Apis mellifera
Portrait of an early spring honey bee worker, covered in dandelion pollen. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
A busy comb inside a hive of western honey bees, the species most commonly kept for honey and pollination services. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
The three castes (worker, queen, drone) of the western honey bee.
Bombus griseocollis
A bumble bee takes off after working a purple coneflower. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
A native bumble bee visits prairie milkweed. Urbana, Illinois, USA
Tropical beetle specimens
Teaching collection at the University of Illinois.
Megischus bicolor
Silhouetted against the dusk sky, a parasitic crown-of-thorns wasp lays her egg in the trunk of a redbud tree. Her target is probably wood-boring beetles. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Photinus pyralis
A male big dipper firefly signals at dusk in an ascending line. Urbana, Illinois, USA
Fireflies
A 10 minute night exposure in a restored Illinois prairie reveals the signals of several different species of fireflies, each with a unique pattern. Homer Lake, Illinois, USA.
Leptogenys elongata
Portrait of a hunting ant, Leptogenys elongata. Austin, Texas, USA
Keel Billed Toucan
This Keel-Billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) was rehabilated from an injury by Caves Branch Lodge in Armenia, Belize.
Ant-mimic clubionid spider
Paraná, Brazil
Dasymutilla occidentalis
Velvet ant. Sand Ridge State Forest, Illinois, USA.
Cotesia congregata and Manduca sexta
A hornworm rears up when attacked by a parasitic Cotesia congregata wasp. Laboratory animals at the University of Illinois.
Aedes aegypti
The eclosion of a female mosquito. Mosquito larvae and pupae live underwater, but the mature pupal casing spilts on a seam at the air/water boundary, releasing the adult to the atmosphere. Laboratory culture at Rockefeller University.
The eclosion of a female yellow fever mosquito. Mosquito larvae and pupae live underwater, but the mature pupal casing spilts on a seam at the air/water boundary, releasing the adult to the atmosphere. Laboratory culture at Rockefeller University.
Magicicada
A periodical cicada molts into the winged adult form. Panther Creek State Conservation Area, Illinois, USA.
Magicicada cassini
Portrait of a periodical cicada, Magicicada cassini. Panther Creek State Conservation Area, Illinois, USA.
Danaus plexippus - Monarch
Face to face with a monarch caterpillar. Laboratory animal at the University of Kentucky.
Pheidole megacephala
Portrait of a big-headed ant, one of the world's most ecologically damaging invasive species. Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Anoplolepis gracilipes
Yellow crazy ant workers tend aphids for honeydew. Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Antheraea polyphemus
A young polyphemus caterpillar feeds on an oak tree. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Anthomyiidae
A side view of a root-maggot fly shows the right haltere, a flight balancing organ between the flight wing and the hind leg that serves like a gyroscope. Urbana, Illinois USA.
Mystrium camillae
Maliau Basin, Borneo.
Polyrhachis (Hagiomyrma) sp.
Portrait of a golden spiny ant. Queensland Australia.
Eurhopalothrix procera
A rarely-seen predatory Eurhopalothrix worker tends to eggs in the brood nest. Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia.
Morpho peleides - blue morpho
Eggs of the morpho butterfly are every bit as stunning as the adult insect. Green Hills Butterfly Ranch, Cayó District, Belize.
Tenodera sinensis
Portrait of a female Chinese Mantis, an Asian species that has become common in North America following introduction for biological pest control. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
