Invert forum?

Field and captive invertebrates discussion forum.

Moderator: Scott Waters

User avatar
Crazins
Posts: 269
Joined: June 14th, 2010, 6:49 pm
Location: My car

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Crazins »

Joseph S. wrote:Marisa: You are probably braver than most of the guys on this forum holding that centipede's head like that! Those are one of the few bugs that I feel uneasy handling. Their spazzy way of moving and thee fact that both ends can bite always makes them fun to deal with(but they are also frustrating as it is all to easy to maim them through rough handling!)
Haha that wasn't me! It was Chris Gillette. Trust me, scoleopendra give me the heebie jeebies! I didn't even know that both ends can bite...ugh *shudder*

-Marisa
erik loza
Posts: 244
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:01 am

Re: Invert forum?

Post by erik loza »

Great idea for a topic. No expert on inverts, just enjoy photographing them...

Centruroides margaretiferus: Tabasco, MX
Image

Pediodectes haldemani, devouring smaller katydid: Austin, TX
Image

Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi, captive.
Image

Iris oratoria, California
Image

Diving beetle of some type, Northern California. Can someone identify it?
Image
User avatar
Owen
Posts: 1924
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 12:35 am
Location: San Jose', Northern Catcrapistan

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Owen »

erik loza wrote:Great idea for a topic. No expert on inverts, just enjoy photographing them...

Diving beetle of some type, Northern California. Can someone identify it?
Image
Actually a water scavenger- Hydrophilidae. Genus Hydrophilus, probably H. triangularis
erik loza
Posts: 244
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:01 am

Re: Invert forum?

Post by erik loza »

Thank you! Now I can label that slide.
User avatar
TravisK
Posts: 774
Joined: July 8th, 2010, 11:14 am
Location: Eastern Washington

Re: Invert forum?

Post by TravisK »

Mike and Marisa,

Very nice field pics! Thank you very much for sharing those. That was a treat.

I am always intrigued by the scale of life's diversity on this planet.
User avatar
jonathan
Posts: 3689
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:39 am
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by jonathan »

Here are some from Thailand:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
User avatar
Daniel D Dye
Posts: 1220
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:56 pm
Location: New River (Brooker), Florida
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Daniel D Dye »

Awesome jonathan! That Ensign wasp looks huge compared to the ones we have here. The cockroaches in Thailand must be gigantic! :lol:

I recognize all in photos, however this one is a mystery. I'm guessing Hymenoptera...a bee of some sort.

Image

Daniel
Gordon C. Snelling

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Gordon C. Snelling »

That is a carpenter bee, Xylocopa species.
User avatar
SheriMonk
Posts: 56
Joined: April 14th, 2011, 9:12 pm
Location: Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada

Re: Invert forum?

Post by SheriMonk »

I love the idea of subforums.
When I go herping, I always, always stop for arachnids (I keep them at home too) and I take trips specifically to find mammals like bears and wolves.
(For the record, it's always so much easier to find the herps!)
User avatar
Daniel D Dye
Posts: 1220
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:56 pm
Location: New River (Brooker), Florida
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Daniel D Dye »

Gordon C. Snelling wrote:That is a carpenter bee, Xylocopa species.
Of course, I should of looked closer. That would explain the absence of hair on the upper thorax and abdomen.

Daniel
Gordon C. Snelling

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Gordon C. Snelling »

That perhaps a bit but that is also a very worn specimen. If it were fresher there would be more hair.
User avatar
infidel
Posts: 249
Joined: July 3rd, 2010, 7:24 am
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by infidel »

I'm in!
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
User avatar
herpseeker1978
Posts: 1139
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:05 am
Location: Albuquerque

Re: Invert forum?

Post by herpseeker1978 »

Here's one of my favorites:
Image
It's not bigfoot in the background...
Image

Not intentional, but it turned out to be my favorite bug shot!

And here's my international contribution:
Image
Great Wall near Si mitai
Image

Josh
User avatar
Natalie McNear
Posts: 1147
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:54 pm
Location: Northern coast of California

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Natalie McNear »

herpseeker1978 wrote:Here's one of my favorites:
Image
This one always makes me laugh... The bug looks surprised!

Here are some of my invert shots:

Jumping spider (Habronattus sp.)
Image

Lynx spider (Oxyopes sp.)
Image

Golden dung fly (Scathophaga sp.)
Image

Long-legged sac spider (Cheiracanthium sp.)
Image

Stilt bug (Neonides muticus)
Image

Aquatic leaf beetle (Plateumaris sp.)
Image

Image

Dance fly (Empis sp.)
Image

Furrow spider (Larinioides sp.)
Image

Western Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio rutulus)
Image

Edwards' Glassy-wing (Pseudohemihyalea edwardsii)
Image
User avatar
Antonsrkn
Posts: 971
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 2:38 pm
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Antonsrkn »

I don't photograph bugs nearly as often as I should and I never get around to figuring out what species most of them are either but I have plenty of photos to share.

Shieldbug from Guatemala
Image
Beetle from Guatemala
Image
Scorpion sp. making out with a wolfspider in Guatemala
Image
Redrump tarantula (Brachypelma vagans)
Image
Maybe a juvie redrump?
Image
Whipscorpion
Image
A butterfly sp?
Image
Some sort of dragonfly
Image
Butterfly?
Image
Hylesia umbrata
Image
swallowtail sp?
Image
Swallowtail sp? caterpillar from the Dominican republic
Image
Image
Swallowtails
Image
Mantis
Image
Beetle
Image
Lubber grasshopper
Image
??
Image

I have plenty more but I have already posted alot and you guys are probably bored.
User avatar
Hans Breuer (twoton)
Posts: 3230
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 3:19 am
Location: Kuching, Sarawak (Borneo)
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

This has certainly proven to be a very fruitful threat. Whodathunk we had so many closet buggers in our midst? :-)
User avatar
Natalie McNear
Posts: 1147
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:54 pm
Location: Northern coast of California

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Natalie McNear »

I'm not a closet bugger... Everyone who's herped with me knows I like bugs. I got nothing to hide. :lol:
User avatar
Tim Borski
Posts: 1855
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:28 am
Location: FL Keys
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Tim Borski »

Yup. I've been out of the closet for awhile too. :lol: I've chased bugs forever and it doesn't seem to be slowing down any...
Amazing all the inverts you all have in the can!


House fly

Image

My competition one recent night

Image

Stag beetle of some sort found in the duff under a dead snag

Image

Thanks to all for sharing!
Tim
User avatar
jonathan
Posts: 3689
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:39 am
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by jonathan »

Gordon C. Snelling wrote:That perhaps a bit but that is also a very worn specimen. If it were fresher there would be more hair.
What do you mean by "fresher"? I rescued him from a puddle, but he was definitely alive.
User avatar
jonathan
Posts: 3689
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:39 am
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by jonathan »

Daniel D Dye wrote:Awesome jonathan! That Ensign wasp looks huge compared to the ones we have here. The cockroaches in Thailand must be gigantic! :lol:

I recognize all in photos, however this one is a mystery. I'm guessing Hymenoptera...a bee of some sort.
The ensign wasp is maybe a centimeter long, if that. Our cockroaches are fairly large, but nothing special.

If you really recognize everything, could you name it for me? A pm would be fine. I don't know anything.
Gordon C. Snelling

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Gordon C. Snelling »

Fresher as in a younger specimen. Based on the wear pattern of the thoracic hair that is obviously a specimen that has put on a few miles, however the wings are in decent shape so it obviously not ancient.
User avatar
BillMcGighan
Posts: 2362
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: Invert forum?

Post by BillMcGighan »

This whole post turned out to be really interesting. I’m so glad to see so many herpers paying attention to the natural world around them - icing on the cake.
.
On investigating a promising looking, abandoned barn in north Florida, we found some honey bees swarming.
.
Image
.
.
These poor Southern Yellow Jackets were happily going about their business in a typical underground nest, when a backhoe exposed them. They covered the hole quickly.
.
Image
.
.
“Do you feel luck, Punk? Do ya?” - Baldfaced Hornet.
.
Image
.
.
In the mid 70’s I was fishing a creek that ran through a farmer’s field. When I had stopped and asked permission, I found this gentleman to be rich in stories and mountain lore, and quick to share them with you.
While we were talking, or more accurately, while I was listening, we were often being “bombed” by some early spring “Bumblebees”.

Without missing a breath in his stories, he snatched a “Bumblebee” from the air in his bare hand!

Ignorant me… I was dumbfounded….
He explained that he didn’t know why, but the “Bumblebees” with the white spot on their heads didn’t sting…..
.
Now being terrified of wasps and bees, I felt a nature challenge had been laid down. In a leap of faith and several tries later, I did the same.

Of course, as Daniel and Gordon know, I was perfectly safe from a sting, maybe a little bite, but not a sting.

The “white spotted Bumblebee” is really a drone Carpenter Bee. This one was quite alive and well.
.
Image
User avatar
SheriMonk
Posts: 56
Joined: April 14th, 2011, 9:12 pm
Location: Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada

Re: Invert forum?

Post by SheriMonk »

Wow! How fascinating!
I have had a life-long fear of bees and wasps. One time, surrounded by several rattlesnake den sites, with rattlers out sunning, and neonates clumsily scattered around rookeries, I was harassed by a wasp. Logically, I knew the wasp was less of a threat than the rattlers, but after several minutes of the wasp in my face, I broke into a run, in an effort to get away from it.
During this episode, I knew precisely what a moron I was being, and yet, I could not seem to stop.
I was not stung, nor was I bitten. But since then, I have begun to try and tackle the phobia.
And I love learning about them, academically. I love the way flying, venomous insect look and collective behaviour I find especially fascinating. And yet...

Anyway, at some point, I am going to see of a bee keeper will let me help them with their chores and I hope to begin to get habituated as I work through what I know is an irrational feeling that I have allowed to manifest for far too long.

I would love to see more photos.
User avatar
Andy Avram
Posts: 897
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:37 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Andy Avram »

Antonsrkn wrote: Butterfly?
Image
Beetle
Image
Assuming you saw it in the east the Butterfly is an Eastern Tailed Blue and that beetle is a Dogbane Beetle. You one Swallowtail caterpillar? I have seen before but can't for the life of me remember what species it is.

Andy
User avatar
Natalie McNear
Posts: 1147
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:54 pm
Location: Northern coast of California

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Natalie McNear »

Awesome...
User avatar
Tim Borski
Posts: 1855
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:28 am
Location: FL Keys
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Tim Borski »

The first Swallowtail catipillar is a Black on Dill weed.

Here's a pink Katydid. I'm told it's an uncommon color phase...

Image

...and a regular green one.

Image

A dish full of Palolo worms is fairly interesting in some circles...

Image

Tim
User avatar
Andy Avram
Posts: 897
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:37 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Andy Avram »

Tim,

I can believe you have seen a pink Katydid. Every since we discovered they exist at my office me and an employee have made it our goal to find one. Lucky!

p.s. I can't believe I am posting on the invertebrate forum... I need to make this right and have someone post a cool invert like a freshwater mussel or crayfish.
User avatar
Tim Borski
Posts: 1855
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:28 am
Location: FL Keys
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Tim Borski »

Tim, I can believe you have seen a pink Katydid. Every since we discovered they exist at my office me and an employee have made it our goal to find one. Lucky!
Andy, that's interesting. I found it while looking for herps one night and thought "Hmmm...that Katy's pink..." and somewhere in the back of my head I seemed to recall them being mentioned as fairly unique so I took a half dozen or so mediocre pics and moved on.
I'll put up a better image when I dig them up again.
Got any insight on them?

The snail's a good idea. here's a few from one of my local hammocks.

Image

Tim

Edit: Scott, just saw this was moved. Thanks, man! :mrgreen:
User avatar
Chris Smith
Posts: 2291
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:13 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Chris Smith »

Pink katydids were first discovered back in 1887, the pink katydid is so rare that they occur once out of every 500 individuals (SOURCE). I found a pink katydid in MN back in 2008 but I cannot seem to find the photo.

Great find!
-Chris
User avatar
Piglet
Posts: 74
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:37 pm
Location: SC

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Piglet »

Image

no idea what this is-from South Carolina
Image
User avatar
Daniel D Dye
Posts: 1220
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:56 pm
Location: New River (Brooker), Florida
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Daniel D Dye »

Piglet wrote:
no idea what this is-from South Carolina
Image
That's a click beetle larvae. Also known as a wire worm.

Daniel
User avatar
Gary2sons
Posts: 297
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:44 pm
Location: Camden County, Missouri

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Gary2sons »

Found this little caterpillar in our back yard last summer.

I think it is one of the swallowtail butterflies?


Image


Image

Stretched out moving on the driveway

Image

Also was wondering if that color is normal? Seems like I have seen them greenish and also very light yellow.

Gary
User avatar
Hans Breuer (twoton)
Posts: 3230
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 3:19 am
Location: Kuching, Sarawak (Borneo)
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Can you people please stop posting pictures of revolting bugs and slimy vermin? I like to read this forum over breakfast, you know.

I mean, how would you feel if you had to look at stuff like this while you're eating?

Thereupoda longicornis
Image

Spirobolus walkeri
Image

Image

Nephila maculata
Image

Image

Anoplophora macularia
Image

Typopeltis crucifer
Image

Walking stick on Charlie's shirt
Image
User avatar
Natalie McNear
Posts: 1147
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:54 pm
Location: Northern coast of California

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Natalie McNear »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote: Nephila maculata
Image
OMG! I wouldn't go near that car. :shock:

I saw one of those things (but a lot bigger) in Queensland a couple years ago, and... Never again.
User avatar
Hans Breuer (twoton)
Posts: 3230
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 3:19 am
Location: Kuching, Sarawak (Borneo)
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

OMG! I wouldn't go near that car. :shock:
You'll be surprised what a people are capable of when their cars are involved...in the end, I just drove off, spider and all, and when I arrived home, the beast was gone.
I saw one of those things (but a lot bigger) in Queensland a couple years ago, and... Never again.
They're all over the place here. Quite harmless, really, but scary to look at. I wrote something about them the other day:

Sprawled between tree trunks were spider webs the size of a bed sheet that were tough enough to knock your glasses off and deterred the curious from straying off the trail. These were not your grandmother’s cobwebs. They were crafted by Taiwan’s largest arachnid, Nephila maculata, which is known as the “banana spider” in other parts of the world. The Taiwanese call it the “Human Face Spider”, owing to the chillingly realistic depiction of a human skull on the back of the head (the cephalothorax, to be precise). This orb weaver is a classic case of gigantism. The females, with their two-inch bodies and seven-inch legspans, often share their webs with orange specks hundreds of times smaller. These are the males. Compared to the girls, they are so tiny that they can live their entire short lives completely unnoticed by the lady of the manor, stealing her food and even consummating their marriage without her getting wise to it, as long it’s done while she’s distracted by lunch.


I've had one run over my face once when I ran into a net....but nothing happened, unless you coount a near-coronary "nothing" :-)
User avatar
Daniel D Dye
Posts: 1220
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:56 pm
Location: New River (Brooker), Florida
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Daniel D Dye »

Gary, that's the caterpillar of the Spicebush Swallowtail, Papilio troilus. Nice images

Great specimens there, Hans. That House Centipede is a nice one.

Daniel
User avatar
Natalie McNear
Posts: 1147
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:54 pm
Location: Northern coast of California

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Natalie McNear »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote: The females, with their two-inch bodies and seven-inch legspans, often share their webs with orange specks hundreds of times smaller. These are the males. Compared to the girls, they are so tiny that they can live their entire short lives completely unnoticed by the lady of the manor, stealing her food and even consummating their marriage without her getting wise to it, as long it’s done while she’s distracted by lunch.
Image

Image

Didn't even notice her husband till I got the photos on the computer.
User avatar
Hans Breuer (twoton)
Posts: 3230
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 3:19 am
Location: Kuching, Sarawak (Borneo)
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Great photo, Natalie! That's not a maculata, though, is it?

Daniel, those house centipedes need to be seen to be appreciated. Over here, they're up to five inches long. Amazing hunting machines. Heavily armed and armored, immensely fast, deadly accurate. The Leopard II tank among inverts. The first time I saw a house centipede, I was at a loss., I had no idea what kind of animal I was looking at. It was so bizarre, and I didn't know where to look for info on this strange thing. In my despair, I Googled "centipede" and "spider legs", and that actually led to useful hits :-)
User avatar
Hans Breuer (twoton)
Posts: 3230
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 3:19 am
Location: Kuching, Sarawak (Borneo)
Contact:

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Speaking of inverts, here are some from Germany :-)
User avatar
Natalie McNear
Posts: 1147
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:54 pm
Location: Northern coast of California

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Natalie McNear »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:Great photo, Natalie! That's not a maculata, though, is it?
Probably not the same species, but definitely the same genus. Still just as scary. :shock:
User avatar
Joe Farah
Posts: 259
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 1:54 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Invert forum?

Post by Joe Farah »

User avatar
BillMcGighan
Posts: 2362
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: Invert forum?

Post by BillMcGighan »

mistake
Photobucket test
Post Reply