Category Archives: Invertebrate Zoology

Coastal Tiger Beetle

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Jeremy Sell

Coastal tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Ellipsoptera hamata) inhabit the shores of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to southern Texas. Adults can be found from April through December but are most common in June. Their striking coloration and patterning, narrow thoraxes, … Continue reading →

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Random Insect: Tiger bee fly

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

This summer I have been noticing quite a few of these distinct large flies hanging out around my house in southeast Michigan. At first glance I thought they were in the horse fly family (Tabanidae) but they are actually in the bee … Continue reading →

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The Great Salt Lake, Utah

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Beyond the Great Lakes that surround my native Michigan, the next largest lake in the United States is the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. Although the lakes of both states share similarly impressive surface areas they are incredibly different in … Continue reading →

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Random Insect: Short-tailed Ichneumon Wasp

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Ichneumon wasps are perhaps the largest animal family on the planet, made up of between 60,000 and 100,000 different species. Approximately 5,000 to 8,000 can be found in North America, and of these eleven are of the genus shown here … Continue reading →

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Random Insect: Scarites Ground Beetle

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Of the nearly 3,000 known species of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) that inhabit North America, seven of them are members of the genus Scarites. These insects can be found in lawns, gardens, and fields throughout the spring and summer. They are relatively large and grow … Continue reading →

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Random Insect: Spring Azure

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Found in woodlands throughout much of eastern North America, spring azures (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Celastrina ladon) are rather eye-catching little butterflies. Relatively small in size, it is easy to overlook these insects when they are resting. The simple black-and-white pattern on … Continue reading →

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Random Insect: Tachinid Flies

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

There are over 150,000 described species of flies (Diptera) in the world, making them one of the most diverse animal orders on the planet. Although they are divided into over 160 families, a full seven percent of all known fly species … Continue reading →

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Three Days in the Pyrenees of Spain: Part 3

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Re-energized from our day of relaxation in the peaceful Pyrenees, my wife and I spent day three further exploring the mountainous countryside of northern Spain. From our hotel near Janovas we drove west and north on N-260 toward Parque Nacional de Ordesa … Continue reading →

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Random Insect: Winter stonefly

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Although I’ve written about winter stoneflies (Plecoptera: Taeniopterygidae) once or twice before, the other day I came across an individual that represented the earliest one I had ever seen. On February 27 I was visiting my dad on his farm … Continue reading →

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2015 Countdown: 20 Favorite Wildlife Photos

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

I have to admit, I think 2014 was the high-water mark of my wildlife photography. A diverse array of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that best-represent North America adorned that post, and it was one of my proudest achievements. While … Continue reading →

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Tidepooling in the Gulf of California

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

The Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez) is one of the most biologically diverse marine environments on earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Known to some as “the world’s aquarium,” this sea is home to a … Continue reading →

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Olympic National Park

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

It seems impossible to summarize the diversity of Olympic National Park in one photo. Spanning over 1441 square miles (3732 square km) in northwestern Washington, this park encompasses some of the most varied terrain in the entire US National Park … Continue reading →

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Random Hydrozoan: Billions of purple sailors washed up on Pacific beaches

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

This past weekend my wife and I spent a few days exploring the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.  One of the more interesting discoveries we made involved innumerable blue marine invertebrates (Anthomedusae: Porpitidae: Vellela vellela) that had washed up on the … Continue reading →

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The Least-Visited National Parks in America’s Lower 48 (and why you should visit them) Part 2

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

Last week I presented “The Least-Visited National Parks in America’s Lower 48 (and why you should visit them).” I later realized that most people focus on the “most” or “least” of something, and that often leaves out the “next most” … Continue reading →

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2014 Countdown: 20 Favorite Wildlife Photos

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Jeremy Sell

In the long and proud tradition of year-end countdowns, I thought I’d mark the end of 2014 with a few of my own. This first series is “20 Favorite Wildlife Photos.” Out of all the wildlife I managed to photograph this year, … Continue reading →

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Plant-Insect Interaction: Flower crab spider on a common tansy

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Jeremy Sell

Of the approximately 130 species of crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae) found in North America, only about 20 are known to regularly inhabit flowers. These ambush predators wait patiently for pollinating insects to move close and then grab them with their long front legs. … Continue reading →

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Random Cephalopod: Caribbean reef squid

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Jeremy Sell

Caribbean reef squid (Teuthida: Loliginidae: Sepioteuthis sepioidea) are often mistaken for cuttlefish because of their physical appearance. Most squid are elongated and have relatively short fins along the tips of their arrow-shaped bodies. Like cuttlefish, however, these squid have fins … Continue reading →

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Pacific banana slug

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Jeremy Sell

Pacific banana slugs (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Arionidae: Ariolimax columbianus) are one of the more impressive organisms to be found in the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest. Inhabiting coastal conifer woodlands from southern Alaska to central California, these animals reach their highest concentration among the wet … Continue reading →

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Random Insect: Tiger moth larva

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Jeremy Sell

Last week I found a number of these tiger moth larvae (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) crawling around on the ground at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. They were at an elevation of about 7000 feet in a pinion-juniper woodland … Continue reading →

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Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Jeremy Sell

The arid plains of west Texas may be the last place that would evoke images of a marine environment, yet two hours east of El Paso you can find just that. Guadalupe Mountains National Park preserves one of the best … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Culture, Ecology, Geology, Invertebrate Zoology, National Parks, Paleoecology, Paleontology, Vertebrate Zoology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments