What a difference a real macro lens can make! A year ago I photographed snow fleas. My former graduate adviser recently asked me for some good snow flea photos and now that I have my fancy Nikon and lenses I decided to take the challenge.

They are a dark blue color, and the flash really makes a difference in the color projected in the photos. They are a tiny springtail (1-2mm) that can often be found in the snow. They have an organ called a furcula that “springs” or catapults them in the air…which obviously adds some difficulty in trying to get close to them for a photograph. You can really see the furcula well in the second photo, its the structure sticking up near the posterior end.

For more information on snow fleas see this wikipedia page.

I’m not the only one who thought spring was right around the corner until this latest winter storm hit…

I was out in the woods today for work and found this little fella still alive, literally “chillin” on a tree, despite the foot of snow that was just dumped on us. Its not really ‘collecting jar season’ yet, but when an entomologist wants a bug bad enough they manage to make anything into a jar. For me, I dumped a whole pack of tic tacs out in the snow so that I could bring home this lacewing for a photo op. I’m a nerd, but I think it was worth it.

Lacewings are comprised of the family Chrysopidae in the order Neuroptera. The larvae are crazy-aggressive and feed on other insects. In fact, they are often reared for the biological control of mites, aphids, and other crop pests. The adults vibrate on the substrate for courtship communication.

…Ladybird beetle, that is. This particular beetle made a good subject last night for practicing with my new flash

Ladybird beetles are also commonly referred to as Lady Bugs…except that they are not a true bug but a beetle in the Coccinellidae family. They are a good insect to have in your garden because they feed on common pests like aphids and scales (which is another insect).

Just like the blister beetles, ladybird beetles practice reflex bleeding from their joints when trying to defend themselves.

Another interesting tidbit about ladybirds…the female lays infertile eggs with her fertile eggs so that the hatching larvae have something to eat in case there is a scarcity of food.

I think this picture is funny…its a runaway longhorn beetle in my lab.

The photos below are of an American Coot up along lake Ontario. They shouldn’t be up this far north until the spring time…so I think this one is a little confused. Also, they have really long, goofy looking feet…you should google it to check ‘em out.

I caught a hitchhiker in my bathroom this week…

There wasn’t a bum or anything like that in my bathroom, it was a pseudoscorpion, which is a tiny little arachnid. Usually you find them in leaf litter or decaying wood material. I think this little friend probably hitched a ride on me in from the woods as they often practice phoresy.

For some reason I had it in my mind that they only used those pincers for transportation and that they fed on decaying matter. But upon further investigation I found that not to be the case at all. They have a venom gland in the pincer (or pedipalp I guess is the correct term) that they use in capturing and immobilizing prey. To aid in digestion, they spit up a fluid that liquefies the prey in order to ingest it.

Guess what I came across the other day while at work…a blister beetle (Meloe sp.). Blister beetles get their name from a chemical they produce called Cantharidin which is a highly toxic irritant that causes blistering (want to see a pic?). The compound, which is also found in a few other insects, has been used as an aphrodisiac in the past. Interestingly enough, the compound is also used in wart removal ointments. The beetles produce the compound as a defense mechanism. When disturbed they curl up and play dead and exude the chemical from their joints, this behavior is referred to as reflex bleeding.

Another cool fact about blister beetles is that the larvae crawl up on flowers and wait for solitary bees to come by so they can grab a hold of them and be transported by the bee back to the nest. Once back in the nest, the larvae feed on the eggs and larvae of the bees, as well as the pollen that is brought back. Once the beetle pupates, it crawls out of the nest and back into the soil to complete its life cycle and become an adult.

What’s not to like about this insect?

You wouldn’t be able to tell from the temperatures (in the 80s) we have been experiencing here in NY, but there are other signs of fall all around. Here are some photos from the week.

You can’t go anywhere around here without seeing signs for or hearing locals talk about the famous salmon fishing that takes place this month. Every October the salmon make their famous run up the rivers to spawn. Anglers from all over come to try and wrangle these big fish.

Late summer and early fall means stick insects are out and about mating, as are the couple in the photo below.

And lastly, this Northern Flicker was rustling in the leaves on the ground this morning outside our house.

With things being so busy over the last couple weeks I have not had time to upload any photos here. Here are some photos from the last couple weeks.

First, I came across this beautiful common stonefly (Perlidae) 2 weeks ago.

Stoneflies are way cool. The nymphs are found in flowing water with high oxygen content. They often act as indicators of good stream quality. Common stonefly nymphs are carnivorous and eat other insects that are in the streams.

This week we came across a bald-faced hornet nest, on accident.

They make those famous paper nests by chewing wood and mixing their saliva to form the end-product that dries into paper. Nests are set up in the spring and are active through the summer and fall. Once winter hits though, the young fertilized queens hibernate underground or in decomposing trees and usually the nests are abandoned altogether.

So, I think in a couple months I will try to go back and maybe split open the nest to get some pictures from inside the hive.

Lastly, we came across these goofy looking mushrooms. No idea what they are.