Amitermes
A nest of desert termites with workers, a soldier (top center), and pre-reproductives (top right). Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Leptotyphlops dulcis
A Texas blind snake cruises through underground spaces looking for insects to eat. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Sinea
Spiny assasin bug nymph. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Paratrechina longicornis
Larvae and workers in a black crazy ant brood nest. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Black crazy ants carrying pupae in the nest. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Taphroscelidia linearis
A parasitic flat bark beetle, Passandridae. Austin, Texas, USA.
Homaemus proteus
A shield bug feeds on a roadside aster. Austin, Texas, USA.
Eriosoma americanum
A pseudo-gall made by woolly elm aphids. Austin, Texas, USA.
Woolly elm aphids. Austin, Texas, USA.
Desmometopa
A characteristic "M" on the head of these freeloader flies identifies the genus Desmometopa.The flies gather to feed on a honey bee killed by a spider. Austin, Texas, USA.
Mecaphesa with Desmometopa
Freeloader flies (Desmometopa sp., Milichiidae) take advantage of a crab spider's honey bee meal. Austin, Texas, USA.
Sphyrocoris obliquus
Shield bugs (Scutelleridae) are recognized by the giant scutellem expanded to cover nearly the entire abdomen. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Danaus plexippus
A newly-eclosed monarch butterfly expands its wings wihile hagning from the remains of its chrysalis. Austin, Texas, USA.
The chrysalis of a monarch butterfly starts to darken and the wing colors become visible a day before emergence. Austin, Texas, USA.
Chrysalis of a monarch butterfly, mid-pupation. Austin, Texas, USA.
Hippodamia convergens
Convergent ladybird beetle larvae feed on aphids. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Leptogenys elongata
All life stages of the isopod huntress ant: egg, larva, pupa, adult. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Ateuchus histeroides
Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Pseudouroctonus reddelli
The Texas Cave Scorpion was named after pioneering cave biologist James Reddell. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Brochymena arborea
Rough stink bug. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Crematogaster laeviuscula
Acrobat ants tend aphids for honeydew on a live oak shoot. Austin, Texas, USA.
Chrysopidae
Green lacewings lay their eggs on long silk stalks intended to foil surface predators. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.
Cycloneda sanguinea
A spotless lady beetle eats its way through a herd of aphids. Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Texas, USA.