Search found 15 matches

by bethanyfarah
Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:48 pm
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Sphinx moth caterpillar I think
Replies: 9
Views: 529

Re: Sphinx moth caterpillar I think

Thanks for the responses! This is in southeast Arizona (sorry about that) I could see how this could be Hyles, but I was thrown off by how dark this one is. Maybe it's melanized because of the parasites?? Also personally I'd rather have the parasites than the caterpillar. Hyles lineata are a dime a ...
by bethanyfarah
Sun Oct 30, 2022 11:46 pm
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Sphinx moth caterpillar I think
Replies: 9
Views: 529

Sphinx moth caterpillar I think

Any thoughts on this caterpillar my friend sent me? I'm pretty sure it's a sphinx moth of some kind, but I don't think it's a manduca sexta or a hyles lineata. Looks like it has been parasitized by something though!
IMG_20221030_164626.jpg
IMG_20221030_164626.jpg (270.45 KiB) Viewed 529 times
by bethanyfarah
Sun Oct 30, 2022 5:36 pm
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: What is this insect please
Replies: 5
Views: 418

Re: What is this insect please

We have tons of those here in AZ! They're good guys that eat lots of pest insects, but they can bite if handled. They're not venomous or aggressive or anything like that, but the big guys (I've seen specimens in pitfall traps easily 2in long) have teeth that can break skin if you pick them up. I rec...
by bethanyfarah
Sun Oct 09, 2022 12:25 am
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Caterpillars of Various Types
Replies: 4
Views: 386

Re: Caterpillars of Various Types

livingplanet3 wrote: Wed Oct 05, 2022 2:41 pm Dicogaster coronada
Thanks livingplanet3 that's a great place to start! Looks like the hairs on those guys are black and all over the back. Mine had white hairs more in banded tufts especially on the sides. But I'll look into the Digogaater genus, maybe it's something very closely related.
by bethanyfarah
Wed Oct 05, 2022 1:43 pm
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Caterpillars of Various Types
Replies: 4
Views: 386

Re: Caterpillars of Various Types

Thanks Chuck, I'll try that next time. Usually with a bit of patience I can get the camera to focus by switching back and forth from macro to standard, changing angle etc. But a member of my hiking group was feeling ill and I had to leave so no time for proper focusing and now I can't id these guys....
by bethanyfarah
Tue Oct 04, 2022 1:22 am
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Caterpillars of Various Types
Replies: 4
Views: 386

Caterpillars of Various Types

Hi all, I've tried looking up what these fuzzy guys grow into but, as most id book focus on adults, I haven't been able to crack either one. Both were seen on Sept 5th in the Dragoon mountains in Southeast Arizona, probably around 5,000ft elevation or so. (Sorry for the not so great photos, I was in...
by bethanyfarah
Sat Oct 01, 2022 2:18 am
Forum: Open Topics
Topic: The Mantids are out in FORCE
Replies: 3
Views: 646

Re: The Mantids are out in FORCE

They certainly are charismatic. It's quite a joy to watch them feed at the lights but whatever they're eating is too small the the mantids move too fast for me to see what they're eating. Makes you wonder how behavioral entomologists ever see what their subjects are doing. Maybe they have better eye...
by bethanyfarah
Fri Sep 30, 2022 12:56 am
Forum: Announcements & News
Topic: Presentation
Replies: 47
Views: 9546

Re: Presentation

As far as specializing, I hate to say it but the jobs are in agriculture, particularly pests and their parasites. The days of paid Lep research are 100 years in the past. Some very few entos are fortunate enough to land Lep jobs and even most of those are in curation, genetics, or low-paying butter...
by bethanyfarah
Fri Sep 30, 2022 12:11 am
Forum: Open Topics
Topic: The Mantids are out in FORCE
Replies: 3
Views: 646

The Mantids are out in FORCE

I have been regularly seeing praying mantises feeding at the porch lights the last few weeks. Today I counted over 20 still hanging out on the windows at my work after daylight. I'm not sure at all what species they are; the ones I see at my house are a little larger and grass green, sometimes with ...
by bethanyfarah
Wed Sep 28, 2022 11:41 pm
Forum: Announcements & News
Topic: Presentation
Replies: 47
Views: 9546

Re: Presentation

Hi all! My name is Bethany and I'm an amateur entomologist living in Southeastern Arizona (near Cochise Stronghold if anyone is familiar with the area.) I am interested in all things invertebrate but especially insects!!! I have a particular fondess for beetles and wasps but honestly if it has legs ...
by bethanyfarah
Wed Sep 28, 2022 3:04 am
Forum: Open Topics
Topic: A different way of mounting
Replies: 15
Views: 1064

Re: A different way of mounting

My husband bought me this shadow box a few years ago and it came in the mail. Just in bubble wrap and a box of I remember correctly. Some of their feets have fallen off but otherwise they came safe and sound. I would highly recommend you buy insurance on the package if it's something particularly va...
by bethanyfarah
Wed Sep 28, 2022 2:31 am
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Buprestid beetle
Replies: 4
Views: 292

Re: Buprestid beetle

Oh wow some of them can be really yellow! Thanks!
by bethanyfarah
Wed Sep 28, 2022 2:23 am
Forum: Open Topics
Topic: A different way of mounting
Replies: 15
Views: 1064

Re: A different way of mounting

These are beautiful! I might try and replicate this so I can hand my neices some insects to look at and touch. They both love bugs but they're too little for me to hand them a pinned specimen (4yr and 2yr.) How did you get them to stand up so perfectly? Were they fully dry before you glued them down?
by bethanyfarah
Wed Sep 28, 2022 12:15 am
Forum: Open Topics
Topic: The silence....
Replies: 47
Views: 2752

Re: The silence....

NEVER FEEL as though you have little to contribute. A picture of something that you have seen, a question as to (why), or even a discovery new to you is always worthy of a mention and is bound to get a reply. It really is all good and I feel enriches the very broad spectrum that entomology encompas...
by bethanyfarah
Tue Sep 27, 2022 11:46 pm
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Buprestid beetle
Replies: 4
Views: 292

Buprestid beetle

Hi all, This is a beetle that I found dead recently and wonder if anyone knows what kind it is? I live in Arizona, USA at and elevation of around 4,000ft (grasslands) but we recently went wheeling at approximately 6,000ft (oak-pine) and this little dude was found on the roof of our car. Thanks in ad...