Hesperus baltimorensis

Moved

Moved from Hesperus.

… Rich Kelly, 21 January, 2009 - 11:50am

Hi Rich,

I received your specimen yesterday and have dissected him. Thanks so much for your gift, you packed it really well! It is a specimen of Hesperus baltimorensis, but not a typical one. This is an atypical specimen because the first part of the dorsal abdomen is darkened (appearing blackish in the photo) reddish. This wasn't mentioned in the revision but it matches perfectly otherwise. Bugguide has two specimens photographed like this (Jim's series of Hesperus are baltimorensis as well).

Adam

… Adam Brunke, 21 January, 2009 - 10:21am

Adam - glad to contribute. T

Adam - glad to contribute. Thanks for the ID. Rich

… Rich Kelly, 21 January, 2009 - 11:49am

Moved

Moved from Staphylininae.

… Rich Kelly, 12 January, 2009 - 1:02pm

We can move this to Hesperus

We can move this to Hesperus for now, I'm going to dissect the specimen if its a male to give it a species. Jim's unplaced series is of the same strange color pattern and we might be able to solve this mystery of color as it isn't accounted for in the revision.

Adam

… Adam Brunke, 12 January, 2009 - 8:21am

Interesting

Hi Rich, Hesperus specimens are always interesting.
If you are certain of your 15mm measurement, there is really only one choice: H. ste*hri. This is the largest Hesperus in our area and your photo matches its color pattern. This would also be a new record for New York state if your specimen was in hand. Do you still have the specimen and access to a microscope?
Adam

… Adam Brunke, 8 January, 2009 - 7:29pm

Hi Rich, The things to lo

Hi Rich,

The things to look for would be:

1)The punctures of the head are separated from each other by their own diameters (i.e. how many punctures could you fit in the spaces?? If one then that's steh*ri, if more than one then its not)

2)There should be a smooth area along the middle of the head, in steh*ri it gets muddled at the anterior. In other species it is complete.

3) The first four visible segments of the abdomen should be black on top - it looks this way in your photo but better to confirm on the specimen.

4) On the side of the elytron, there should be long black hairs...if you count 4 of these rather than 3, then it is ste*hri

Rich, would you be interested in donating this specimen to the University of Guelph Insect Collection (Ontario, Canada)? The specimen would be a valuable addition to the collection.

Thanks for making the winter so much more interesting,
Adam Brunke

… Adam Brunke, 9 January, 2009 - 12:17pm

Thanks. I'll look into this

Thanks. I'll look into this tomorrow during our snowstorm.
If it turns out to be the target insect, Guelph can certainly have it.
I got Marshall's big book last year, and have found it a great addition to my natural history library.

… Rich Kelly, 9 January, 2009 - 3:11pm

Hi Adam, Yes, the length is a

Hi Adam, Yes, the length is a measuremnt, not an estiamte. Our friend is resting comfortably in my freezer, and I do have a binocular microscope. What would I need to look at for distinguishing marks? Thanks.
Rich

… Rich Kelly, 9 January, 2009 - 11:55am

gorgeous beast -- dying for a better pic

Staphylininae... can't responsibly go any further, sorry... (BG's Hesperus look pretty good, though)

… v belov, 8 January, 2009 - 4:53pm

ok, thanks for your help.

… Rich Kelly, 8 January, 2009 - 5:34pm