beetles
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Some Southwestern Insects
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti). I’ve only identified a couple of the following, so holler if you know any of them. Mexican Amberwing (Perithemis intensa). Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor).This katydid was dropped in front of me by a surprised Western Tanager. I think the katydid was surprised too, if not in shock.Like the chimney-shaped ant colony…
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British Bugs
A selection of the insects spotted on my Dartmoor walk, most of which I can’t identify, so if you know ’em, holler below in the comments.This one was easy to look up. (And be sure to click on the image to get a closer look at the wings.) There are only two damselfly species with…
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High Gloss Lady
My “Year of the Ladybug” continues. Or, should I say, Year of the Aphids? Since it is the aphids, those little buggers, who have ushered in the ladies. This glossy creature is the Polished Lady Beetle, Cycloneda munda, a species new to me.Also known commonly as the Red Lady Beetle and the Immaculate — that…
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Brooklyn Bridge Park
It’s the middle of September, but Brooklyn Bridge Park is still hopping. And flitting. And flirting. And… but see below. Noted yesterday, most often spotted first by my eagle, or should I say bug? -eyed companions:Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, a small butterfly that looks like it could be going either way.Baby Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis.…
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Burying Beetles
Burying beetles, also called sexton beetles, after the church employee traditionally in charge of the congregation’s corpses, need carrion. They eat dead mammals and birds, as well as the fly larvae that feed off carrion, but most importantly they bury it with their own eggs, giving their young something to eat. Pictured above are two…
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Empire of the Beetle
“I’m here to protect the trees from the beetle,” said the academic. The logger laughed and said that was bullshit. “The trees and the beetles have been in cahoots for millions of years.”In Empire of the Beetle, Andrew Nikiforuk tells the tale of the destruction caused by the disruption of that cahoot-ness, as tiny beetles,…
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Two-Spotted in Brooklyn
One more species of lady beetle spotted in Brooklyn Bridge Park, on the catalpa trees, whose big leaves are sticky with aphid honeydew. This is the Two-Spotted lady beetle (Adalia bipunctata). There were several of them, so there must have been a recent pupation. This species is native to North American and Europe, making it…
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Ladybugs: Aphid-Eaters
Checker Spot ladybug (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata) munching on an aphid wing. Laval-stage lady beetles are also great aphid-devourers. This is why a number of different species of lady bugs have been introduced into North America over the years: to attack the real destruction aphids can cause. The Checker Spots were one such introduction.The Multi-colored Asian lady…
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Willow, willow
Turns out there are several small, shiny blue-black beetles out there that devour leaves. The Blue or Cobalt Milkweed beetle, the Grape Flea beetle, and the imported Willow Leaf Beetle, which is what I think this is. Plagiodera versicolor.These shiny critters were not on willow leaves, as far as I could tell, but along the…
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7 Spotted, 13 Spotted
Pupating larva, I assume of the Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata), adults of which who were all around Four Sparrow Marsh: A species introduced from Europe to eat aphids. Another commercially available aphid eater is the Convergent Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens), which is exported out of California:Like the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, this is also…
Backyard and Beyond 