Meadow grasshoppers (Chorthippus curtipennis) are the only members of their genus in the Nearctic ecozone (North and South America). Their habitat is listed as “tall grass in damp areas” from Alaska and Canada, and throughout most of the Lower 48 except for the far Southeastern states. They reside in periaquatic environments, damp edge situations that transition readily from aquatic to terrestrial and back,
Shadow Darners (Aeshna umbrosa) live throughout most of North America (except the very southern edges of the U.S. and a few Rocky Mountain states), and their range stretches well north into the boreal forests of Canada. They’re found in a variety of wetlands, from the still waters of bogs, pools, and ditches, to slow streams.
The fourth Annual chorus of “The Twelve Bugs of Christmas,” the BugLady offers a Bakers’ Dozen of Bug Portraits that were taken this year but are unlikely to appear in future BOTWs because their stories have been told in past BOTWs (hence, the links, for BugFans who want to know “The Rest of the Story”).
‘Tis the Season for conifers to come indoors, so here are two beetles and a primitive wasp whose larvae make their living chewing on assorted evergreens.
Predictably, the Dogbane Leaf Beetle lives and feeds on dogbane (a close relative of milkweed) and on milkweed, too, in edges, open woods, waste spaces, prairies and grasslands over the eastern two-thirds of North America.
Winter Crane Flies perch inside the mouths of caves, mines, hollow trees, and decaying logs in cool/temperate climates. Many species of WCFs overwinter as adults in sheltered nooks and crannies and are abroad in the chilly (but not freezing) air of early spring and late fall—even during mid-winter thaws, when they may be seen walking on snow.
There are 13 species of Datana moths in North America; some are associated with specific host plants like nut trees, sumacs, or azaleas, but the Yellow Necked Datana Moth is more of a generalist feeder. Its menu includes basswood, apple, oak, birch, willow, elm, blueberry, and others.
Sand wasps are (as are most wasps and bees) solitary wasps, found in habitats with loose or sandy soil. While they are not social insects like honeybees, ants, and some hornets are, they will tolerate other wasps nesting nearby.
Cattail Borer Moths are a half-dozen or so species in the genus Bellura in eastern North America, a continuum of very closely-related, yet distinct, species that differ little in appearance or genetically.
Their semi-aquatic larvae feed on/in leaves and stems of emergent aquatic plants like cattails, arrowhead, pickerelweed, water hyacinth, bur reeds, water lilies, and even skunk cabbage.
Multicolored Asian Ladybugs (Harmonia axyridis) need no introduction—they’ve been around for a century (especially for the last 30 years). Introduced over the years, they became common in the Midwest about 15 years ago, in the Northeast 20 years ago, and in the Northwest 25 years ago, and its numbers have grown considerably beyond abundant.