25 July 2012
Posted by Callan Bentley
Here’s your macrobug of the week: a male dobsonfly we encountered last weekend, while making houseguests some pizza. What a beast!
Envelope for scale:
Adding a finger (not too close) for scale:
A better perspective on the envelope, with a shirt button thrown in too:
Lola looks intimidated as she contemplates this insect through the screen door:
Houseguest from Nevada says, “You have some big bugs in Virginia!”
Callan Bentley is Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. For his work on this blog, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers recognized him with the James Shea Award. He has also won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia, and the Biggs Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America. In previous years, Callan served as a contributing editor at EARTH magazine, President of the Geological Society of Washington and President the Geo2YC division of NAGT.
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I just saw one of these at my own house the other day, had no idea what it was. Huge and freaky pincher things in the front!