Beautiful Beetles
On Wednesday I went blacklighting with some of the other students in Insect Systematics. We set up in Box Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. The lights brought in a fantastic selection of insects.
This is a male Dynastes granti, one of the largest beetles in the United States. I was standing near the blacklighting sheet when I heard a large crash behind me. It turned out to be this guy landing. A female Dynastes came to the light a little later. One of the other students has both of them in a terrarium now, where they happily munch on bananas. In the wild they strip bark from ash trees to eat the sap.
In this photo Dynastes is posing with another charismatic Arizona beetle. The gorgeous green scarab on the right is Chrysina gloriosa. They feed on juniper leaves and are fairly common in the mountains at this time of year.
After packing up the blacklight equipment, we went and found spadefoot toads, a diamondback rattlesnake, a tarantula, and a gopher snake. However, I had volunteered to videotape some of our activities for an educational program so I was too busy using the expensive video camera to take any pictures of my own. Maybe I'll get another opportunity to write about snakes, tarantulas, and toads in a few weeks. They're certainly plentiful right now.
And finally, a mockingbird update. The babies all fledged, and flew away. The parents were extremely hostile toward humans and cats on the first day.
This is a male Dynastes granti, one of the largest beetles in the United States. I was standing near the blacklighting sheet when I heard a large crash behind me. It turned out to be this guy landing. A female Dynastes came to the light a little later. One of the other students has both of them in a terrarium now, where they happily munch on bananas. In the wild they strip bark from ash trees to eat the sap.
In this photo Dynastes is posing with another charismatic Arizona beetle. The gorgeous green scarab on the right is Chrysina gloriosa. They feed on juniper leaves and are fairly common in the mountains at this time of year.
After packing up the blacklight equipment, we went and found spadefoot toads, a diamondback rattlesnake, a tarantula, and a gopher snake. However, I had volunteered to videotape some of our activities for an educational program so I was too busy using the expensive video camera to take any pictures of my own. Maybe I'll get another opportunity to write about snakes, tarantulas, and toads in a few weeks. They're certainly plentiful right now.
And finally, a mockingbird update. The babies all fledged, and flew away. The parents were extremely hostile toward humans and cats on the first day.
posted by Michele at 1:15 PM
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