Tag Archives: Alaska

Schtinky Beetle

By Adrian | Published 17 February, 2012

OK, its not Nicrophorus ‘schtinkii’, but rather Nicrophorus investigator. However, in the confines of my white bowl field studio, and perhaps magnified by parabolic reflection, this burying beetle was more than a little on the stinky side of odoriferous. But then, what else can you expect from a beetle that thrives in rotting flesh?

"Burying beetle, Nicrophorus investigator"

This one was perambulating (‘investigatoring‘?) across a path near the shores of the Milk River in southern Alberta, and I gently guided it into a plastic pill container (8 for a dollar, small and handy, I try to have a few in my pockets at all times) and took it back to camp. I gave it the white bowl treatment for these photographs, which show a few key points about Family Silphidae and the Nicrophorus genus. Working from left to right we see an exposed tushie  abdomen with 3 segments visible behind the elytra, which are short, truncate and black marked with orange. There is dense metasternal  pubescence.  The antenna have a club consisting of four segments, and in N. investigator the basal segment is black with the three apical segments orange. The life cycle of burying beetles is fascinating and I will go into that in a future post. For now I just want to point out the mite that is clinging under the head.

"mite on Nicrophorus invstigator"

This specimen had only one hanger-on, but they can often be found with a great deal more. The mites are phoretic, that is, they are only around for the ride. The burying beetles transport the mites to carrion, and the mites feed on the eggs and grubs that are already there. The beetle benefits because the mites are stripping the carcass of what could be competitors for the carrion on which the beetle grubs live.

 

Beetle I.D provided by Guy A. Hanley at BugGuide, with some help from Anderson, R.S. & Peck, S.,1985, The carrion beetles of Canada and Alaska: Coleoptera: Silphidae and Agyrtidae, Insects and Arachnids of Canada Handbook Series, 13, 121 (pdf) Page 94 Figs. 37, 38. showed the base of elytra of Nicrophorus species (dorsal view) N. hybridus and N. investigator, which would otherwise be difficult to distinguish from each other.

For more on burying beetles visit:

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Posted in Alberta, Anatomy, Blog Link, Canada, Coleoptera, Entomology, invertebrates, macro, Phoresy, Silphidae, White Studio | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Bombus in the News

By Adrian D. Thysse | Published 20 August, 2011

David Walter, an entomologist working at the Royal Alberta Museum and operator of the blogs The Home Bug Garden and Macromite, has been featured in the Edmonton Journal. Or, at least , a bee he has recently identified has been featured:

(August 19, 2011) EDMONTON — A buzz is circulating, giving new hope to local bug experts. A species of bumblebee, Bombus moderatus, has been spotted in backyards across Edmonton.

The fuzzy pollinator has a distinctive white bottom, and usually prefers northern and mountainous regions. Although typically found in Banff, northern B.C., the Yukon and Alaska, it was first discovered in Edmonton this summer.

David Walter, a scientist at the Royal Alberta Museum, said he first stumbled upon the species when his friend spotted a bumblebee under his deck.

“He never noticed them before,” Walter said. “I did some research and figured out what it was.”

Walter later saw one flying in his yard.

“I had to see it in my own backyard to believe it,” he said with a laugh.

The fuzzy bee is Bombus moderatus Cresson, the white-tailed bumblebee. The scientist (also fuzzy), Dave, is an acarologist (a scientist whose specialty is mites) of note, and he is an indefatigable namer-and-counter of every living thing that appears in his garden and at his country estate, the Moose Pasture.  Read his blog entry on the white-bottomed Bombus at Bumbling with Bombus: the late lucorum , and read the Edmonton Journal article, Scientists abuzz over arrival of Bombus moderatus species spotted in Edmonton yards. 

For more on bumblebee biology, taxonomy and Bombus moderatus, read Robert Owen’s article, The changing identity and distribution of a bumble bee species known from Alberta for one hundred years at The Centenial Reader.

Posted in Alberta, Apidae, Blog Link, Edmonton, Feature Blogger, garden, Hymenoptera, Summer | Also tagged , , , , , , Leave a comment