Swamp Metalmark populations are in trouble, and the species is listed as rare/endangered in the areas where it is known to live. Why? Its habitat needs are very specific (location, location, location); its caterpillar eats a single, uncommon species of thistle; the adults nectar on only a half-dozen or so flowers; and they don’t stray far from their never-common-and-increasingly-rare habitat.
Hairy Rove Beetles are found during temperate months in woods east of the Mississippi and also across The Pond. There they mostly hide out under stuff—dead bark, rocks, leaf litter, dung and carrion. Most rove beetles are carnivores or scavengers as both adults and larvae, but a few species eat mushrooms and plant materials. The HRB is counted among the insect tools of Forensic Entomologists who determine post-mortem intervals.
The Funnel-web Spiders in the U.S. are 99.9% harmless to people. FwSs resemble wolf spiders. Both groups dress in shades/stripes of gray/brown, but are slimmer than wolf spiders. A male FWS lives to mate, and after mating, dies. The lives of many females are restricted to their webs. After mating, she creates a disc-shaped egg case and lays up to 200 eggs inside. Hiding her egg case in a crevice is her final act before she dies.
The Candy-striped Leafhopper is one spiffy little insect—easily overlooked, but once seen, unforgettable because of its coat(s) of many colors. CSLs lay eggs in plant leaves, and the nymphs hatch in spring and feed on the juices in the new leaves. They practice Incomplete Metamorphosis, with the nymphs completing five molts on the way to a adulthood. Despite the small size of the eggs, nymphs, and adults, they are discovered by parasites and by predators like birds, spiders, and fellow-insects.
The Common Wood Nymphs have a “bouncy” flight. The adults generally feed on non-flower matter like rotting fruit, tree sap, dung and carrion, and the larval food plants are grasses and sedges.
We all know the Gypsy Moth story; it’s the poster child of Invasive Species. Gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar) were imported from Europe to the Boston area in 1868 by French scientist Leopold Trouvelot. M. Trouvelot planned to do a little genetic tinkering to develop a hybrid caterpillar that was hardier than the native silkworms. Some of his breeding stock (inevitably) escaped.
The adult and the larval Oak Timberworm Beetle (OTW) are associated with wood; in fact, their life cycle seems to be carried out mostly within trees. The adults live under the bark of dead/dying/damaged beech, poplar, maple and oak trees where they feed on fungi, wood-eating insects, and liquid/sap exuded by the wood. Adults are attracted to wounds in bark where sap is oozing.
When we stare at Jumping Spiders (JSs), they stare straight back through 8 more-or-less forward-looking eyes. And we get plenty of chances to stare at them, because jumping spiders are very common outdoors and are not averse to coming indoors. JSs don’t spin webs to capture their prey; when they spot a potential meal, they jump. JSs will pounce any invertebrate they can catch. But some JSs are omnivores, feeding on nectar and pollen as well as on the pollinators.
Skimmers make up the largest family of dragonflies, with more than 100 species in North America. Many come with arresting colors and/or patterns on both wings and body. Their flight is rapid and eccentric, and they may brake and hover. Like all dragonflies, both the adults and naiads are unapologetic carnivores. Today’s trio—the Four-spotted Skimmer, the Blue Dasher, and the Slaty Skimmer, show some of the diversity of the skimmers.
Arctic skippers are not restricted to North America or to the Arctic. They are sub-Arctic, circumpolar/circumboreal, found in northern North America, northern and central Asia and northern Europe. Suitable habitat is low, cool, damp meadows and wooded edges, glades, and trails with sun-sprinkled clearings. Adults eat nectar from wild iris, wild geranium, and some other blue flowers plus a few species of bog plants.