# Peru Field Pics: If you have a slow connection don't open this. 200+ Pics!



## Jmugleston

Inverts:










































































































































































































































Ever been mooned by a katydid?


















This one has had better days:












































































































































































































Just thought I'd sneak a vertebrate into this thread since it had a cricket crawling on it.
































































































A very impressive bee mimic moth










































































































































































































































These litte guys would crawl as a single unit until you broke them apart. Then they regroup and continue moving as one unit.


























































































A couple wasp mimic katydids




































































































































Mammals:
























Cuy (guinea pig): Not as delicious as it looks.







Birds:

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## Jmugleston

Herps:

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## GriffinSmith

That is awesome, I can't wait to go somewhere cool like that


----------



## catfishrod69

those are some amazing pics...i love that giant water bug, have always wanted one..thanks for sharing.


----------



## BCscorp

Awesome pics! Very cool trip!!


----------



## JC

Goldmine, thanks for sharing! 

Did you eat the rodent?


----------



## Terry D

WOW!!


----------



## Jmugleston

JC said:


> Goldmine, thanks for sharing!
> 
> Did you eat the rodent?


Regretfully yes. They said it was a delicacy. From talking with others, it sounds like mine wasn't prepared well. It tasted like burned hair and football leather....at least what I imagine those in combination would taste like.


----------



## Spunky

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing!


----------



## moloch

Wow, you found so much.  Lots of interesting animals.  I loved the shot of this well disguised cat:







This butterfly was just amazing.  I am guessing that it must be one of the Rhiodinids (metalmarks).  I will see if I can find it.  







Regards,
David


----------



## Zman181

Amazing!!!!  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Hendersoniana

This is sooo cool! I would love to visit Peru one day to take these many photos! The one scorpion was amazing, so many Ts, not enough scorps :}. The water bug was so huge, everything there compared to ur hand is humongous! Btw are u sure a wasp would mimics a katydid? I dun see how it would bnenefit haha .


----------



## Jmugleston

Hendersoniana said:


> This is sooo cool! I would love to visit Peru one day to take these many photos! The one scorpion was amazing, so many Ts, not enough scorps :}. The water bug was so huge, everything there compared to ur hand is humongous! Btw are u sure a wasp would mimics a katydid? I dun see how it would bnenefit haha .


I had to check my wording on that one to make sure I put a wasp-mimic katydid not a katydid mimic wasp.  The wasp mimics are amazing. They're supposed to mimic a wasp's flight as well. They look a lot like a pompilid until you get close enough to realize that they're a tettigoniid. We cheated as the males come to MV lamps so I came back to camp and another had picked these off the screen for me.


----------



## Hendersoniana

They look really cool either way haha! Did u encounter anymore scorpions there? There is also a pic of the wasp on the leaf with many 'spikes' protruding out, that is a type of fungus right? They are really interesting, but dangerous to insects...


----------



## kingbaboonlover

*WOW! I love them all!*

I gotta love the 2 parrots and the crocodile most! so cute


----------



## Jmugleston

Hendersoniana said:


> They look really cool either way haha! Did u encounter anymore scorpions there? There is also a pic of the wasp on the leaf with many 'spikes' protruding out, that is a type of fungus right? They are really interesting, but dangerous to insects...


Just the one scorpion. I wasn't searching very hard for them though. That one was found in close proximity to the Cyriocosmus sp. above. They were sharing a log along with numerous beetles, crickets, millipedes, and other inverts. The wasp on the leaf has fallen victim to a fungus that causes it to climb, latch on, and work as a method for spreading spores of the fungus. I've found grasshoppers at the early stages of this infection where a perfectly looking grasshopper looks to be hugging a blade of grass and holding on for dear life.


----------



## venom81

i hope i go to a place like this when i die.


----------



## tarcan

amazing selection! Crazy that you caught a jaguar on picture, that is great!

Although I disliked the handling pictures, I still enjoyed seeing the glass wing buterfly.

Martin


----------



## Jmugleston

tarcan said:


> amazing selection! Crazy that you caught a jaguar on picture, that is great!
> 
> Although I disliked the handling pictures, I still enjoyed seeing the glass wing buterfly.
> 
> Martin


Perhaps I should put a disclaimer next time warning that hands may be present in the photos.  

If I were just sight seeing I would have tried to photograph them in natural settings as I prefer them that way as well. On this trip I was collecting for my research and I didn't want to risk losing the insect solely for the aesthetic quality of a photograph.


----------



## Anastasia

Looks like fun indeed! trip to South America is on my bucket list
I like the caterpillar look like bird pooh : awesome!
on and bat! that's just great 

Thank you for sharing!


----------



## Shrike

Wow, I'm insanely jealous.  Is that a jaguar you saw???


----------



## Jmugleston

Shrike said:


> Wow, I'm insanely jealous.  Is that a jaguar you saw???


Yeah. Though I was there for the insects, that was one of the highlights of the trip.


----------



## Christoffer

Incredible! You are so damn lucky :O And to catch a jaguar picture... WOW!  
LOVED the pictures. Those dwarf macaws are so cute, i had one named lulu  She was the most gorgeous bird in the world  i miss her now


----------



## Big B

Everything is so colorful, great post!


----------



## moose35

awesome trip. thanks for sharing the photos.

i liked the pepsis wasp.
and that water bug was huge.

moose


----------



## JohnDapiaoen

wow, simply stunning, all of it!!! :clap:
thanks for sharing.


----------



## jim777

Stunning pictures, absolutely breathtaking! Thanks so much for sharing


----------



## VickyChaiTea

WHAT!?

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!

Everything is SO BEAUTIFUL OH GOSH I'm dying over here. Things just kept getting more and more interesting and SOOOO GORGEOUS!


----------



## tarcan

Jmugleston said:


> Perhaps I should put a disclaimer next time warning that hands may be present in the photos.
> 
> If I were just sight seeing I would have tried to photograph them in natural settings as I prefer them that way as well. On this trip I was collecting for my research and I didn't want to risk losing the insect solely for the aesthetic quality of a photograph.


Makes perfect sense, I forgot that this could be a possibility and I totally understand. In the past, when I made trips to collect tarantulas, I have very few pictures of these specimens since I did not want to loose them.

All the best

Martin


----------



## jbm150

So much to gush over and compliment on but seeing and photographing a jaguar in the wild, just. so. awesome!


----------



## MrJohn

Awesome Photo Journal.


----------



## colorcham427

I am so jealous! lol great shots man! hey, not sure if you saw many mantids? but did you and just didn't bother taking pix? I have a fever for mantids! lol


----------



## Jmugleston

colorcham427 said:


> I am so jealous! lol great shots man! hey, not sure if you saw many mantids? but did you and just didn't bother taking pix? I have a fever for mantids! lol


We went during the dry season, but we did see plenty of mantids. The most common were bark mantids running up and down the trunks, but we saw some larger mantids that resembled walking sticks (Phasmatodea).


----------



## beetleman

wow! what an array of  all kinds of sp. awesome place,and soooo many kinds of crix,grass hoppers,and that water bug biggie!!,great shots of all of the animals


----------



## ftorres

Hello All,

How hard was to get permits to bring specimens???????  I love the pics of the phasmids and the proscopids, as well as the M acteon and the A longimanus. You got to love those Harlequin beetles.

regards

Francisco


----------



## Robotponys

This is an old-ish thread, but did you collect some of these and bring them back? Or was it just for research there?


----------



## Jmugleston

These were brought back with us as dead specimens. We didn't have export permits to allow bringing back anything alive.


----------



## Nebulosa

Dude, you saw and photographed a jaguar!?!  Awesome!  Like the Acrocinus longimanus and Macrodontia sp. too!  Nice shots.  Thanks for sharing!


----------



## lagomorphette

Where in Peru were you? 

My hubby & I stayed in the Colca canyon in the mountains (very high altitude), and it seemed oddly devoid of animal life. This was our honeymoon trip, though, so I didn't specifically go looking, but we hiked a bit & spent much of our time outdoors. I should note that this trip happened *before* I had a real interest in tarantulas (otherwise he wouldn't have married me,:laugh: jk...sort of ). Arequipa was the closest bigger city. The landscape was similar to that seen in the alpaca (or was it a llama?) pic. It was so quiet in the mountains--only a few insects (flies, gnats) & birds (looked similar to robins; one particular area had condors). We didn't see any small native mammals at all!! 

I'm guessing you were in the rain-forest-y part of the country, lol...looks like it's teeming with life! Amazing pics. Thanks for sharing! 

Oh, and I'm vegetarian, but Aaron tried whatever meat he could get. He had the same reaction you did--he said the guinea pig was disgusting & he wouldn't eat it again. We were in an awesome restaurant at the time. Must be an acquired taste?

Did you have a few pisco sours? We definitely enjoyed them... and there were some really delicious red/purple maize drinks that for the life of me I can't remember their name. The helado queso was amazing, too!

Lovely country--I would love to go back someday. 

Jeni


----------



## pato_chacoana

Jmugleston said:


> Perhaps I should put a disclaimer next time warning that hands may be present in the photos.
> 
> If I were just sight seeing I would have tried to photograph them in natural settings as I prefer them that way as well. On this trip I was collecting for my research and I didn't want to risk losing the insect solely for the aesthetic quality of a photograph.


Same as Martin, amazing that you could spot a wild Jaguar ! Pretty impressive.
Just curious, what research are you doing?

Pato


----------



## Jmugleston

lagomorphette said:


> Where in Peru were you?
> 
> My hubby & I stayed in the Colca canyon in the mountains (very high altitude), and it seemed oddly devoid of animal life. This was our honeymoon trip, though, so I didn't specifically go looking, but we hiked a bit & spent much of our time outdoors. I should note that this trip happened *before* I had a real interest in tarantulas (otherwise he wouldn't have married me,:laugh: jk...sort of ). Arequipa was the closest bigger city. The landscape was similar to that seen in the alpaca (or was it a llama?) pic. It was so quiet in the mountains--only a few insects (flies, gnats) & birds (looked similar to robins; one particular area had condors). We didn't see any small native mammals at all!!
> 
> I'm guessing you were in the rain-forest-y part of the country, lol...looks like it's teeming with life! Amazing pics. Thanks for sharing!
> 
> Oh, and I'm vegetarian, but Aaron tried whatever meat he could get. He had the same reaction you did--he said the guinea pig was disgusting & he wouldn't eat it again. We were in an awesome restaurant at the time. Must be an acquired taste?
> 
> Did you have a few pisco sours? We definitely enjoyed them... and there were some really delicious red/purple maize drinks that for the life of me I can't remember their name. The helado queso was amazing, too!
> 
> Lovely country--I would love to go back someday.
> 
> Jeni


Most the time was spent off Rio Tambopata and Madre de Dios. We did do the tourist thing toward the end in the mountains. I'm down to try Guinea pig again. Everyone I've talked to says I just went to the wrong place. Next time I'll be a bit more selective.



pato_chacoana said:


> Same as Martin, amazing that you could spot a wild Jaguar ! Pretty impressive.
> Just curious, what research are you doing?
> 
> Pato


The jaguar was the perfect example of the right place at the right time. If the tourists staying at the lodges didn't spot it while looking for caiman, we would not have seen it.

My research focuses on deciphering the phylogenetic relationships of Tettigoniidae (katydids and bush-crickets) using molecular data.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## ZephAmp

A-ha! Here's a blattodean! 






The scientific name is on the tip of my tongue but I've seen them called "bowhead roaches."
*Edit- _Capucina patula_ !


----------



## LovePets

Definitely one of the most amazing threads I've ever seen.:drool:
Thanks for sharing the pictures with us,can't wait to go on the field!


----------



## HoboAustin

I would HAVE to find a way to smuggle one of those beautiful Ts across the border!


----------



## natebugman

HoboAustin said:


> I would HAVE to find a way to smuggle one of those beautiful Ts across the border!


I'm surprised you have been flamed and given a stern talking to for that statement! LOL!


----------



## HoboAustin

natebugman said:


> I'm surprised you have been flamed and given a stern talking to for that statement! LOL!


I hope I that doesn't happen, seems how I would never to get the chance to even visit that country


----------



## pato_chacoana

Jmugleston said:


> Most the time was spent off Rio Tambopata and Madre de Dios. We did do the tourist thing toward the end in the mountains. I'm down to try Guinea pig again. Everyone I've talked to says I just went to the wrong place. Next time I'll be a bit more selective.
> 
> 
> 
> The jaguar was the perfect example of the right place at the right time. If the tourists staying at the lodges didn't spot it while looking for caiman, we would not have seen it.
> 
> My research focuses on deciphering the phylogenetic relationships of Tettigoniidae (katydids and bush-crickets) using molecular data.


Excellent ! It's a dream I've had many times... hopefully some day I will be lucky!
Interesting about your research, I wish you best luck ! 

Pato

edit. wait, I must ask, what was the Jaguar behavior?


----------



## Kungfujoe

Awesome thread, thanks for sharing.


----------



## Jmugleston

pato_chacoana said:


> Excellent ! It's a dream I've had many times... hopefully some day I will be lucky!
> Interesting about your research, I wish you best luck !
> 
> Pato
> 
> edit. wait, I must ask, what was the Jaguar behavior?


It was quite shy. After a few pictures it walked further from the shore (we were in a boat in the river) and walked into the bushes.


----------



## josh_r

Old thread, but wow man, nice diversity in katydids! really cool! The area you were in is fantastic! I have a friend who owns a tourism/ export company in puerto maldonado. I have moved to Peru about 3 months ago and he asked me if I would want to give tours for him... so I may have the chance to thoroughly explore this area for quite some time. These pictures give me a good idea what I have to look forward to! thanks!

Josh


----------

