Galls are growths on plants that are reactions to the actions of another organism. In brief, a chemical produced by an immature insect, or by its Mama, causes a plant to grow a characteristically-shaped collection of tissue, called a gall, around the perpetrator. The gall-maker (usually an insect) is subsequently imprisoned inside of the gall, but the gall is full of good things to eat.
Moths (and butterflies too) are in the Order Lepidoptera. A Lepidopteran’s color is in the scales that cover its wings, legs and bodies, and these scales brush off easily when the insects are handled. Of the 12,000+ species of Lepidoptera in North America north of Mexico, only about 700 are butterflies. This episode features two very different moths, the Beautiful Wood Nymph and the Virginia Creeper Sphinx, that share the same food plant, a vine in the grape family called Virginia Creeper.
Moth flies have long antennae and their wings are scale/hair-covered and disproportionately large. They are weak flyers who often lurch about. Moth fly generations are short generations, but new adults are constantly emerging, mating, and laying eggs, so there is a lot of overlap of generations. The larvae of many moth flies are at home in the wet film that lines plumbing pipes and in the traps of drainpipes.
Dermestid Beetles are small (about ¼”), dark, compact, short-legged beetles that often have a covering of scales or hairs. Their larvae are dark, reddish-brown and bristly, and are a bit bigger than their parents. Some of these beetles, especially those that live in domestication are called larder beetles. Thery eat some high-protein dried plants, but their primary targets are stored animal materials like cured bacon and ham, dry pet food and dog biscuits, cheese, cereal, hides, wool carpets, upholstery and clothing.
Fruit Flies “pomace flies,” because the name “Fruit fly” was already bestowed on the peacock fly that causes the goldenrod ball gall and the Mediterranean fruit fly that devastates commercial fruit growing areas. Scientists love FFs because its short life cycle and the super-sized chromosomes in its salivary glands combine to make the species easy to rear in huge numbers (its reproductive success makes bunnies jealous) and easy to do genetic research on.
Red-spotted Purples (RSP) are found in semi-sunny situations like stream and forest edges, woodland paths, and forest openings. In those habitats, adult RSPs feed on sap, rotting fruit, animal dung, and carrion, but they rarely visit flowers. They are seen from around the start of June through the middle of August. Males are very territorial, and they sit sentinel on vegetation, awaiting the appearance of females.
Fleas are very small and are laterally flattened. A flea’s life cycle is also brilliantly fine-tuned for survival. Flea larvae are tiny, blind, legless, wormlike scavengers that develop in dark, humid places like cracks on the floor, animal nests, bedding, etc. There they eat organic matter including dead insects, dandruff, exfoliated skin, shed insect skins, plant material, and flea feces. After a week or two as larvae, they spin silken pupal cases. Fleas spend a week or two as pupae. They may hatch immediately, or they may remain dormant in their pupal cases until they sense the approach of a host
Pseudoscorpions like today’s star, the Book Scorpion, come in both indoor and outdoor models; the species that live outside are found under the cover of bark, leaves and soil. The common House Pseudoscorpion/Book Scorpion is one of the larger models, measuring 0.2″ long. Pseudoscorpions are flat and wedge-shaped, and their color has been described as “rich mahogany. They have 4 pairs of legs, on which they can walk backwards and sideways as well as forwards.
Meal moths tend to be small (maybe ½”), drab, ragged-looking moths. They can be seen flying across the kitchen during any season of the year. Successful? A typical female may lay 350 eggs that will hatch in 4 days into larvae that will feed for 7 to 10 days and then pupate for a week. Their larvae eat stored plant materials including grains, cornmeal, and bird seed. Basically, if humans store it, some Pyralid eats it.
These lovely Tiphiid wasps sipping nectar on goldenrods and other prairie wildflowers and doing a bit of pollinating on the side. Some species of tiphiids have been imported to combat Japanese beetles and other pest scarabs. The female doesn’t bring food to her egg; she brings her egg to food. When the female wasp locates a grub in the ground, she lays an egg on/near it. Some smaller tiphiids actually crawl underground to accomplish this. Although the adults are vegetarians, their offspring are confirmed carnivores.