... sometimes beetles find me ...

My friend and coworker, Al, knowing of my interest in coleoptera ("bugs"), encountered this in the parking lot and presented it to me this morning ...

Dynastes granti Horn, 1871
Male

He had no idea what it was and had never seen anything like it before.

What is perplexing is that the surrounding area is Highland Mesquite/Grasslands at 5200 feet elevation - no suitable hardwood host(s) within sight. So what explains it's presence?

Speculation suggests that perhaps it blew in from nearby mountain ranges upon an errant monsoonal cell as the monsoon patterns this season have been extremely erratic and unpredictable.

Is it possible that Dynastes would utilize decomposed Mesquite root crowns?

As a side note, Al also found a Chrysina gloriosa LeConte in the same area in late July. Another unlikely occurrence that has me wondering ...

Thanks, Al.

Save the scenic Santa Rita Mountains

Courtesy of
http://www.scenicsantaritas.org/home

Africa's Terrible Hairy Fly: Rediscovered

Scientists have rediscovered a bizarre flightless species of fly, Mormotomyia hirsuta. The 1 cm-long insect had been collected only twice before in 1933 and 1948. It's only known habitat is a bat-filled cleft on an isolated rock formation in Kenya's Ukazi Hills where it breeds in bat feces.

More photos and reading from the BBC News Science article may be found here.

Rosalia alpina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Rosalia alpina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Cerambycidae
Subfamily: Cerambycinae
Tribe: Rosalini. Distribution: Europe - extirpated in parts, listed as endangered or protected in others.

Original illustration approximately 6X8-inches. Winsor & Newton watercolors and Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils in an A3 watercolor Moleskine Folio.


This is part of a watercolor illustration that I posted here.

Eye Candy: Jewel Beetles and Photonic Crystals

Some Coleoptera are referred to as "Jewel Beetles" because of the diverse array of iridescent colors they display. One method in which this is accomplished is the use of photonic crystals (Wikipedia: "optical nanostructures that are designed to affect the motion of photons." uh-huh, yea, okay ...) particularly by some weevils of the genus Pachyrhynchus.


These tropical beetles produce a three-dimensional photonic crystalline structure that are arranged hexagonally - similar to how crystals are arranged in the gemstone Opal. It is suggested that the metallic patterns probably evolved to make the beetles recognizable to other members of it's species in the diminished light under the forest canopy (sorry, doesn't quite sound right to me. Dare I bring up polarized light again?).


Under scanning electron microscopy, the refractive visible layer (surface layer) of the structure appears as a thin plate of chitin perforated by a series of circular holes arranged along a two-dimensional triangular lattice (Welch, et al., 2007).


Males of Hoplia coerulea Drury are known for their spectacular bluish-violet iridescence. This blue coloration is caused by it's squamal (scales) photonic structure that creates a refractive index from utilizing a mix of air and chitin.


The use of photonic crystals in nature for coloration may be found in many other invertebrates, birds, and fish. The subject is more complex than the brief comments I have offered here.

Literature cited and internet sources
Welch, V., et al. 2007. Orange reflection from a three-dimensional photonic crystal in the scales of the weevil Pachyrrhynchus congestus pavonius (Curculionidae). Physical Review E. 75, 041919.

Available at:
http://perso.fundp.ac.be/~jpvigner/press/BioPhotonics/PRE_Pachyrrhynchus.pdf

Pachyrhynchus images courtesy of Estan Cabigas. Hoplia image courtesy of Association Roussillonnaise D' Entomologie.

... For Frank ....

The late Frank Hovore, friend and colleague, collecting Titanus giganteus in Ecuador and for whom I posthumously named a new species of Rain Beetle ~Pleocoma hovorei La Rue, 2007.

~ Watercolor Beetles ~

Here is an update of my progress on the beetle composition that I have posted elements of. I feel, for the most part, it is nearing completion but still lacks a few more beetles and other details. You may notice that the red longhorn beetle (Rosalia formosa) lacks the right antenna. I have temporarily omitted it until the remaining beetles are in place.

As a reminder, this is done in an A3 (16.5 X 12-inch, 297 X 420mm) watercolor Moleskine Folio using W&N Cotman WCs and Faber-Castell Polychromos CPs.

1. Postcards from the right side of the brain ...

Cochise Stronghold, Dragoon Mountains, AZ, was once the refuge of the great Apache Chief, Cochise, and his people ...

** I recommend clicking on an image for a larger view**

My Scientific Publications ...

1986. A new species of Cotalpa from Western Arizona (Coleoptera:Scarabaeidae:Rutelinae).
The Coleopterists' Bulletin 40(2):145-147.

1990. New California distribution records for two species of Cicindela Linnaeus (Coleoptera:Cicindelidae). Cicindela 22(4):49-52.

1992. Food plant associations for Paracotalpa and Phobetus LeConte from southern California (Coleoptera:Scarabaeidae:Rutelinae & Melolonthinae).
The Coleopterists’ Bulletin 46(1):28.

1994. Tiger beetles of the Algodones Sand Dunes, Imperial County, California (Coleoptera:Cicindelidae) Cicindela 26(1):1-8.

1994. Additional distribution records for Cicindela (Cicindelidia) nigrocoerulea nigrocoerulea in California (Coleoptera:Cicindelidae)
Cicindela 26(2):25-26.

1998. Notes on Polyphylla Harris with a description of a new species. (Coleoptera:Scarabaeidae:Melolonthinae:Melolonthini).
Insecta Mundi 12(1/2):23-37. .pdf available

2007. A new species of Pleocoma LeConte from California
(Coleoptera:Scarabaeoidea:Pleocomidae).
The Coleopterists' Bulletin 61(2):149-158. .pdf available

(2016). In press
Natural history, ecology, and conservation of the genus Polyphylla Harris, 1841.
1. New species from the southwestern United States and Baja California, Mexico, with notes on distribution and synonomy (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae).