Mocha anyone?

Back in July of 2008 I found the remains of a dragonfly on the path in Catch the Wind. There was enough of the insect to determine that it was a Mocha Emerald, a dragonfly of small, shady forest streams. I added that ode to the list of dragonflies that could potentially be encountered (alive) here at the Museum. I based the dragonfly’s inclusion to the list on the fact that I found the insect where I did (in CatchRead more

Tumbling Beetles, Odes, and other June Insects

For the past few weeks Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae) have been rummaging through the flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace. Members of this family are small, humpbacked beetles with pointed abdomens that project out beyond the insect’s elytra. The tumblers that I’ve seen all appear uniformly black in color. Species identification can be a head-scratcher and is often dependent upon the number of “ridges” on the hind legs of these beetles. I didn’t get close enough to see the ridges onRead more