Wandering Gliders are considered the most widely-distributed dragonfly species, and because of that have been featured on postage stamps around the globe. Found on 6/7 of the earth’s continents, they occur between 40 degrees north and 40 degrees south latitudes, in areas where there is seasonal rainfall. They are found near temporary, even brackish, ponds and very slow streams, and flying over grasslands. Their range in Wisconsin is erratic.
Grapevine Beetles are nocturnal, oval, chunky, possessed of sturdy front legs that are widened and toothed for digging, and plates at the ends of their antennae. The color of GBs varies from pale broom-straw yellow to rich saffron. There’s a spot on each side of the thorax, and three on the side of each elytron. Look for GBs east of the Great Plains, in woodlands, thickets, vineyards and gardens—places where rotting wood/stumps are found near grape vines.
The Carrot Wasp adults are usually found eating nectar and pollen on flowers in the carrot family (including Wild Parsnip). The long, arched abdomen is similar to that of an Ichneumon wasp, but CWs have a noticeable neck, and the tibias on its back legs are enlarged. There are 15 species in the genus in North America, five of those in the east, and they look pretty much alike—mostly black with varying orange bands on the gaster.
Baby bugs are not sweet and cuddly like, say, Golden Retriever puppies, but they have their own charm. Here are a few of the less-seen prairie babies.
Lichen Moths have it all! Toxins, aposematism, attitude, thoracic tympana and ultrasonic emanations, sensory setae, fecal flicking, mimicry, and even cannibalism! What an insect! LMs have some interesting sensory abilities, both as caterpillars and as adults. Like typical adult tiger moths, LMs have “ears” located on their thorax. They also make a variety of ultrasonic noises with organs on their thorax.
Scolops Bugs are a slow-moving bunch of plant-eaters that rarely reach “pest” status. Look for Harmostes Bugs in fields filled with their food plants—grasses and wildflowers, especially members of the Aster family; they are infrequent nectar feeders. Stilt Bugs are found in brushy grasslands. Most stilt bugs are plant eaters, and some are specialists—not just any plant will do; they apparently like plants with sticky hairs.
The Wedge-shaped Beetle (Macrosiagon limbata) doesn’t seem to have a common name. There are 11 species of Macrosiagon north of the Rio Grande. The extremely ephemeral adult females hang out on flowers, where they deposit their eggs and where they may do a little nectar feeding. Like tachinid flies, WSBs lay their eggs on flowers in hopes that their newly-hatched young will intersect with another insect and hop on board.
Various Geometer moths are found in forests and openings throughout North America, from Canada through Panama. They come to lights at night, but FCGs are also seen by day. Pyralid moths include many small species with varied lifestyles, but the ones that draw the most attention are those that have an impact on human food supplies. There are about 6,000 species of Pyralids worldwide, and one-tenth of them are native to North America.
Swamp Darners are impressive insects—large, broad-headed, brown/maroon abdomens ringed with thin, green lines. They range over eastern North America, more-or-less from Maine through Michigan to East Texas. They are one of approximately 15 species of dragonflies (out of about 400) that migrate, and they move down the Atlantic Coast in large numbers, sometimes as far as Mexico and the Bahamas. But they are very rare in Wisconsin; rare enough to be labeled a species of Special Concern.
The White-Spotted Sawyer Beetles are not favorites of the lumber industry because their wood-boring habits decrease usable wood, stain it, and open the door for decomposers. Hermit Flower Beetles are found around the edges of woodlands. Like the WSS, the HFB’s larvae are found in the wood of dead trees—the eggs are laid in damp, rotting wood and within that wood the large, whitish larvae feed for three years. WSSs and HFBs are found from coast to coast across the northern half of North America.