Blue Egg Blog

Sorry about the lull in posts. The semester is drawing to an end which is always a busy time. This makes it doubly difficult to blog, as I lack both time to write and time to do things worth writing about. Luckily, however, I was able to go exploring in the woods up in Indiana over Thanksgiving break. All around my grandparents house are steep, stream-cut valleys. These areas are forested mostly with hardwoods ranging in size from saplings to giant oaks, though by then all of the leaves had already fallen. here’s a topographic map of the area.

The red dot is the house where I stayed. To the southeast you can see the border of the Morgan Monroe State Forest.

It was a warmer than usual for that time of year, but still cold enough that pretty much every sensible arthropod was holed up under a rock somewhere to wait out the winter. So, I started by searching the streams. The most common inhabitants were little freshwater isopods (relatives of rolly-polies), but small leeches were also present in some slower moving pools.

Leeches!

I also found a hellgramite, an insect deserving of its name. It is the larva of a Dobsonfly, an equally frightening creature. Dobsonflies spend the vast majority of their life, up to three years, underwater. As larvae, they are ambush predators of other aquatic insects. They use their strong jaws to nab passing prey, and can use those same jaws to inflict a painful bite if harassed. Once large enough, the larvae pupate and then emerge as adults which will live only a few days.

While walking in the stream, I stopped to pull apart the layers of green sandstone that lined the banks in the hope of uncovering fossils. I didn’t find any, but I did come across a queen ant that had holed up among the rocks. I collected her in hopes of starting a colony, and brought her back to the house for photographs. I later posted the pictures on bugguide, and learned that she was a Lasius claviger queen. L. claviger is a social parasite of other Lasius species. After the mating flight, she slips into an established nest, kills the queen, and takes her place. That pretty much ruled out starting a colony with her, but I kept her anyway for my collection.

I came up with a new technique to do photos on a white background. I'll have to write about it when I have time.

I also found an established colony of Camponotus americanus, a soil dwelling carpenter ant common across much of the eastern half of North America. The colony was pretty slow due to the cold, and happy to pose for a few pictures in the evening light.

Last but not least, I unearthed a number of Fire Colored Beetle (Dendroides) larvae in a rotten log. These guys are specially adapted to live in the tight space between the wood and bark of rotting trees, as evidenced by their flattened bodies. Their diet is not entirely agreed on, but is though to include rotting wood and fungi, as well as other insects when food becomes scarce.

I brought a few home to rear into adults. I filled five sandwich sized ziplocks with bark from the tree where I found them, placing it so that the undersides were pressed together. I then placed one larvae in each bag, sealed the bags, and set them in rearing boxes, which are just shoeboxes with a jar stuck through the side. This way, when the beetles emerge they will be attracted to the light and end up in the vial where they are easily collected. Of course, I will have to open the bags as that time approaches. Thus far, they seem to be doing well, but none have pupated.

A simple rearing box. These can also be used to separate material collected with a sweep net.