Alder Gall Buprestid

Greetings, BugFans, The BugLady has mentioned before that she has several “nemesis bugs” – insects whose photographs are inevitably out of focus. Fireflies, for some reason, are one of those groups. So, when she saw this small (1/3”) beetle on a leaf …

Say’s Trig

Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady has always wanted to see a trig, because – what an interesting name for an insect (a name, it turns out, that’s a shortened version of its family, Trigonidiidae). Trigs, members of the grasshopper/cricket/katydid order Orthoptera, are …

Squash Lady Beetle

Howdy, BugFans, Typically, when insects like flies, bees and wasps, beetles, butterflies and moths, and a few others – insects with Complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa/resting-changing stage, adult) – mature, they not only take on a new form, but they …

Summer Sights – and Sounds

Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady took to the trails this summer as much as her shiny, new knee and the oppressive heat and humidity allowed (her preferred maximum temperature is 72 degrees. The gods didn’t cooperate). Here are some of the bugs she …

Spot-winged Glider Dragonfly

Howdy, BugFans, There has been a paucity of dragonflies and damselflies on the BugLady’s landscapes this season (and they’re urgently needed to eat mosquitoes right now). She has, though, seen more Gliders than usual this summer (or maybe she’s finally developed an …

Beetles without Bios

Howdy, BugFans, The Long-horned beetle family Cerambycidae is a large family that contains some spectacular beetles Elderberry Borer – Desmocerus palliatus – BugGuide.Net, Hippopsis lemniscata – BugGuide.Net, Pretty bug! – Plinthocoelium suaveolens – BugGuide.Net, Tim Burton’s Longhorn Beetle – Rosalia funebris …

Elm Cockscomb and Norway Spruce Galls

Howdy BugFans, It’s been a while since we visited the world of galls.  According to the British Plant Gall Society, a gall is “an abnormal growth produced by a plant or other host under the influence of another organism. It …

Blinded Sphinx Moth

Greetings, BugFans, BugFan Cheryl recently shared this picture of a lovely sphinx moth (thanks, Cheryl). Sphinx moths (aka Hawk moths, especially across The Pond) are a group of medium-to-large moths that are sometimes drab, sometimes exquisite, sometimes nocturnal, sometimes diurnal. …

Monarch Miracle

Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady was pecking away at this week’s episode when she had a “Hold the Presses” moment. BugFan Freda sent a series of pictures she had taken of a monarch caterpillar taking its first steps into the world (prefaced …

Speed-dating the Spiders – Bowl and Doily spider

Howdy, BugFans, This small spider is in the Sheetweb spider family Linyphiidae, which we have met before in the form of the Splendid Dwarf spider Bug o’the week – Splendid Dwarf Spider – Riveredge Nature Center. In some parts of …