About our research
Contact
Paul Marek
Department of Entomology
Virginia Tech (MC0319)
Price Hall, Room 216A
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
email: pmarek@vt.eduTags
- Apheloria
- Appalachia
- Appalachioria
- arthropods
- beetle
- biodiversity
- bioluminescent
- Brachoria
- Brachycybe
- California
- centipede
- Costa Rica
- cyanide
- decomposer
- fieldwork
- Illacme plenipes
- laboratory
- Lepidoptera
- millipede
- mimicry
- Motyxia
- Mozambique
- Nannaria
- Narceus
- photography
- tarantula
- Vietnam
- Virginia
- wasps
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Recent Posts
Tag Archives: Virginia
In the field: Clinch Mountain, Virginia
Chaetaspis albus Bollman, 1887 from Clinch Mountain, Virginia Last Monday, we traveled to Mendota, Virginia to search for the millipede Rhysodesmus restans Hoffman, 1998. The species is one of two Appalachian representatives of the genus, and otherwise known from the … Continue reading
Mediterranean recluse spider
Loxosceles rufescens (Dufour, 1820), the Mediterranean recluse spider Last month, I found this spider in Seitz Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech where we house the Virginia Tech Insect Collection. At first glance, I thought it was a Brown … Continue reading
Cedar glade mimic millipede
Cedar glade mimic millipede This millipede is the species Brachoria cedra Keeton, 1959 from the The Cedars Natural Area Preserve in Lee County, Virginia. The Cedars Preserve is a wonderful limestone glade habitat, and it gets its name from the … Continue reading
Weird beetle larva
Larva of the Net-winged beetle, Caenia dimidiata (Fabricius, 1801) This is the larva of Caenia dimidiata, a Net-winged beetle of the family Lycidae. The top image shows the dorsum (back) of the beetle, and the bottom is the venter (underside). … Continue reading
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Tagged Appalachia, arthropods, beetle, biodiversity, Virginia
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Collecting millipedes on Brush Mountain
(left to right) Paul Marek, Jackson Means, Katy Lawler, Nina Zegler and Elizabeth Francis On Friday, we collected millipedes on Brush Mountain near Blacksburg, Virginia. We found the genera Narceus, Pseudopolydesmus, Apheloria, Rudiloria, and Nannaria. Other fascinating discoveries included several … Continue reading
Pinwheel of millipedes
A quarter pinwheel of millipedes of the species Brachycybe lecontii Wood, 1864 A murder of crows, a murmuration of starlings…a pinwheel of millipedes? Last week, Dr. Matt Kasson, his student Cameron, and I went on an expedition to find the … Continue reading
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Tagged Appalachia, Brachycybe, decomposer, millipede, Virginia
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National Moth Week 2014
Spanish moon moth, Graellsia isabellae (Graëlls, 1849). D. Descouens CC BY-SA 3.0 Join entomologists from Virginia Tech and celebrate National Moth Week! Come out to the campus of VPI and discover insect biodiversity and nighttime nature. We’ll be across the … Continue reading
Armored scale
Gloomy scale (Melanaspis tenebricosa), an armored scale in the family Diaspididae Eric Day, Insect ID Lab Manager @ Virginia Tech, kindly shared these wonderful gloomy scales with us one day during Insect Biology Lab. This picture shows two female scales … Continue reading
New lab @ Virginia Tech!
Apheloria virginiensis corrugata Brush Mountain (Montgomery County, VA) This particular millipede oozes cyanide to deter predators Just a few months ago, I moved to the mountains of Appalachia and beautiful Blacksburg, Virginia to start research and teaching at Virginia Tech … Continue reading
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Tagged Apheloria, Appalachia, arthropods, biodiversity, cyanide, laboratory, millipede, Virginia
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