Annual potluck
We help our annual picnic/ potluck on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at Prairie Lane picnic area in Jubilee State Park (near Kickapoo, Illinois). 22 members and guests were present. Alex with Lex-tra Crispy provided the chicken and vegetarian options. Many brought side...
Insect of the week (September 21, 2026)
Our insect of the week for September 21, 2026 is Caloptilia rhoifoliella, the sumac leafblotch miner. [LEPIDOPTERA: Gracillariidae] In keeping with our focus on insects which feed on poison ivy, yes, this is one of the host plants preferred by the caterpillar. As the...
Insect of the week (September 14, 2026)
Our insect of the week for September 14, 2026 is another species dependent upon the poison ivy plant. This is another species of moth, Marathyssa basalis [LEPIDOPTERA: Euteliidae]. This species was described by Francis Walker (an English entomologist) in 1865. Fun...
Insect of the week (September 7, 2026)
Since we focused on an insect that consumes poison ivy last week, I thought it appropriate to focus on another unrelated insect which also relies on poison ivy as food while in the caterpillar stages of its life. In this case, I refer to the species Dichorda iridaria,...
Peoria approximella (a moth named in New York for Peoria, IL). Photo of Michigan specimen courtesy Jim Vargo (used with permission).