Unusual insects

[Scythemantis]

I think my favorite photo here is that of Cychrus caraboides. I've never seen eyes like that on a beetle before...they look like a fish! It certainly has character. I find it fascinating that they specialize in predation of slugs.

Geotrupes' predatory mites aren't just freeloading hitchhikers, though. The secretions of maggots are toxic to Geotrupes, so it arrives early to corpses and relies on its mites to eat any fly eggs in the way!

 

[Dark Raptor]

Thanks

-vipvenom
I love Attinae ants. I know that some people have them (or their close relatives) even in Poland. I can't ID this moth. I don't work on Lepidoptera.

-packer43064
Yes, dead wood is the best place to find some large and beautiful beetles. I'm just writing my master's thesis about saproxylic beetles. During my field works, I've found more than 200 beetle species. Some of them, like scarab and lucanid beetles, can be breed in terrariums.

-Alex S.
Yes, I've been using that equipement, but it wasn't working well (I was giving my dytiscid beetles fresh meat). I've been cleaning aquariums every 3 days, so with some more work I was able to provide them clean water.
I don't have them now, because after every succesful breeding, I release my beetles in the place where I captured them. I do this with almost every native insect species I have.

-Scythemantis
Yes. I will remember about that. Thanks for the info.

 

[Alex S.]

-Alex S.
Yes, I've been using that equipement, but it wasn't working well (I was giving my dytiscid beetles fresh meat). I've been cleaning aquariums every 3 days, so with some more work I was able to provide them clean water.
I don't have them now, because after every succesful breeding, I release my beetles in the place where I captured them. I do this with almost every native insect species I have.

Hey Dark Raptor, have you tried using crickets by dropping them on the water's surface? This is what I have fed my dytiscids and hydrophilids in the past and they are absolutely voracious towards small insects considering this is what makes up the bulk of dytiscid diets in the wild. Dead insects dont seem to pollute the water as much as meat. This especially works well with aquatic hemipterans as the dead body of the prey insect is still intact after feeding and can be removed from the aquarium very easily.

Alex S.

 

[Dark Raptor]

Thanks again for this info.

Yes, I will be able now to give them crickets, my colony is large enough to feed my T's and other invertebrates. I've was giving my dytiscid larvae smaller arthropods, like: Asellus aquaticus and Zygoptera larvae.

Meat is really bad if you wanna feed predatory beetles. I'd like to give my Carabus cancellatus and C. auronitens living preys, but in winter it is hard to find caterpillars and earthworms (and they don't want to eat mealworms).

In the nearest future, I will try to breed some Hydrophilidae beetles. But the problem is that the moust interesting species like Hydrous piceus is now protected in Poland. The funniest thing is that 10 years ago, when rivers were more poluted, it was very common water beetle.

 

[Wade]

Although I feed dytiscids crickets from time to time, I find they love ordinary fish food flakes just as much. TetraMin doesn't cloud the water at all. Actuall, what they REALLY love is Reptamin turtle sticks!

Wade

 

[Dark Raptor]

Diptera

Ok. Now some Diptera species

I didn't ID that specimen:

Hippoboscidae They are ectoparasites of the large mammals (sometimes they try to attack humans).

Copulating Syrphidae flies. Soon I will be banned for showing too many in flagranti pics

 

[Black Hawk]

i always enjoy seeing your beautiful pix raptor, keep it up

 

[Scythemantis]

Ooh!!! Awesome photo of a "lousefly"...is that your hand? They are such obscure creatures very seldom photographed or even talked about, and my favorite group of flies (along with the so-called "sheep ticks" which are really flies)

 

[Dark Raptor]

hmmmmm... I don't know common english names, so I can't tell you if it is a "lousefly".
Hippoboscidae flies are very irritating. They can land on you, and you don't know anything about that. They are very flat, so it is very difficult to find them and kill them. After landing, they also loose their wings.

My favourite diptera families are Syrphidae and Bombylidae.

 

[Alex S.]

Thanks again for this info.

Yes, I will be able now to give them crickets, my colony is large enough to feed my T's and other invertebrates. I've was giving my dytiscid larvae smaller arthropods, like: Asellus aquaticus and Zygoptera larvae.

Meat is really bad if you wanna feed predatory beetles. I'd like to give my Carabus cancellatus and C. auronitens living preys, but in winter it is hard to find caterpillars and earthworms (and they don't want to eat mealworms).

In the nearest future, I will try to breed some Hydrophilidae beetles. But the problem is that the moust interesting species like Hydrous piceus is now protected in Poland. The funniest thing is that 10 years ago, when rivers were more poluted, it was very common water beetle.

That would be great if you started a breeding project with H. piceus. Hydrophilid aquariums are just awesome to observe. Here in California a similar species, Hydrophilus triangularis (as well as H. insularis), can be quite common during the summer months.

Alex S.

 

[Dark Raptor]

I like genus Hydrous, these specimens are much larger than Dytiscus beetles - with one exception, Dytiscus latissimus, but this one has extinct in almost all Europe (and we don't know why). It is also very difficult to find now large Hydrophilidae species, they are now very rare and some of them are protected by law (since 2003, I think).
If we are talking about water beetles, I also like family Gyrinidae. They've got very interesting behaviour (just look how they are moving in the water, when there are hundrets of them).

 

[Alex S.]

I like genus Hydrous, these specimens are much larger than Dytiscus beetles - with one exception, Dytiscus latissimus, but this one has extinct in almost all Europe (and we don't know why). It is also very difficult to find now large Hydrophilidae species, they are now very rare and some of them are protected by law (since 2003, I think).
If we are talking about water beetles, I also like family Gyrinidae. They've got very interesting behaviour (just look how they are moving in the water, when there are hundrets of them).

That is very unfortunate that Dytiscus latissimus, a beautiful species, as well as some hydrophilids are becoming rare to find in Poland.

The Gyrinidae are a very unique family. Its incredible how fluently they move across the water's surface and never collide with each other. One of the most amazing things about gyrinids, though, is how each compound eye has been modified into two, a ventral portion for looking into the water and a dorsal portion for looking into the air.

Alex S.

 

[Dark Raptor]

One of the most amazing things about gyrinids, though, is how each compound eye has been modified into two, a ventral portion for looking into the water and a dorsal portion for looking into the air.

Yes. It looks incredible, especially if you look on them under microscope. In the nearest future, I will try to take some photos of specimens from my collection.

Just now, you can look here:
http://www.waterbugkey.vcsu.edu/image_uploads/gyrinidae-2-eye_kgr1_15.jpg

 

[Alex S.]

That would be awesome, Dark Raptor. I'll look forward to the photos.

Alex S.

 

[Dark Raptor]

Ok, some of that pics below are not very good (I had problems with digital camera), but enjoy

I didn't ID that specimen (family Gyrinidae)

And I know that all of you love tiger beetles, so here it comes... THE ALIEN!

Ok, ok, it is Cicindela hybrida

 

[Alex S.]

The second photo shows the gyrinid "double-eye" perfectly and C. hybrida pretty much speaks for itself like all cicindelids (beautiful insect). Great photos as usual, Dark Raptor.

Alex S.

 

[Letsgochopping]

Dammit, coolest thread ever! This is so much more fun than paying attention to class.

 

[Dark Raptor]

Ok. I've got more pics from my last photo session.

Prionus coriarius - Cerambycidae (I like them)

Melolontha melolontha - now Melolonthidae

Dermestes lardarius - Dermestidae (who like them?)

Not identified leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae)

Micropeplus sp. - Staphylinidae

Onthophagus - Scarabaeidae

 

[Beardo]

WOW! Those are some AMAZING pics! I really enjoyed this thread.

 

[Dark Raptor]

Who wants to take a closer look

I love to watch them closer and closer and closer...