Blue Blow Fly
Howdy BugFans, It’s gotten cold here in God’s Country – abruptly – with overnight lows in the high teens/low twenties, and daytime highs below freezing. The water in the birdbath froze solid for a few nights in a row before the …
bugs
Little Yellow Butterfly
Howdy, BugFans, When the BugLady was on the trail recently, a small, yellow butterfly flew by, just above the ground. It was noticeably smaller than the ubiquitous Orange and Clouded Sulphurs, but it zipped out of sight pretty fast. Mike Reese, …
Zebra Jumping Spider
Greetings, BugFans, The BugLady was moseying around her cottage, photographing doodlebug digs, when she spotted this very small (maybe ¼”) jumping spider with its prey. It was on a sunny, south-facing wall – right where it was supposed to be! Zebra …
Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp
Howdy, BugFans, A while back, BugFan Laurel shared this picture of a wasp that was photographed by her friend, Joel, who gave the BugLady permission to use it. Thanks, Joel. This is one large wasp. In an article about it on the …
The Clover Leaf Weevil and Other Tales
Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady has been playing outside, and she had trouble coming in long enough to write these stories. Story #1 – The Clover Leaf Weevil. The BugLady took a few “throw-away shots” of this little (3/8” long) beetle as …
Rosinweed Moth
Howdy, BugFans, First off, today’s vocabulary word is “microlep” (short for “microlepidoptera”). What’s a microlep? The (somewhat squishy) term applies to moths with a wingspan under 20mm (about ¾”). It’s not a taxonomic or a lifestyle designation – there are microleps …
Stirrings of Summer
Greetings, BugFans Here are some of the bugs that the BugLady found in June, which was, overall, a hot and wet month (7.97” of rain at the BugLady’s cottage). Lizzard Beetle – the BugLady doesn’t know why these striking beetles …
Slices of Spring
Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady and her camera have been out scouring the uplands and wetlands for insects that will sit still long enough to have their portrait made. Many of today’s bugs have starred in their own BOTWs over the years, …
Closed for June 4 – A Potpourri of Invertebrates
Howdy, BugFans, June is waning, and pretty soon the BugLady will have to stop eating chocolates and watching soaps and get up off the couch and start writing. Actually, with a way warmer and wetter June than normal (more than 7” …
Closed for June 3 – More Pollinators
Howdy, BugFans, A pollinator is an animal (not all pollinators are insects) that visits flowers and carries their pollen to other flowers. Bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, and wasps are all practitioners to some degree. Hummingbirds pollinate a few flowers (like …