New Cards Available

©2023 Karen Richards

They’re done! I’ve been working on a deck of playing cards for the last two or three years. All 54 insects (56 if you count the praying mantis on the back and the beetle on the bonus card) were photographed at Mount Pisgah Arboretum near Eugene, Oregon. Each card includes an interesting fact or two and the scientific name of the creature.

So far, they’re available to buy at Mount Pisgah and a local True Value store. They’re also on a square site here. *Update in May, 2024: The cards are also available at Tsunami Books, Radar Toys, the Eugene Science Center, and Down to Earth.

©2023 Karen Richards

Meanwhile, I’ve continued to see new and intriguing insects recently. Above is the beetle I featured in my last post. I’ve since learned it’s a Gambrinus genus click beetle. If you search for “Gambrinus,” you’ll find a Czech beer, named for a European King known to be a brewer. Is there something kingly or yeasty about this beetle?

©2023 Karen Richards

We travelled to southern Oregon last week, and I found this rather large and long-snouted weevil. I need to ask the folks at BugGuide.net to help with an i.d., but it looks to me like it might be a Yucca Weevil, a species that’s seen in California.

©2023 Karen Richards

It was very friendly. Here it is on my index finger.

It’s insect season–time to get out on a treasure hunt!

Cheers!

Beetle Mania!

©2023 Karen Richards

Yesterday was a gorgeous day to go for an insect treasure hunt. It’s a jackpot day if I can find one insect I’ve never seen before, but there were several yesterday, including two new beetles and one I’ve seen once before but didn’t get a good photo of.

Above is a click beetle with red markings on its abdomen. I don’t have an i.d. yet. It looks a little like the Ampedus genus beetle I saw a couple years ago, but I don’t think it’s the same species. This shot shows you the signature m-shape of a click beetle’s thorax. On the underside of its body, it has a mechanical joint that allows it to snap (with an audible click) and flip back to upright if it’s turtled by a predator.

©2023 Karen Richards

This tiny, blue-tinged beetle was a happy find. As often happens, I didn’t know at the time that it was a relatively rare insect. There were three of them on the same blade of grass–you can see how small they are from my fingertip in the photo. Insects that are tinted blue are nearly impossible to photograph without specialized equipment, so even though these beetles didn’t move much, I didn’t get any prize-winning photos. I’m fairly sure it’s a Anisostena californica, a type of leaf beetle.

©2023 Karen Richards

Tiger Beetles are, generally, fast moving, short-flight taking, sometimes colorful predatory insects. This Omus genus tiger beetle is a predator but otherwise defies those norms. It’s flightless, black, and can move along but not at a sprint. As I was driving, I saw this one crossing a road (they are that big.. about two centimeters) and I stopped the car to run back and get a picture. The common name is Night Stalking Tiger Beetle, and they are mostly active after dark. You can see the impressive jaws, crossing over in front of its mouth. There’s a nice profile of an Omus audouini here.

I have some really fun news that I’ll share next time–it involves a new product I’ve been working on for a couple of years.

Cheers!