Black Blow fly
Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady has been stewing about this one for a long time. The flies appear on cue, on mild days in March and April (which they can do because they overwinter as adults). She takes their pictures, gets …
Bug of the Week
Small Blue Butterflies
Greetings, BugFans, The BugLady has been enjoying the recent “tropical” temperatures (in the high 40’s) and her thoughts have been turning to butterflies. Someone asked her recently what butterflies might be aloft as spring approaches. Along with the Mourning Cloaks …
Olympia Marble Butterfly
Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady met this butterfly on a trip to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge one fine, spring day when the bird’s foot violets were in bloom and the interrupted fern …
Western Conifer Seed Bug
Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, February 28 to March 4 is National Invasive Species Awareness Week. The word “invasive” is often used interchangeably with the words “alien,” “exotic,” “non-native,” and “introduced,” but they are not …
Seaside Grasshopper
Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady found this grasshopper nymph in the dry sand zone of a Lake Michigan beach about 25 years ago (apologies – she’s never learned the secret handshake of making …
Striped Fishing Spider
Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, When the BugLady was on Riveredge’s excellent floating pier in the Milwaukee River last spring, she looked over and saw two, spectacular Striped fishing spiders on rocks above the waterline. …
Spiketail Dragonflies
Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, What better time to write about dragonflies than in the depths of winter? The BugLady hasn’t officially spotted a spiketail. She knows where they live, and once, maybe, saw a …
Bugs in the News XII
Note: All links below go to external sites. Greetings BugFans, The Bugs in the News file is bursting at the seams again. Smithsonian magazine’s Daily Newsletter, the source of many of the news items in her file, is a great …
Gulf Fritillary – a Snowbird Special
Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, First of all, it’s a stunning butterfly https://bugguide.net/node/view/1734606/bgimage https://bugguide.net/node/view/1926994/bgimage (the BugLady’s picture doesn’t do it justice – the original slide, taken in Texas, was fine, but the scanned slide, not …
Bugs without Bios XVII
Note: All links below go to external sites. Greetings, BugFans, The “Bugs without Bios” series features a bunch of lovely insects that need to hire a PR firm – they fly happily below the radar, and little is written about …