Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Scorpionflies Everywhere

I look forward to seeing scorpionflies every fall, but this year they were particularly abundant here in Austin. I was able to escape the lab and photograph both males and females in flight and perching. It was interesting to watch as males defended and fought over a dead grasshopper. They would release pheromones that in turn attracted females.

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About Me

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John is Curator of Entomology at the University of Texas at Austin. Kendra is a Professor at St. Edwards University in Austin. John has focused on dragonflies and damselflies in his career. He has two books Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-central United States and The Damselflies of Texas. He is currently working on the Dragonflies of Texas. John and Kendra are also currently both working on revising the Peterson Field Guide to Insects of North America. We have had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Latin America, Africa and other parts of the world where we enjoy taking photos of pretty much anything that will allow us to capture its image. We are lucky enough to be able to teach students about the amazing biodiversity we see and to travel and photograph together.