2011 Entomological Society of America Insect Photographic Salon Results

Results from the 2011 ESA International Insect Photography Salon arrived this morning. I love this particular salon. It allows me to see how a subset of four of my images stack up to those of many of the world’s best arthropod photographers. I diverged completely from my normal international nature photography strategy, entering a set [...]

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Continued bumblebee decline

Bumblebees, the only native social bees, are able to fly at cooler temperatures than other bee species. Buzz pollination allows them to be particularly effective in the pollination of plants such a tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries and eggplants. They, like honeybees, have shown recent worldwide population declines. The cause? Like honeybee decline, a pathogen is partly [...]

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Pollinating Sawflies

Sawflies, largely herbivorous hymenopterans characterized by the broad connection between the abdomen and thorax, get their name from the sawlike ovipositors the females use to cut into plants to lay their eggs. The caterpillar-like larvae have six or more pairs of prolegs on the abdomen, unlike lepidopteran larvae that possess five or fewer pairs of [...]

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Pear Pollinating Wasps

The beginning of warm weather has ushered in the opening of pear flower buds, attracting a variety of pollinating wasps and flies.

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Funded for 2011 Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference!

This week I received funding (in its entirety!) to attend the 2011 Invertebrates in Education and Conservation conference in Rio Rico, AZ. Six days of non-stop morning presentations and afternoon/evening  fieldwork! This is by far my favorite professional conference. The first full day will be comprised of ten hours in the field followed by a [...]

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Large Black Ants From Southern, IL

One of my students brought in one of these large ants from  a recent trip to Southern IL. Since I am home and we are in the process of rain becoming freeze rain, I will wait until I have access to my field guides at school to attempt to classify this ant. It is huge [...]

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Excellent Insect Macrophotography PowerPoint

Alex Wild, author of Myrmecos, recently presented a seminar regarding bee macrophotography for the Illinois State Beekeepers Association. The PowerPoint is online and is excellent. It is accessible at http://www.alexanderwild.com/Other/Better-Bee-Photography/14529191_y6ZG7#1079273547_kSVcX. It is well worth viewing.

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Unexpected Parasite Emergence

    Earlier this week one of my students brought in a mantid ootheca. Several days later another student observed four tiny wasps on the ootheca. I photographed several of them yesterday. The parasitic wasps appear to belong to the family Chalcidae based on the antennae and the significantly widened rear femora.    

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Digger Bees (Longhorned Bees)

Digger Bees are small, robust, fast-flying bees that nest in the ground. They pollinate a large variety of different plants. Many species nest in dense aggregations, and swarms of males cruise around nesting sites searching for emerging females. Males may tackle most pollinators they encounter in their search for a receptive female. When receptive, females [...]

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I Can’t See!!!

Wouldn’t it be annoying to be a pollinator, with no eyelids, that pollinates plants that produce such high concentrations of pollen? Click image for magnified view.

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