The Sad Story of a Weevil

.

or "A Good Photography Refresher Tip"

First, The Good News......
I made a nice photograph of a cool weevil while on an insect walk with Laura Veloz,
at the Ft. Worth Nature Center & Refuge. A broad-nosed weevil at that.
At first glance, I tentatively ID'd this as an Ophryastes sp., maybe varius.

Click on the photo for a really close view

Now, The Bad News......
After posting on one of my favorite sites, 'Bug Guide', the ID is now in doubt.
v.belov, a contributing editor of 'Bug Guide', tends to think it may be Epicaerus texanus.

Poor weevil. Now he/she will never be a famous star in an Entomological journal.
Without a proven bloodline or lineage, no acceptance.
You know how picky these Editors are.

The moral to the story, or lesson learned, is.....
Always take several photographs from various angles.
According to v. belov, a plain dorsal photo may have decided the confirmed idenity.

It doesn't cost any more to make twenty shots than one. I was just lazy.
I took 3 shots (all from the same angle) and all looked in focus.

Have you ever done this?
Leave a comment

Troy

Widow Skimmer

CC

The widow skimmer is a beautiful black and steely grey dragonfly with boldly marked wings. The females and young males do not have the white spots on the mid-wing. They are present across most of the US, except at higher altitudes in the Rockies. They may be seen in fields and meadows well away from water.

Widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)

Patience pays off.

I chased this male for about a half-hour with no luck. We were at the Ft. Worth Nature Refuge photographing “stuff” when I saw this nice photo op. He would not let me get closer than about 20’.
We birded the area for about an hour, then started to the car, when he flew up in front of me and landed on the nice grass stem about 3’ away and patiently waited for me to finish photographing him. Not only that, but he posed against a distant out-of-focus background.

Camera Critters is here. Come along; you’ll see some unusual stuff.
Join in; we would like to see your critters. Click here to join.

Troy and Martha

Beetles playing Rugby – Camera Critters

It’s a Scrum mates, let’s have a Go !

Flower Beetles (Subfamily Cetoniinae)
Prickly Pear Blossom
(Click on the photo to get close to the Scrum)

To learn more about Flower Beetles, Click here.

For those that don’t know what a scrum is, Click here.
For those that don’t know what Rugby is, forget it, don’t bother.

Camera Critters is here. Come along; you’ll see some unusual stuff.
Join in; We would like to see your critters. Click here to join.

Sorry about the poor attempt at an Australian accent in the Sub-Title.

Troy