July field trip
Our July field trip to Dixon Waterfowl Refuge was cancelled due to inclement weather on both Saturday and Sunday. There were 70 mph wind gusts expected at the refuge. We also experienced a significant amount of lightning on Saturday morning. It seemed prudent to...
Insect of the week (July 21, 2025)
Our insect of the week for July 21, 2025 is the spring azure, Celastrina ladon (Cramer, 1780) [LEPIDOPTERA: Lycaenidae]. Yes, I know it is no longer spring, but there are so many insects we could discuss. This insect is found from Alaska and Canada south to isolated...
Insect of the week (July 14, 2025)
Our insect of the week for July 14, 2025 is the hackberry emperor, Asterocampa celtis [LEPIDOPTERA: Nymphalidae]. It gets its name from the hackberry tree (the host plant for the larvae). Fun fact – it is rarely spotted visiting flowers (which is relatively rare...
Insect of the week (July 7, 2025)
Our insect of the week for July 7, 2025 is Helophilus fasciatus (Walker, 1849), the narrow-headed marsh fly [DIPTERA: Syrphidae]. Adults of most members of this family are also called hover flies as they can appear to remain mostly motionless when visiting a flower....
Peoria approximella (a moth named in New York for Peoria, IL). Photo of Michigan specimen courtesy Jim Vargo (used with permission).