Broad-tipped Conehead - Neoconocephalus triops

 I realize I haven't done any posts on Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, crickets, katydids) yet. Well, Yesterday I found a nice one. It is a Neoconocephalus triops, also known as a Broad-tipped Conehead. The creature:

 






Found this creature on a walkway, one without many food items, and a lot of pesticides. It has somehow made it, and I'm keeping it as a pet. I've Provided it with a large mesh container, some bread (for food) and some paper towels for catching droppings. The individual is a female, as shown by the prescence of an ovipositor.

Note to reader: You do NOT want to get bit by one of these. See those jaws? Those things closed on my skin once. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brachyponera chinensis

Image
 As winter comes and the temperature drops to the 30's here in Richmond, there is still invertebrate life  to be seen. Among these are springtails, centipedes, millipedes, and ants. I've been collecting lots of ants recently, because I've mostly just been finding colones wherever I look.   The species I wanted to highlight in this post (I'll probably do multiple today) is Brachyponera chinensis . It is the first Ponerine ant I've ever seen.  Brachyponera chinensis, lateral Brachyponera chinensis, dorsal   Throughout its rather expansive range, B. chinensis is going to be the largest Ponerine in the area. I've seen the species in Chesterfield, where I go to school. The above specimen was collected at my school (8706 Quaker Lane, Bon Air, Chesterfield, VA). This ant is rather small, measuring in at 3 - 4 mm.  I've found this species under sizeable logs. I'm aiming to get some photos of the habitat, and will upload them later.  They live in large col...
Read more

'American Blue-black Spider Wasp' - Anoplius americanus

Image
The subject of this post is one amazing species of spider wasp. It is one of the punier ones, however it is nonetheless striking. It's called Anoplius americanus, and it is characterized by the four orange semi-circular spots on its abdomen: This pic shows 2, there are 2 more on the other side.  The specimen I collected (shown above) was caught at the same goldenrod as I found the C. bipunctata on. This specimen is a female, I can tell by the stinger.   Now, these things have to have prey to paralyze, being parasitic. You can probably tell by the name that the prey must be a spider; however, it gets really specific, with certain spider wasps paralyzing only 1 species, genus, or family. A. americanus takes as prey members of the wolf spider family, Lycosidae. These wasps can be parasitized by Ceropales bipunctata. How that works I won't go into here, but you should look at my post on that species (where I go into it in detail). At the field I keep mentioning in posts (and ...
Read more

Ponerini in the City: Hypoponera opacior

Image
 I usually think of members of the tribe Ponerini as nesting in wood, in the suburbs. Recently, however, I've found a species that nests in the city sometimes. It's Hypoponera opacior, and it is a rather small ant.   Ponerines, in general, can be distinguished from most other ants by the sleek, cylndrical body, and often fast serpentine movements. The genus and species we are looking at today is distinguishable by it's small size, and the petiole being smooth. It's often found under wood, in wood, or in dirt under rocks and concrete.  I've found this species nesting by my house, and in Byrd park. It isn't something I usually find in cities, as they usually like more undisturbed habitats. Ants are the most diverse in nesting habitats, though, so I'm not that surprised.  In terms of diet, this species eats springtails and other small soft-bodied insects. They can scavenge bigger prey such as crickets and soft-bodied beetles. 
Read more