Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and Quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) have traveled far from their native haunts, the Caspian Sea drainage of western Russia. Although their life histories are similar, the two mussels prefer somewhat different habitats. Zebra mussels like water depths of 6 to 30 feet, and quaggas can live as deep as 400 feet, so zebra mussels grow closer to shore, and quaggas thrive through the deep basins of the Great Lakes.
The Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) was so-named because it has musk glands and it looks like a large rat. They are described as “semiaquatic rodents,” and they’re superbly adapted for life in a wetland. Muskrats are found throughout North America (except Florida), and south a bit into Mexico.
Anglewings are among the last butterflies abroad in fall and the first in spring. Adults spend the winter tucked into spaces called hibernacula—cracks and crevices in rock piles and tree bark or under eaves. Summer and winter adults have somewhat different coloration; the top surface of the hind wing is more uniformly dark in the summer butterflies,
Northern Walkingsticks (Diapheromera femorata), the only species in northern North America, is 3 ½” to 4” in length. Most species in the U.S. are wingless; insect legs are attached to its middle section (thorax). Walkingsticks are terrestrial—if you see a similar critter in the water, it’s an (unrelated) water scorpion.
Brilliant Jumping Spiders, a.k.a. Red and black jumping spiders, can be found from coast to coast but are more common in the eastern half of North America. Creatures of tallgrass prairies and open spaces, these spiders not only sit near the tops of plants, they put their nests and egg sacs there, too.
Here are some “x-flies” that she was able to track down—or stumble upon by accident. Once again, we celebrate the bugs that are neither big enough nor bad enough nor good enough nor flashy enough to inspire study–or even, in many cases, to have been assigned a common name.
The Giant Eastern Crane Fly is one of about 150 species in its family in North America (500 globally), and is one of the largest crane fly-ish species on the continent. It’s found from Minnesota east through southern Canada and south to North Carolina.
The Dogwood Tree Borer’s name is a study in confusion. Despite its common name, its larvae have catholic tastes and are at home on a variety of woody plants including plum, viburnum, willow, mulberry, elm, laurel, dogwood, fruit trees, and blueberry. It can be found from the Atlantic through Kansas and the Dakotas.
Mantises rely on camouflage and stealth to ambush their prey. They are visual hunters and therefore daytime feeders, but males may fly at night, tracking female pheromones. A single ear, located on the thorax, helps them detect bats.
Viceroy butterflies enjoy shrubby and open fields and wet meadows throughout the U.S. They’re less common in the Great Plains, north into Canada and south into central Mexico.