where it was feeding on pollen. Photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on [...]
Edrotes ventricosus (Tenebrionidae) – Dune Beetle California, USA In arid environments around the world, darkling beetles in the family Tenebrionidae are among the most prominent insects. Their thick, waxy cuticles excel at retaining moisture. Edrotes ventricosus is a dune inhabitant in southern California. Photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS [...]
A personal blog 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? Email alwild [at] myrmecos.net; or follow @Myrmecos on Twitter.
