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Amorpha borer on goldenrod
Megacyllene decora (amorpha borer) | Stoddard Co., Missouri One of my favorite longhorned beetle species is the amorpha borer, Megacyllene decora. Like its close relative, the locust borer—M. robiniae,...
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Orange and black on gold
Trigonopeltastes delta on goldenrod (Solidago sp.) flowers | Stoddard Co., Missouri The spectacular amorpha borer, Megacyllene decora, was not the only black-and-gold colored beetle that I saw on the...
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A Buprestis hat-trick!
In North America, few beetles can rival jewel beetles in the family Buprestidae for sheer beauty, and within the family this beauty is perhaps best exemplified by species in the family’s namesake genus...
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North America’s Most Beautiful Agrilus Jewel Beetle
For the past few years I’ve spent the summers traveling once a month or so from my home near St. Louis to research plots in western Tennessee. I enjoy these trips immensely—not only are my research and...
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My first experience with Prionus lure
Our quick stop in Hardtner, Kansas to see “Beetle Bill” Smith at the beginning of our Great Plains Collecting Trip had already produced one unexpected success—the long-sought-after Buprestis...
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Guest Post: Burrow Hole Blues
For today’s post, I am pleased to introduce nature writer and guest blogger Sharman Apt Russell. Epitomizing the increasingly important role of citizen scientists in conservation and natural history...
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How to catch “bucket loads” of Prionus fissicornis!
Fresh off our unexpected success at finding Prionus integer in the shortgrass prairie of southeastern Colorado, field mate Jeff Huether and I made our way down into northeastern New Mexico to see if...
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Guess who just turned 7?
Prionus heroicus | Harding Co., New Mexico No, not this very alarmed male Prionus heroicus (among North America’s largest longhorned beetles) seen this past June at Mills Rim Campground in northeastern...
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I got Thomas Shahan to image my Chrysochroa corbetti!
Those who follow me on Twitter know that I attended Entomology 2014 last month in Portland, Oregon. As with other scientific conferences, live tweeting of the talks and associated events was all the...
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First internet image of Phaenops piniedulis
During last June’s collecting trip through the western Great Plains, we stopped at an interesting spot in northeastern New Mexico near the small town of Mills (Harding Co.). Mills itself sits smack dab...
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Two endemic Jamaican jewel beetles: one known, one not?
I recently received a batch of jewel beetles from Enrico Ruzzier of Italy. It was an impressive sending (as is any sending of jewel beetles!) collected from diverse parts of the world, but what really...
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Cactus beetle redux!
Moneilema armatum LeConte, 1853 | Vogel Canyon, Otero Co., Colorado On my most recent Great Plains collecting trip, cactus dodger cicadas weren’t the only residents of the cholla cactus (Cylindropuntia...
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Holiday Greetings from BitB!
Filed under: Cerambycidae, Coleoptera Tagged: beetles, Christmas, entomology, holiday, insects, longhorned beetles, nature
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Best of BitB 2014
Welcome to the 7th Annual “Best of BitB”, where I pick my favorite photographs from the past year. Before I do this, however, let me briefly recap the year 2014. The trend of increasing travel each...
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Mexican Siesta
Summertime is go time for most entomologists, especially those who conduct field work both as a profession and as a hobby. Far flung field sites and the need to travel between them eats up most of each...
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Just how widespread is Prionus heroicus?
On our insect collecting trip to the western Great Plains last June, Jeff Huether and I encountered several species of beetles in the genus Prionus—longhorned beetles (family Cerambycidae) known...
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Flower ants? Check again!
Last spring while hiking the North Fork Section of the Ozark Trail in southern Missouri (Howell Co.), I made sure to check the abundant flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) blossoms that were in gorgeous...
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Buprestidae type specimens at Fundación Miguel Lillo, Argentina
During my most recent visit to Argentina this past February and March, I had the chance to go behind the scenes and visit the entomology collection at Fundación Miguel Lillo, Instituto de Entomología,...
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Cover Photo—The Coleopterists Bulletin 69(1)
The March 2015 issue of The Coleopterists Bulletin (vol. 69, no. 1) is out now (I got mine yesterday), and while I’m always happy to see the latest issue of this journal in my mailbox I am especially...
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Why is this male carrion beetle “biting” one of the female’s antennae?
American carrion beetles (Necrophila americana) aggregation at sap flow on trunk of oak (Quercus sp.) tree. Earlier this spring I came upon an interesting aggregation of insects at a sap flow at the...
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