New York
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Mole Cricket
Jumpin’ creepers! A mole cricket: the European Mole Cricket Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa? iNaturalist seems to think so. Found on the NY/CT border recently. There is a Northern Mole Cricket (Neocurtilla hexadactyla) found in Massachusetts and, belying its name, further south, but there are no Westchester Co. iNaturalist reports for it. Is this the song that Henry David Thoreau referred…
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Backswimmer
Notonectidae family backswimmer, so named because they swim upside-down. They pack a bite — more of a tube-like harpoon’s jab — belying their size. These bugs go after prey bigger than themselves. Some species hunt tadpoles and fish, others other insects. I understand their bite stings like the dickens. Their hid legs are like oars…
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Caterpillars
In case I spoiled your breakfast with the carnivorous devouring of an adult Monarch’s brain, here’s the famous caterpillar stage of Danaus plexippus. Spotted in Virginia recently.Although the Yellow Bear caterpillar is named Spilosoma virginica, this one was spotted in Westerchester Co., NY. It’s a Tribble! And it looks like it might have some mites…
Backyard and Beyond 