Saddleback Caterpillar – A Snowbird Special

Note: Most links leave to external sites. Greetings, BugFans, Today’s bug, the extraordinary-looking and aptly-named Saddle-backed caterpillar, is the 5th in our on-going Snowbird Special series about bugs you might see if you decide to tear yourself away from God’s Country …

The 12 (or 13) Bugs of Christmas

Note: All links leave to external sites. Greetings of the Season, BugFans, (13 bugs, because once she’s got her selection down to 13, the BugLady just can’t cut one more!) A Cheery Thought for the Holidays, the average home contains …

Black Zale Moth

Note: Most links leave to external sites. Greetings, BugFans, Zale moths (thank goodness) are not small and grayish (the moth equivalent of LBJ’s – “little brown jobs” – the birding acronym for the sparrow group), and thus they are not destined to languish …

Wildflower Watch – Swamp Milkweed

Note: All the links leave to external site. Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady is already fantasizing about warm, sunny days in a wetland, photographing Swamp milkweed (and dragonflies), because she loves its color, and she loves being in wetlands, and because …

Bugs in the News

Note: All links leave to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, As usual, the BugLady’s “Bugs in the News” folder runneth over, so here’s a collection of articles to chew on. Many come from the wonderful Smithsonian Daily Newsletter, which not only …

The Twelve Bugs of Christmas 2022

Note: Some links leave to external sites. Greetings of the Season, BugFans, Wow! The 10th annual installment of The Twelve (or Thirteen) Bugs of Christmas! The Bugs of Christmas features shots, taken throughout the year, of insects and spiders who …

Bugs at the End of Summer

Note: Some links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, The general rule of thumb is that if you want to find insects, look at flowers. Even though summer is fading, there are still flowers in bloom. Some Liatris/blazing stars …

Lichen Moths

Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady sat on the hawk tower today, watching the start of the fall migration. She was surrounded by the start of the dragonfly migration – there was a big …

Great Blue Skimmer Dragonfly

Note: All links below go to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady was looking for bugs in Kohler-Andrae State Park in late July when a large dragonfly flew across the trail and landed about 12 feet up on some shrubs. …

Straight-toothed sallow moth

Howdy, BugFans, The BugLady found this velvety, deeply maroon caterpillar at the Land Trust’s CESA site on a fine June day. It’s the larva of a Straight-toothed sallow moth (Eupsilia vinulenta) (probably). (Full disclosure – the experts caution us that the …