Goldenrod Watch – Act III

Howdy, BugFans, The places where the BugLady walks are yellow now – goldenrods (Solidago sp.) are at their peak on the prairie (so are brown-eyed Susans, sneezeweed, and wild sunflowers). She’s been poking around in the goldenrod, an exercise she recommends, …

Bugs in the News XVII

Howdy BugFans, The BugLady is deep into putting together a newsletter she curates, so here are someone else’s words for a change. If it’s a bit ant-heavy, well, there are a lot of ants. BUT – a little housekeeping before …

Chinese Mystery Snail

Howdy, BugFans, When the BugLady was growing up near Brown Deer, Wisconsin, close to the Milwaukee River, she heard a story of some 1930’s entrepreneurs who imported Roman or Edible snails (Helix pomatia) with an eye toward some home-grown escargot. …

Black Thorn-footed Mason Wasp

Howdy, BugFans, Heads up – We’re venturing into the weeds taxonomically in this episode, but we’ll take it slow, and the BugLady is confident that BugFans can handle it.  The BugLady was enjoying the prairie flowers at Riveredge one day …

Mid-summer Stories

Howdy, BugFans, It’s August!!! Or, to put it another way, it’s August – yikes! Halfway(ish) through summer. Here are some of the sights that the BugLady has enjoyed so far. Many of these have already starred in a BOTW of their very own – …

Dun Skipper Butterflies

Greetings, BugFans, Seasoned BugFans know that the BugLady’s relationship with skipper butterflies is fraught. These are small, speedy butterflies, most of which are either orange and brown, or brown and orange. Her interactions with skippers always start with the question, “What …

Oaks and Hickories

Greetings, BugFans, Back into the wonderful world of plants, in this case, of trees that are super-important to insects, as well as to other wildlife – and to us.  Oaks are our national tree (who knew??!!), and because of their …

Bronze Jumping Spider

Howdy, BugFans, On a walk at Spruce Lake Bog in May, the BugLady spied this Bronze jumping spider (Eris militaris, in the family Salticidae) (thanks, Mike) sitting on an unfolding alder leaf. He spied her, gave her a firm look and …

A Tale of Two Robber Flies

Greetings, BugFans, The BugLady was walking at Riveredge Nature Center one day in mid-June when she spied a small Robber fly perched on a leaf, hanging onto its prey. When she put the picture up on the monitor, she recognized the …

Spring Summary

Howdy, BugFans, Now that summer has arrived with a vengeance, it’s time to take a quick look back at some spring bug experiences. BUMBLE BEE ON PINK LADY’S SLIPPER – A website about Wisconsin’s native orchids lists “naïve bumble bees” …