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.
Rove Beetles make their living hunting springtails, mites, aphids, and other tiny invertebrates along the marsh and stream edges they inhabit. Whether Stenus is eating the plant tissue or going after another invertebrate feeding there.
The Cottony Maple Scale is found on quite a list of woody plants, from forest trees to fruit trees to shrubs to grapevines. At least 47 species have been documented.
Mini-moths a diverse bunch. Many of them are diurnal (though several of today’s moths appeared under the BugLady’s front porch light), and the larvae of many species specialize in a single or a limited number of host plant species (the group includes some plant and fiber pests). In this episode, the Orange-Headed Monopis, Speckled Xylesthia, Bidens Borer Moth, Goldenrod Gall Moth, Cream-Edged/Cream Bordered Dichomeris, and the Four-O-Clock Moth are featured.
Originally from Asia, the Emerald Ash Borer beetle was first discovered in the Detroit, MI area in 2002, but it had probably hitched a ride into this country as much as a decade earlier. Its strong flight typically allows it to increase its range by a mile or two per year, but it doesn’t have to depend on its wings to travel, since humans have been doing the heavy lifting for it.
Lappet Moth caterpillars are generalist feeders, found on members of the willow/poplar, rose, ash, oak, birch, and buckthorn families. Their Tent caterpillar kin can be destructive on a variety of hardwoods, but there are no red flags about Lappet Moth caterpillars from any of the Extension, forestry or exterminator sites.
The Woolly Bear du jour is the ultra-familiar rust-and-black-banded caterpillar of the Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella). The caterpillar has its own names—the generic Woolly Bear, the Black-ended Bear, and the Banded Woolly Bear.
The Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) is found throughout the U.S., into Canada, and south of the border well into Mexico. Black Saddlebags also have a presence on the Hawai’ian and the Caribbean Islands. They choose fish-free still/stagnant/very slow-moving water with lots of vegetation for their nurseries and will oviposit in roadside ditches.
Milkweed Bugs of one kind or another are found on milkweeds across the U.S. and into southern Canada, and they’re most common in the Southeast. MBs are reported to sip nectar and to feed on non-milkweed species when milkweeds are scarce; SMBs are known to eat insects that they find on milkweeds, including the occasional monarch caterpillar (there’s that caveat).