Bug of the Week

Note: All links below go to external sites. Greetings, BugFans, The BugLady stood on a boardwalk in a wetland for about half an hour trying to photograph this amazing wasp as it dodged through thickets of sedges, ferns, and orchids, …

Note: All links below go to external sites. Greetings, BugFans, The BugLady was on a wetland walk years ago when someone asked the leader “Why do pitcher plants grow here?” His answer, simple and elegant, “Because they can.” Indeed, there …

Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady has been out looking for bugs as the summer winds down; her dragonfly and butterfly surveys have been yielding fewer and fewer species these days. It has been …

The BugLady had a visitor at her front door the other day – a Two-spotted tree cricket. When they think of tree crickets, most people picture a delicate, flat, green member of the genus Oecanthus. Oecanthus tree crickets, with a …

Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady was poking around in a wetland toward the end of May when the Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) was in bloom. As she photographed its flower, a syrphid fly or two buzzed in. Any flower shot is …

Howdy, BugFans, This one’s dedicated to BugFan John – it was an honor. The BugLady has been enjoying an abundance of bumble bees on the prairie recently, despite the fact that, along with the start of the tree cricket chorus, …

Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady’s excursions onto the prairie are always enhanced by the sight of the almost-monarch-sized (2 ½”-3 ½” wingspan) Great Spangled Fritillaries sailing along among the flowers. They come by their names honestly – great and spangled indeed …

Greetings, BugFans, The BugLady has been having too much fun recently, taking pictures, so she dusted off this episode from November, 2012 and added some new words and new pictures. For years, the BugLady has been amassing shots of big, …

Howdy, BugFans, BugFan Marjie sent some “what-is-it?” pictures recently, of a lunker moth perched on one of her outbuildings. The BugLady didn’t need to hit the books to ID this one, it’s been on her “Most Wanted” list ever since …

Greetings, BugFans, The BugLady’s first thought when she glanced at this beetle was that it was a Swamp milkweed leaf beetle (which, for perching purposes, doesn’t restrict itself to swamp milkweed). Note to self – always look twice. Although their …