Meet the Neighbors: Elegant Grass-carrying Wasp For the introduction to this series, see here. This wasp is a member of the grass-carrying wasp group (genus Isodontia). These interesting wasps live up to their name. You will often see them flying along carrying a blade of grass longer than themselves. What are they doing with the …
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What’s in my Backyard? Backyard Safari: Moths and porch lights For the introduction to this series, see here. Night. It is mysterious to us daytime creatures. It is home to a whole host of nocturnal creatures. Today we are going to find out how to study nocturnal insects. The main problem with looking for nocturnal …
Meet the Neighbors: Widow Skimmer For the introduction to this series, see here. Here is a beautiful species of dragonfly that is very common around ponds across much of the US. You also might see them in your yard in the late summer looking for mosquitoes and other insects to eat. Why are these dragonflies …
Meet the Neighbors: Long-tailed Giant Ichneumonid Wasp For the introduction to this series, see here. Here is one of the most dramatic wasps you might see in your yard. This is a rather scary looking insect. After all, look at that long appendage on its tail. You might think that is an enormous stinger! In …
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Meet the Neighbors: Common Checkered-Skipper For the introduction to this series, see here. Today we meet the Common Checkered-Skipper. If you live anywhere in the US or Mexico or southern Canada, you will have these little butterflies living near you. Skippers are butterflies even though they are so small and chubby. Common Checkered-Skippers lay eggs …
Meet the Neighbors: Carder Bee For the introduction to this series, see here. This is a carder bee. These bees “card” wool off of fuzzy plants like lambs’ ears to make a nice soft nest. Humans comb sheep’s wool before making it into things. This is called carding. It cleans and aligns the wool fibers. …
Meet the Neighbors: Buffalo Treehopper For the introduction to this series, see here. “Hi! I am a thorn. Don’t look at me closely.” This neighbor does his best to look like a thorn attached to the stem of a plant. That way, hungry birds will be less likely to find them. In profile, they have …
Meet the Neighbors: Plains Cicada For the introduction to this series, see here. If you live in the middle part of the United States, you might hear a loud mechanical-sounding buzz in the trees. I want to introduce you to the culprit, the Plains Cicada. The buzzing noise is produced by the males who vibrate …
Meet the Neighbors: Punctured Tiger Beetle For the introduction to this series, see here. Ready to go out and find some tigers in your own neighborhood? You say tigers don’t live in your area? Well, then I have a surprise for you! Here is a tiger that I found last week. Well, strictly speaking, it …
Meet the Neighbors: A Differential Grasshopper For the introduction to this series, see here. I found this grasshopper on one of our pepper plants. The best way to identify this species is the striking pattern on its legs. This grasshopper species can be many colors though they usually have the same pattern. Differential grasshoppers live …
