Summer Survey 2019

The BugLady hopes that you’ve been getting out on the trail and drinking in the lushness of the summer. Subjects of this summer’s survey include wasps, aphids, syrphids, and katydids.

Bugs in the News V

Thanks to all of you who send links to interesting articles about bugs (there have been a bunch, lately, about the dramatic decline of insect populations). This week we’re going to take a look at a selection of these articles and bugs.

Summer Summary

As the Bug Season winds down, the BugLady would like to celebrate summer by sharing a baker’s dozen of the pictures she’s taken in the past few months.

Water Lily Planehopper (Family Delphacidae)

Water Lily Planehoppers are found in the eastern half of the U.S. (and the species has made a surprise appearance in Hawaii). They like ponds and extremely slow streams where white water lilies grow, and they are also found on the unrelated broad-leaved pondweed. They are found in the eastern half of the U.S. and the species has made a surprise appearance in Hawaii.

Acanalonia Planthoppers (Family Acanaloniidae)

Other than brief biographies of the Two-striped and the Conic/Green Cone-headed Planthopper, not much is known about the life histories of the 20-odd species in the genus Acanalonia north of Mexico. They are found on trees and shrubs east of the Great Plains and hide on plants during the day, camouflaged by color and texture; an AP snugged up against a plant stem looks a lot like a seed pod, leaf, bract, or stipule.

Wall Watching

The BugLady has been stalking invertebrates that hang out on the east wall of the Field Station lab. The wall is painted cinderblock that warms up in the morning and probably keeps some heat as it gets shaded in the afternoon. Grass grows right up to the edge of the building. The BugLady hypothesizes that bugs can enjoy the residual warmth without getting fried by the sun, because she sees some small critters on the north wall but very few on the bright south wall. She found some familiar faces and some new ones—plant-eaters and an array of carnivores that come to collect the herbivores.

Two More Porch Bugs

Just when the BugLady thought that her Front-Porch-Bugs had called it quits (except for the crickets and katydids), she went out one night with the dog and found these two newcomers, the Goldenrod Hooded Owlet and Wolf’s Otiocerus, sitting inches from each other under the porch light.