Insects II - Beetles, True Bugs, Hoppers and their larvae and nymphs
) nymph hiding on the daisy? If you didn't notice it quickly, a bee or fly certainly wouldn't until it was too late! These insects are well camouflaged, they can be greenish-yellow, white, or brown. If you didn't see it, look on the ray flower (petal) at the 3:00 position.
spp. Oak Ridge, TN June 10, 2008
spp. / True Bug Family (Heteroptera) Backswimmers are aquatic insects, as their common name attests, they swim upside-down. Being true bugs, they have piercing mouthparts and can bite if handled. The long rear legs are used like oars. They keep their abdomen in contact with the surface of the water in order to breathe. This photo was taken through the surface of the water with a telephoto lens and cropped heavily, so it is not the best quality!
Tumbling Flower Beetle; Mordella
spp. Oak Ridge, TN June 14, 2008 These little beetles are very distinctive because of their little "tail" at the end of the abdomen. They are very common on flowers. This one is on the fallen stamens of a magnolia flower.
Japanese Beetle; Popillia japonica*
Coleoptera June 11, 2007 These non-native beetles are a major problem in many parts of the south. They cause damage to many kinds of plants when they eat them. This beetle is eating a wild rose. I remember seeing a large elm tree at East Tennessee State University being completely defoliated by Japanese beetles (I worked there in the medical school in the late 1970's).
Blister Beetle Family Knoxville, TN (Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge) November 1, 2009 Males of this species have a distinctive notch in the antennae, so this beetle is obviously a female. This family of beetles give off a skin-blistering chemical called cantharidin when irritated.
Red Milkweed Beetles; Tetraopes tetraophthalumus
Coleoptera These pretty red beetles are found on their larval food source, milkweed. They lay their eggs on the plants, the larvae burrow into the stems and roots. Considering their red and black coloration and the fact they feed on milkweed, I'm sure they are poisonous or distasteful to predators.
This aquatic beetle was photographed in a pond at Haw Ridge.
Firefly; Lightning Bug; Photuris lucicrescens
This is a photo looking at the underneath side of a firefly. I found it on a pane of glass in a door, making it convenient to take the photograph. Note the 2 large yellow segments on the end of the abdomen, these are the lighting segments of the male. The female of this species has a single, smaller lighting segment. She flashes if she is interested in a flashing pattern of a male as he flies above her at night. Note his huge compound eyes, they make it easier for him to see a potential mate at night.
Eastern Hercules Beetle; Dynastes tityus
Gatlinburg, TN August 8, 2008 I noticed this guy stuck (dead) in the covering over the gutter at the UT Field Station during the 2008 Bugguide Gathering. The male Hercules Beetles have the large "horn" used for fighting rival males.
Japanese Beetle
Milton, FL August 30, 2008 This beetle was a dead one that some of my parents' neighborhood kids found. It is a bit hard to see the 3 "horns" on the thorax from this angle. The beetle was about 2" long.
. It is interesting how the antennae are between the eyes.
Eastern Hercules Beetle; Dynastes tityus
Oak Ridge, TN Sept. 14, 2007 One of my students brought this huge beetle to class. This one is a female, she lacks the "horns" that the male has on his head and thorax.
Firefly; Lightning Bug; Photuris lucicrescens
Coleoptera Oak Ridge, TN June 4, 2008 This is probably one of the most favorite insects of many children. I remember filling the bottom of a glass jar with fireflies (a.k.a "Lightning bugs") when I was a kid. It was fun to watch them light up in my room before I went to sleep! A Firefly / Lightning bug is neither a fly nor a bug, it is a beetle. This one is a male, the following photo shows the light-producing segments on his abdomen. Males fly above the ground in order to attract the attention of the females below. Each species has its own flash pattern. The female one species will flash the pattern of another, when the male comes down to mate she quickly makes a meal of him! Yet another sneaky female insect! :) Here is a good website to explain the highly complicated chemical process: Firefly lighting process
Ivory-marked Longhorn Beetle ; Eburia haldemani
Gatlinburg, TN August 8, 2008 This was my second big discovery of the night (after the dead Hercules beetle). It was on the wall of the Field Station house, attracted to the light. The following photo shows a close up of the eyes, it is interesting how they form a "C" shape and wrap around the antennae.
Locust borer; Megacyllene robiniae
Coleoptera Oak Ridge, TN June 3, 2008 Science camp is a great place to get photos of insects, there are a bunch of excited kids who love to show me their discoveries! This Locust Borer beetle was one that they found and brought to me in a collection jar (which explains the reflection!). These beetles lay their eggs in the bark of black locust trees, the larvae tunnel into the trunk and branches, which can cause significant damage to the affected trees.
Patent-leather Beetle; Odontotaenius disjunctus
Coleoptera May 27, 2007 This critter caused quite a stir when it crawled across the picnic blanket on Memorial Day! It's a good thing I was there to identify it as being harmless, I probably saved it from getting squashed! :) Patent-leather beetles get their common name from their shiny black exoskeleton, it resembles the patent leather on little girls' Sunday shoes. These beetles eat decaying wood (there was a dead tree nearby). This is one of the types of beetles that take care of their larvae, they feed them prechewed wood. Most insects die after laying their eggs, so this is quite an achievement. Beetles are in the order Coleoptera, which means "sheath-wing". Beetles have 2 hard outer cover wings, called elytra which meet in the middle making a straight line on their back. The 2 softer flight wings are located beneath the elytra.
I photographed these 4-eyed Milkweed beetles mating in the garden. I felt a little guilty intruding on such an "intimate moment", but I thought it was interesting to see a new generation of beetles in the making! ;) They didn't seem to appreciate my intrusion, they separated right after I took the photo and flew away.
Elder Borer; Desmocerus palliatus
Great Smoky Mountains NP August 9, 2008 This beautiful beetle caused quite a bit of excitement with the Bugguide group as we hiked on a trail below Clingman's Dome. It was quite patient with the insect "paparazzi" as several people snapped photos!
Delta Flower Scarab Beetle; Trigonopeltastes delta
Oak Ridge, TN June 26, 2008 I found this lovely beetle while I was walking along the Melton Lake Greenway near the Oak Ridge Marina. I like the black and yellow heart shape on the thorax. The abdomen interested me because it was flat, almost as though it had been cut off.
Ivory-marked Longhorn Beetle ; Eburia haldemani
Gatlinburg, TN August 8, 2008 Note how the compound eyes wrap around the antennae of this beetle.
Dogbane leaf Beetle; Chrysochus auratus
Oak Ridge, TN June 10, 2008 This was one of the most beautiful beetles I've ever seen! Unfortunately, the camera didn't do justice to the brilliant range of colors it reflected. These beetles are found on Dogbane plants.
A Patent-leather Beetle on the trail.