Tiger Beetles (family Cicindelidae) are a pretty spiffy family of beetles; some are green, some brown to maroon, some have patterns (which can be variable within a species) and some don’t, and the ghost tiger beetle is, well, ghostly. They have long legs and similar shapes. There about 2,600 species worldwide; more than 100 in North America. They typically like semi-bare, open habitats with loose/sandy soils.
The Osmoderma are Hermit Flower beetles in the scarab family Scarabaeidae, a family that includes rhinoceros, dung, fig, June beetles, and more. Adult Osmoderma beetles (from the Greek osme – smell, and derma – skin) are sap feeders and their larvae are found in the center of dead/dying hardwood trees.
Cecropia, Promethea, Polyphemus and Luna moths are members of the Giant Silk Moth family, Saturnidae, and some are giants indeed, with wingspreads measuring 4” to 6”. Northern species tend to have a single brood per year, while their Southern brethren may have two or three.
The order Lepidoptera (“scaled wings”) is a large one, with almost 175,000 species globally. Overall, around 80% of Lepidopterans are moths; there are 20,000-plus species of Lepidoptera in North America, and only about 700 of those are butterflies.
Today we celebrate two American fruit flies that are sunflower specialists, the Sunflower Maggot Fly and the Sunflower Seed Maggot (“maggot” is simply a specific term for a fly larva), one of which has become an unwelcome immigrant to the Old World.
What Are Nematodes? They’re not insects or spiders or millipedes or anything with legs. Not earthworms or leeches or anything with segments. They belong to the Phylum Nematoda/Nemata (from the Ancient Greek nema, for thread and eides for species); they are Roundworms.
The BugLady thinks it’s a Ragweed Leaf Beetle (Zygogramma suturalis), if not, it’s a Calligrapha bidenticola, the two species are “easily distinguished” by a good look at the tarsal claws and at the color of the folded, ventral edge of the elytra. Both are found from the Great Plains to the Atlantic and both have similar food preferences. There are about 100 species in the genus Zygogramma, but only a dozen or so live north of the Rio Grande.
Entomophagy simply refers to the use of insects by humans as food. Used broadly, the term includes spiders and millipedes, but it does not include invertebrates like crayfish that are already part of our cuisine. Eggs, larvae, pupae and adults may be used, depending on the species.
“Bugs without Bios” are critters that, while undoubtedly worthy, are barely on the radar in either on-line or print references. But, they contribute to their communities and have their own places in the Web of Life. What these three have in common is their (admittedly very limited) work as biological control agents.
Moths, often inscrutable to the BugLady, are contributing members of the ecosystems they occupy. Caterpillars impact their food plants in sometimes devastating ways; adults are often listed as flower pollinators; and both stages provide protein for their predators.