Bug of the Week

Two-banded Petrophila (Family Crambidae)

There are moths whose larvae flirt with the aquatic environment by feeding on/in the stems of emergent aquatic plants, but there is also a small group of small moths whose caterpillars live underwater. Adult Two-banded Petrophila Caterpillars are found near the rivers and streams in eastern North America that their larvae inhabit. The hind wings of adult Petrophila moths have a row of black/metallic spots that make one spider enthusiast theorize that they’re Jumping spider mimics

Eastern Pondhawk (Family Libellulidae)

Eastern Pondhawks are brilliantly green, with dark-tipped abdomens that are decorated by “square,” black spots/bands/chevrons. As they age, males develop a waxy surface layer called pruinosity that hides the green and makes them look blue. Like all dragonflies, EPs are carnivorous. Naiads “sprawl” on pond bottoms or climb on submerged vegetation looking for invertebrates to eat. Adults hunt from the ground or from perches, snatching out of the air a variety of flying insects including butterflies and moths, damselflies, and other dragonflies.

The 12 Bugs of Christmas

In lieu of the usual bug biography, the BugLady presents The Twelve Bugs of Christmas—a tribute to a dozen insects (a Baker’s Dozen, really) that were photographed this year but not featured in a BOTW. Let the singing commence.

Big Bee Flies (Family Bombyliidae)

Bee Flies are big-eyed, with long legs, and long wings that are often strongly-patterned and are held out to the sides like a “V” when at rest. Because they hover, they’re mistaken for Flower-Hover-Syrphid flies. Like Syrphid flies they are bee mimics. Adults are diurnal, feed blamelessly on pollen and nectar from flowers, but most BF larvae are external parasites/parasitoids on the larvae of ground-nesting insects.

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Family Chrysomelidae)

Members of the leaf beetle family Chrysomelidae (more than 1,700 species north of Mexico) are often named after the plants they specialize on. The Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetles prefer Swamp milkweed, but they’re found on other milkweeds as well. Multiple eggs are laid under milkweed leaves; multiple larvae hatch out and feed together on milkweed leaves for a while before going their separate ways. Adults also feed on milkweed, enjoying both the leaves and the flowers.

Daddy Longlegs Revisited (Family Phalangiidae)

Daddy Longlegs or Harvestman are predators, eating insect eggs, small insects like aphids and springtails and critters as large as snails, earthworms, and other DLLs. A few species scavenge dead or decaying matter. Lacking the venomous fangs of true spiders, the Harvestman hunts for soft-bodied prey which it squeezes with its pincers and then stuffs into its mouth.

Corn Eaters

Adult Dingy Cutworm Moths fly at night throughout summer and fall, resting and nectaring on flowers in the aster/daisy/composite family. DCM eggs are laid by late August on clovers, dock, members of the aster family, and a number of agricultural crops like alfalfa, tobacco, wheat and corn. Picture-Winged Flies, on the other hand, prefer their corn on the cob.

Blister Beetles (Family Meloidae)

Blister Beetles belong in the beetle family Meloidae, a family that contains about 400 species in North America and 3,000 species worldwide. Here in the Eastern side of the country, these mostly diurnal, medium-sized, wide-headed, long-legged, cylindrical beetles are often striped, spotted or drab in color. Their soft elytra (wing covers) are curved around the length of the abdomen but may not extend to its tip.