beetles
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Beetlemania
Beetle-finding partially funded by you… *** “The gun is our Moloch. We sacrifice children to him daily,” wrote Gary Wills after Sandy Hook in 2012. Still heartbreakingly, tragically true, only more so. Firearms are the leading cause of death of American children. This is a savage republic with more guns than people, a nation held…
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Roof Crow
A Fish Crow, identified by its vocalizations, patrolling neighboring roofs. For bugs. Crunchy snacks. I believe the prey here is a Common Green June Beetle. Seemed to already dead up there. Crow was scavenging and found several tidbits. Flashbacks: Two years ago, Laughing Gulls were swarming over a bunch of these same beetles at Bush…
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Eggs & Memories
Slug eggs! I think. Quite small. I didn’t notice them at first, as I was photographing this beetle under a log. Some beetles are shy. Only later did I see the spheres in the photograph. I’ve been delving into the archives to see what else has turned up in early Aprils past: 2018: Brooklyn Kestrels!…
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Nine-Spotted Lady Beetles
Do you remember when the Flatbush Gardener released Nine-spotted Lady Beetle larvae in his native meadow garden? Coccinella novemnotata is the New York State insect, but it is almost non-existent now in the state. In fact, the species is hardly to be found anywhere in the east. Cornell’s Lost Ladybug Project has been working to…
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Serious Moonlight
As part of the Macaulay Honors College Bioblitz in Green-Wood this weekend, I got to go inside the cemetery after dark. Under a gravid Moon, Chimney Swifts scoured the air. A trio of ultraviolet moth stations were set up around the Crescent and Dell Waters. After sunset, two Common Nighthawks flew into view amidst the…
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Fireflies!
Fireflies retreat during the day, tucking themselves out of the way. The common Photinus seems to prefer the underside of leaves. Not sure which species this is, but it’s a tree-hugger. There were fourteen of them on this part of an old oak’s trunk. Fireflies are another family of insects that are in decline. The…
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Various Insects
Polished Lady Beetle. The gloss on these things! You can see the trees overhead reflected in the elytra*.Red-banded Leafhopper. You must get close to this little one to see this wild pattern.Invasive European Wool Carder Bee. They hover very much like flies and are quite territorial. All over now, they were first detected in New…
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Insects Update
A couple of American Snouts. Um, yes, that’s their rather descriptive common name. Libytheana carinenta is a lot more common south and west — I’ve seen them before in Texas. Their larval food plant is hackberry. There were three mature hackberries above this understory. What an illustration of the relationship between plant and animal! I…
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Summer
You never know what you’ll see out there. Sure, the frying days of summer make it hard to enjoy the brute sun and humidity, but on Saturday we had a respite from the heat tsunami. So off we wandered down to Bush Terminal Park, where lo and behold! Two amazing (and concurrent) sights/sounds. 1.…
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More Adalia bipunctata
This spring, I’ve spotted Two-spotted Ladybugs all over the place in Brooklyn. Down the street. In nearby Green-Wood Cemetery. In Greenpoint. And most recently inside my apartment! The beetle was on the inside of a window. I captured it by maneuvering a stiff postcard under it — that is, getting it to walk onto…
Backyard and Beyond 