May 15th, 2007
nemesis
For the past three weeks, I’ve been seeing Six-spotted Tiger Beetles in the garden almost every time I’m outdoors hanging laundry on the line. Sometimes they’re perched on the chunks of pink granite next to the little frog pond. Other times, they zip across my path and land on the ground just ahead of me as I’m walking to or from the clothesline. Despite the frequent appearances, I haven’t been able to snap a photo of them as each time I’ve seen them, I’m carrying an armful of laundry and the camera is indoors. If I venture out in search of them with my camera, they are mysteriously absent. Yesterday, I finally managed to snap a not-so-hot photo of one that flew up to land on the porch steps just ahead of me as I returned from the clothesline (see above). I carefully stepped around it and sneaked into the house to grab my camera, and then returned to get this shot. Of course, as soon as the beetle saw the camera, it took off and flew off across the yard in the direction of some cedar bushes. I guess we could consider this my “nemesis insect” for this season. I usually have a nemesis insect of one kind of another each year — one that I would really like to photograph, but that manages to dodge my camera lens for weeks before I finally get a good photo.
The photo below is of a new insect for me. It’s a very tiny little creature belonging to the family Aradidae, commonly known as Flat Bugs. I found it on the bark of a poplar tree back in the woods. When I first noticed it, I thought it might be some nymphal stage of a Brochymena stink bug, but after a bit more study, I determined that it must be something else as it seemed to have a fully formed set of wings. By its motions, it seemed as though it might be laying eggs, but that’s just a guess. When I returned to the house, I picked up my new copy of the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects, flipped to the True Bugs section, et voilà, there was an image of a small creature that looked just about like mine, captioned as an Aradus. This was the third insect I’ve looked up using the book and although it doesn’t go into species name of every insect (an impossibility), it has pointed me in the right direction in moments. I’m finding that it’s quite a handy little guide. After getting a rough idea of which insect this might be, I checked Stephen Marshall’s Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity which I finally purchased for myself a week ago (I’ve been wanting a copy for awhile now). Sure enough, there were 7 photos of Aradidae bugs. One of them, Aradus crenatus, looks almost identical to the Flat Bug I’d found. It’s always fun to find a new insect, and particularly nice to be able to get a rough ID so easily.
Tags: Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, Cicindela sexguttata, Aradus, Flatbug
May 15th, 2007 at 8:54 am
That shiny, green Six-spotted Tiger beetle is really a beauty. Great that you were finally able to get a shot of it. The Aradus is quite an interesting looking little creature. I wonder how it caught your attention. Was it moving? It looks like it could blend in fairly well with its surroundings, especially since it’s flat.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:32 am
robin – this spring, I’ve been paying particular attention to insects and spiders that wander around on the poplar trees in the woodlot. There’s quite a lot going on there. The Flat Bug was very tiny – almost seemed like a tiny piece of bark or debris. I definitely wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t been doing some insect watching at the time.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Very bizarre detail on that Flatbug – thanks for introducing me to a new species.
May 15th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
First of all, the blog title NEMESIS is perfect! I like it and it clearly defines what’s in your blog. It’s very self-explanatory.
Regarding your pictures, what more can I say except that you were able to capture the true colors of your subjects. Surprisingly, you were able to take the glistening green back of the beetle without missing all the spots. In the second picture, I thought you caught sight of real silver. But the shimmering thing looks so regal that it almost made me feel like I was looking at a silver brooch.
What kind of camera are you using by the way? Did you take those pictures close-up or used some zooming tools in your camera?
May 16th, 2007 at 5:19 am
I have been chasing the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle off and on for a while too but, as you say, they are very camera shy and seem to have knowledge of when one does and does not have a camera. Thanks for the ID!
May 16th, 2007 at 6:13 am
Mark – the Flat Bug is a bit bizarre — and it really is “flat” too. Other than the scalloped edge of the body that gives it a bit of texture and depth, it would be absolutely flat. I really like the way the wings are so neatly folded and resting inside the edge of the scalloped area.
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POPFP – Thanks for commenting on the photographs. I use two different cameras for shooting insect photos – a Nikon CP8800, and a Nikon CP4500. I prefer the CP8800 for photographing large insects, and the CP4500 for small insects and spiders. I shoot all insects from as close as I can get with the camera — usually 1 to 4 inches and don’t do any zooming on them. However, I probably did do a bit of zooming to get the tiger beetle shot up above as I just wanted to get a shot of it before it zoomed off. Hopefully, I’ll get a better chance to get some nice shots of it later this summer. I have photographed these before at other locations, but it would be nice to get some good photos taken right here in my garden.
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OW – Yes, indeed, these and all tiger beetles are very camera shy. They seem to be very bright little insects and good at evading having their photos taken. I have found that, under some circumstances, they are less nervous. I’ve gotten a couple of good shots of these when I’ve been walking along shady forest trails at just about this time of the year. However, when they’re in a sunny place — perched on a “look-out” spot watching for prey, they are just too twitchy and zoom off to another perch as soon as they see me coming near. I guess the funny part is that, as mentioned above, when I’m walking along with an armful of laundry, they zip out and land right in front of me, causing me to have to stop for awhile, or step around them.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Hi! Both bugs are very pretty in their own way, but the second bug just makes me think of a doily! Such a cute “butt ruffle”!
May 16th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Celeste – Isn’t that scalloped edging just a little bizarre. As soon as I saw that, and the way the wings fit within the “ruffle”, I thought — Nope, I’ve never seen one of *these* before!!! (-:
May 16th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Waaaait a minute! Maybe it’s the drug I’m on, but I swear I counted ‘8’ spots on that beetle :0) I just ran into Kenn Kaufmann of field guide renown on the bird trail in Magee Marsh. Swoon :0) I was about to comment that the flat bug looks like a Victorian brooch and saw that POPFP had already said that above! It must be a very tiny bug and I find it so incredible that it carries such a beautiful design around in the rather humdrum environment of tree bark.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
very nice photos…I’m also stalking the tiger beetle. I noticed that if I sit in one place where there are alot of them they seem to get used to me being there.
May 17th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Cathy – Yes, sometimes the Six-spotteds actually have 8 spots. I think they count only the ones along the edge of the elytra. And yes, that Flat Bug is very tiny…so small that I almost missed it. I’ve been trying to pay more attention to very small creatures these days, so I guess that’s bringing a whole new range of creatures into focus. It really is quite neat to find that some of these very tiny beings are so intricate.
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Jimmy – Your strategy is the same one I use to photograph dragonflies. I usually try to find the spot where they like to perch, and then sit or stand very still nearby. It doesn’t take long before they decide to ignore me and return to their perches.