Bugs in the News VII
There’s a wild and wonderful world of bugs out there. Here are some interesting reports from around the globe.
Bug of the Week
Ailanthus Webworm Moth
It’s always a treat to find one of these jewel-like insects nectaring, usually on goldenrod. They are day-flying moths, though their tendency to sit with wings wrapped around their bodies makes them look like beetles, and their bright colors make them wasp-like in flight. Ailanthus webworm moths (Atteva aurea) (“aurea” means “golden”) are in the family Attevidae, the tropical ermine moths. And tropical they are, except for the AWM (Ailanthus webworm moth, not “angry white men”), which has shed some of its southern proclivities.
September Scenes
The leaves are starting to fall here in God’s Country, the birds are moving, and as of yesterday it’s officially autumn (Yikes!). But there are still some bugs out there – like wildflowers, some species of insects bloom in the spring, some in the summer, and others in the fall. The imperative to reproduce is strong as the days get shorter; most insects live for about a calendar year, mainly in their immature stages, with a short-but-productive adult stage. Most leave behind eggs or pupae or partly-grown offspring to weather the winter.
Adventures at Forest Beach
Forest Beach Migratory Preserve is a repurposed golf course north of Port Washington (WI), owned by the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust. It’s mainly grassland, with woods and some brushy areas, and it was designed to serve as a stopover/refueling “bed and breakfast” for migrating birds. Water hazards were turned into small ponds, more ponds were dug, and tall grass prairie plants were planted.
Psorophora Ciliata aka The Shaggy-Legged Gallinipper
Remember the clouds of little floodplain mosquitoes in September of 2018? Floodplain mosquitoes take advantage of pools left by seasonal rain, and August of 2018 was soggy (the BugLady collected more than seven inches of rain in her rain gauge that month). Populations of most dragonflies were in their fall decline, so no help from that quarter, and outdoor events in September involved lots of swatting. The BugLady guessed the genus, and an entomologist confirmed that her mosquito is “consistent in appearance with Psorophora ciliata.“
The Fiery Skipper
The Fiery Skipper is one of a pair of distinctive skippers that was featured in a BOTW in 2013. It’s an uncommon migrant to Wisconsin, but the BugLady saw 11 Fiery Skippers decorating the vervain flowers at Waubedonia Park recently, and they seem to be having a good year statewide, so she decided they deserve a more complete biography.
Aster Treehopper
Aster treehoppers (Publilia concava) are found in the eastern half of North America. The BugLady usually sees them on goldenrods, but they can also be found on several other species in the Aster family, and the (winged) adults may move to woody plants.
A Species on the March
In mid-July, the BugLady ran into BugFan Freda. Freda introduced her to the Slender Bluet and the Lilypad Forktail, two rare (in Wisconsin) damselflies. A week later, at the north end of the Cedarburg Bog, The BugLady photographed a damselfly that turned out to be a mature female Lilypad Forktail.
Stilt-legged fly
The BugLady had a “Stop the Presses” moment as she was writing this week’s BOTW. When she hiked down to the mailbox, she saw a fly that she had never seen before, from a family she’s never seen before, skating over the top of a leaf, and she bumped it to the head of the line.
Once upon a Fungus
When the BugLady was walking in the woods at Riveredge the other day, she found some plate-sized, stocky, very aromatic, gilled mushrooms growing out of the ground. Then, she saw something moving on the rim of an “over-the-hill” fungus.