Weekend Collecting (6/7-April-2019)

On April 29, 2019April 29, 2019 By Erik OstrumIn Collecting Outings, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’m not writing as much on the blog as I hoped I was, but I’m trying to change that and start catching up on some things. With the weather turning to spring the insects are starting to come out in full force. This post is a catch of the first real collecting outings of the season.

Day 1:

The first day of collecting (6-April) turned into a relatively good day. I got out maybe a little to early and it was still quite cool and very little insect activity.

This female oil beetle (Meloe sp.) was the first insect I saw. As you can see the right elytra was a little wonky so I decided to let her go on her way.

It finally started to warm up and the insect activity finally begun to pick up….after about 2 hours in the field already. It was shortly after this that I finally saw the first butterflies of the day. They were staying close to the stream flying back and forth. It took a few tries but I finally netted a mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) as it basked on a rock sticking out of the creek.

I decided to keep it for the collection since it was the first butterfly I collected for the season and also for some strange reason I didn’t have any specimens from this location, but now I do.

I was pretty happy to see some of the first wild flowers blooming because with them blooming I had a chance some early spring visitors. About half a dozen of these Andrena sp. were taking full advantage of the flowers and were quite busy bees. I also decided to collect one so I could get a proper ID plus I’m sure I didn’t have this species yet in the collection.

What made the day end on an even higher note were the numerous tiger beetles out and about. I was able to collecting some of both species that were present that day.

Cicindela purperea audubonii

Cicindela limbalis

All in all I was extremely pleased with how the day ended up and was happy with the insects I was able to collect. Below is a little overview of what I collected.

Day 2:

I went back to the same general area on the second day (7-April) but just a few miles down the road. The main collecting I did that day was ants and was able to collect a decent amount. Of course other insects were out as well and I definitely collected some of them as well. I didn’t take as many photos though (focusing hard on the ants) but I made sure to get a couple.

The most common things flying were the grasshoppers, specifically Arphia conspersa and I decided to collect a few and also managed to get a picture of one. All the individuals at this location were yellow-winged.

One of my favorite finds of the day happened while I was on my way out. I decided to flip over a log cause well…you never know. I was greeted by this beautiful Eleodes sp. I had a hard time photographing it cause it wouldn’t stop moving around.

I was also able to collect a couple Polygonia gracilis (hoary comma) which were flying next to the creek. I also collected a few other beetles, a couple Hymenopterans and a single cool looking Hemipteran of which I’m not sure on the genus or species.

These are all now pinned and dried and in the storage box waiting for their labels, which I won’t do until next winter when the collecting season is over. It was a good start and I have a feeling it’s going to be a good collecting year.

The Green Sweat Bees- Identification Tips

On February 2, 2019 By Erik OstrumIn Insect Identification Tips, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I see many pictures of bees and a common sight among those are the green sweat bees. What most people probably don’t realize is that there are 4 different genera of green sweat bees here in the U.S. At first glance they might all look alike but there are some key differences among them. This post will show you how to tell the difference between all 4 though keep in mind not all these traits are easily seen just from photos.

Agapostemon:

Larger species, males have black and yellow abdomens and are easy to ID to genus, the second picture is of a male. The females of most species are all green and look similar to the other Genera. The easiest trait to look for is the VERY prominent rim surrounding the propodeum.

Augochloropsis:

Larger species. The best way to ID is by looking at the tegula (where the wings attach to the body). The tegula is “D” shaped and has the metallic green covering.

Augochlorella:

Extremely similar to Augochlora and the best and easiest way to tell them apart is by looking at the face. When you compare the two pictures side by side you can see the difference quite easily. In Augochlorella there is no lobe that extends down and is just a simple right angle.

augochlorella

Augochlora:

In Augochlora there is a lobe that extends down onto the clypeus that is clearly seen in the photo.

I hope this post was able to help you out and you found it useful. If you have any question feel free to contact me.

Bumblebees Get Their Unit Trays

On January 23, 2019 By Erik OstrumIn Uncategorized, Working on the CollectionLeave a comment

I took some time this past weekend to do some work on the collection. I decided to move all the bumblebees into their own unit trays so they can be ready to go into the new drawers that are coming in the mail. The first step before all of this was to sort through and ID all the specimens I have labeled so far.

The end result of sorting and ID’s was this slab of styrofoam, which as you can see has the specimens grouped into their respective species, totaling 24 species.

The next thing I did was assemble the unit trays. Instead of regular trays I buy the folding unit tray kits. The downfall is that I have to put them together myself but they are cheaper in the long run than buying a whole bunch of regular trays at a time. When all is said and done they still look nice and tidy when all complete and I’ve always liked using them.

All that’s left to do is putting the bees into the trays. Here is a finished tray of Bombus impatiens. You can see the labeled card telling me what’s in the tray. I created a label card for each species which requires much measuring and cutting.

Finally after a bit of time I finished. These trays are now ready to be put into some Cornell Drawers which will be arriving in a couple days. Now that I’m finished with all the bumblebees, its time to move on to the sorted and ID’ed Lepidoptera.

E.M.O.P.I.C

Tag: bees