Tag: collection update

Sorting Some Sweep Net Samples

On By Erik OstrumIn Collecting Outings, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Today I finished sorting a couple sweep samples I took in my neighborhood park. After each sweep session I empty the contents into a gallon zip-lock bag. This time I only had two bags worth of material but it still took me two days to sort through.

Here was bag one

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And here is bag two

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I sorted the specimens into separate petri dishes. One was for the large specimens for regular pinning and one for all the specimens that need to be pointed. I also pinned the flies using minuten pins.

Here are all the large specimens. I nice male Melanoplus bivittatus, a few weevils and some beautiful Cassida rubiginosa are some of my favorites from the large insects.

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There were a decent variety of fly species in the samples. A couple highlights of this batch includes Tephritidae, Syrphidae and Asilidae (the small robber flies at the bottom).

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There were some awesome specimens that I found that were placed in the pointing pile. A decent amount of Cicadellidae (and decent variety), which I was hoping for, plus some awesome tiny parasitic wasp families that I haven’t ID’ed yet.

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Many New Lepidoptera Species to the Collection

On By Erik OstrumIn Collecting Outings, Uncategorized, Working on the Collection1 Comment

I’ve been gone the past few weeks traveling for work so I’ve been busy. But being that I’m an entomologist I get to work with insects the entire time and I get to collect in new locations all the time. This year my main sites are in south Florida and south Texas. I always have a little free time on these trips and I take full advantage and do what I do best…go collecting.

The specimens in the first photo are actually from Colorado. These were collected at two new locations the day before I left for my recent trips. The prize in this lot is the single Papilio indra that I actually caught right next to the car as I was packing up and leaving.

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This next photo includes specimens from south Texas. I was only able to get out collecting for about 45 minutes but as you can see I did manage to get some awesome stuff. The prize in this batch is the Melanis pixe. This species only enters the U.S in the southern tip of Texas. I saw a couple but only got one (I’m still happy about it).

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This last pic are the specimens from Florida. I actually have a couple favorites from these…the Dryas julia and the Phocides pigmalion. I’ve been trying to catch a Julia every time I’ve been down and finally was able to get a couple. The mangrove skipper was a complete surprise to me and I wasn’t to see one at all so I’m very pleased with the Florida batch from this last trip. Hopefully I can get some more awesome stuff next month when I’m down again.

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First Collection of the Pitfall Traps

On By Erik OstrumIn Collecting Outings, Uncategorized, Working on the Collection3 Comments

I went out and was able to collect the first samples from the pitfall traps I put out. Because of work travel they were left out for 2 weeks, which I think I will continue the rest of the season.

There was a cold and wet spell during one of the weeks that lasted almost the entire week so I was worried about the state of the traps but luckily I worried for nothing. Despite this the traps still had good production.

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I was pleased to find a few tiger beetles in a couple traps which I was hoping for. At first glance I feel I had a decent amount of beetle variety.

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Some more beetles and some grasshoppers graced me in these couple traps. I was surprised by the number of grasshoppers captured in the traps.

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This is the accumulation of all 12 traps, as you can see a large amount of ants (mostly from 2 traps) are present along with a good amount of grasshoppers and beetles. I can’t wait to sort through everything. Right now they are in storage as I’ll go through them this winter along with all the other pitfall samples I collect.

Damselflies During Lunch

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

This year one of my pet projects is expanding the Odonata section of my collection. This is yet another group that’s severely lacking but I’m hoping will take great strides this year. The other week at work I was on my normal lunch walk when I noticed quite a large number of damselflies were out so I decided to take a handful.

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I was able to get specimens (both male and female) of Ischnura damula (plains forktail). Here you can see they are all already in their envelopes. I’ll make a post sometime in the future on the process of preserving Odonates.

Miami Trip #1 (May)

On By Erik OstrumIn Collecting Outings, Uncategorized, Working on the CollectionLeave a comment

I just got back from a week long trip to Miami. Unfortunately it was for work and not a collecting trip……that didn’t stop me from collecting when I could though.

One of my favorite finds (as I only see them when I travel to the southeast) was the eastern lubber grasshopper (Romalea microptera). There was a large group of nymphs and adults at one of the collecting site for work so I grabbed a few.

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Another awesome find were large number of click beetles that do something that most people probably would never think click beetles do….glow. I believe all the ones I saw and collected are Ignelater havaniensis which are only found in southern Florida (in the US at least).

Check out that glow!

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I didn’t get a whole bunch of pictures of the live insects (work and all) but I did manage to collect a decent number of specimens considering how little time I had.

I was able to get a decent number of butterflies (thanks in part for the pocket net now bring on trips)….my favorite that I collected this trip is Heliconius charithonia (zebra longwing)..these are the first specimens I’ve been able to collect and I’m super happy to finally have netted a few. The Anartia jatrophae (white peacock) you see is a bit beat up but I didn’t have that species in the collection yet either so I decided to keep it.

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Here is everything else I collected

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In the picture below you can see a white colored weevil which I have never seen before, I can’t to figure out the species on all of these!

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In this next picture you have see the lubbers as well as the click beetles as they were all collected at the same site.

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This last picture is all the small insects that I have left which all require points. I started already and actually just finished everything before I wrote this post. Most of it is ants and small wasps.

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I’m quite thrilled with the insects I managed to collect on this trip and since I’m going to Miami quite a few times this year I should be able to get some more awesome additions to the collection.

Keeping Busy on the Collection

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

The blog has been put on the backburner lately. I’ve been super busy working on the collection and trying to get everything caught up, which to my surprise I almost am. Within the next couple weeks I should have an update specimen count for the collection and it will be just in time before the 2019 collecting season gets in full swing.

A big step took place the past couple weeks that will allow me to make huge progress and actually start identifying much of the collection. I’ve been allowed to work and use the facilities at the C.P Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity at Colorado State University. I now have the space, the equipment and the resources to process and ID a large number of insects at a time which will allow my collection to expand greatly. I’ve also started to help ID some of the unsorted material at the museum and plan on expanding their ant collection.

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As for my personal collection, I’ve been going through and identifying the ants. I’m down to the last few specimens from Wisconsin and then I’m going to start on the Arkansas specimens. It shouldn’t take to long as there aren’t a whole of specimens from that state.

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These are the first couple rounds of Wisconsin ants I’ve gone through. The last round I’ll finish this week. These were all collected mostly in 2015 which is a few years before I decided to focus much of the collection on ants. I’m really hoping to get a good sample of Wisconsin ants in the next couple years, I have my whole family as well as college professors there, so I’m hoping to enlist their help.

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