Oct 14, 2024 | Weekly insect
Insect of the week (October 14, 2024) is the northern mole cricket – Neocurtilla hexadactyla (Perty, 1832). This native Orthopteran species is placed in the family Gryllotalpidae. The specimen in this photograph was collected by our former member, Gordon Adams,...
Oct 7, 2024 | Weekly insect
Insect of the week (October 7, 2024) is Cotesia congregata. These are the wasp parasites that Na’im brought along with the caterpillar to our entomology pot luck on September 28. This wasp species is a member of the Hymenopteran family Bracondiae. It was...
Sep 30, 2024 | Weekly insect
As summer draws to a close (the vernal equinox wasn’t that long ago, was it), I thought it appropriate to focus on another butterfly. This time, Euptoieta claudia, the variegated fritillary. This species was described by Cramer in 1775. It is known from...
Sep 23, 2024 | Weekly insect
We return to the beetles again this week and focus on the family Brentidae. Specifically, the beetle Arrhenodes minutus. Common name is oak timberworm. Larvae often tunnel in oak and elm trees and this species can be a pest. This insect is a known vector of the...
Sep 16, 2024 | Weekly insect
This week, we turn our attention to the insect order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Our featured insect is Zerene cesonia, the dogface sulphur butterfly. It is classified in the family Pieridae. This butterfly is often found along roadsides. Adults...
Sep 9, 2024 | Weekly insect
Yet another beetle this week. We now examine the family Cerambycidae. Tetraopes tetrophthalmus is our featured insect. It is commonly called the red milkweed beetle and is often found on milkweed plants. If you know a smattering of Greek, you know both the...
Sep 2, 2024 | Weekly insect
Continuing with our beetle theme (they are exceedingly diverse with nearly 400,000 described species), we focus on Melanactes piceus. This species was described by de Geer in 1774. That is the same year he described our previous insect of the week (yes, same...
Aug 26, 2024 | Weekly insect
We return to the beetles this week (order Coleoptera) and focus on the goldenrod soldier beetle, Chauliognathus pensylvanicus. No, that is not a typo – the spelling of that area with 1 “n” was common when this species was described by de Geer in...
Aug 19, 2024 | Weekly insect
This week, we focus on the insect order Hemiptera. In this case, the “big-eyed toad bug” – Gelastocoris oculatus. This insect was described by Fabricius in 1798. It is classified in the family Gelastocoridae. It can be found in North America...
Aug 12, 2024 | Weekly insect
Our insect of the week for August 12, 2024 is the Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus). I htought it was time to feature another group of insects. This species is classified in the order Lepidoptera, family Saturniidae). This species was described by Pieter Cramer...