Bugs in the News VI
The BugLady’s “Bugs in the News” file is overflowing again, so it’s time to share. Thanks, as always, to those who send links to interesting stuff.
Bug of the Week
Spotless Antlion – a Tale in Three Parts
The BugLady has a wooden pier across the top of the dune that protects her from Lake Michigan. One day, at the end of June, she looked down and had an “Oh, Duh!!!” moment when it finally registered that the little pits in the sand at the top of the dune were the handiwork of a fascinating insect called a doodlebug or antlion.
Gray Field Slug
It has been almost 11 years since we last considered slugs (time flies!). The Gray Field/Garden Slug, one of about a dozen slug species in Wisconsin, is a European slug that’s described as a “synanthrope” – a species of plant or animal that lives in habitats modified by humans and that benefits from human association. It likes gardens, agricultural fields, roadsides, parks, and greenhouses.
Bugs without Bios XIII
Another celebration of (regrettably) anonymous bugs. There are in the neighborhood of 100,000 insect species in North America, but not everyone has a biographer. In this episode, we will cover Heraeraeus Plebejus, Zenodosus Sanguineus, and the Ironweed Borer Moth.
Azure Bluet
Even in a group of damselflies that are called bluets, the Azure Bluet is an amazing color! Bluets are damselflies in the Narrow-winged/Pond Damselfly family Coenagrionidae, which also includes the dancers, forktails and sprites.
Speed-dating the Spiders – Variegated Spider
The BugLady found this striking spider at Riveredge Nature Center one early summer day. What it lacks in size (it’s less than ½”), it surely makes up for in beauty (thanks for the ID, BugFan Mike). There’s not a lot of information out there about the Variegated spider (Sergiolus capulatus). Only one source gave it a common name, but most of the other species in its family don’t have common names, either.
Horned Passalus (Bess) Beetle
The BugLady has been wanting to do an episode about Bess beetles for a long time, but she didn’t have a picture of one (many thanks to BugFans Tom and Joe for sharing). Why Bess beetles? Because they exhibit what’s called “pre-social behavior,” and they vocalize like crazy, and they have lots of names, and then there’s the phoresy. The Insects of Duke University website calls them “one of the most delightful discoveries one can make upon overturning logs.”
Short-winged Bunchgrass Locust Revisited
Back in the summer of 2009, the BugLady found a spectacular grasshopper in the UWM Field Station prairie. It was a Short-winged Bunchgrass Locust/Grasshopper, also known as the Short-winged Toothpick Grasshopper, and she issued a special Bonus Bug to celebrate it. This is a revision of that post, with some new information.
Rusty-patched Bumble Bee
The summer of 2018 saw an encouraging number of sightings of Rusty-patched bumble bees in southeastern Wisconsin – encouraging because the Rusty-patched bumble bee is on the Federal Endangered Species list, and also because there seem to be a growing number of people who are aware of the bee and are looking for it. We depend on bumble bees for a variety of ecosystem services, and they are considered by some to be a “keystone species”.
Northern Metalmark Butterfly
Northern Metalmarks are subtly beautiful, with patterns of silver/metal/rust on dark wings. NMs like open/dappled stream edges and meadows near woodlands with shale, limestone or serpentine rock barrens or outcroppings close by. Their historical range is believed to have been much larger. Multiple factors have led to their decline, and it’s mostly a familiar chorus.