Paper Wasp

Posted on November 30, 2019 by tspuckler

Each year I share my backyard deck during the warmer months with Paper Wasps. They have a fondness for the wooden rail overhand and sometimes two or three pairs of insects build nests there.

Paper Wasps are beneficial, since they prey on soft-bodied insects, especially caterpillars. They are not at all bothersome, being uninterested in people or in scavenging for food, unlike some of their yellowjacket cousins.

I have also encountered this insect when visiting southern Illinois and Maryland. They come in a variety of colors and patterns. The photo above shows a nest in the limestone bluffs that border Snake Road in Illinois and the picture below shows one starting to build its nest on the eaves of a shed in Maryland.

These insects make nests of cellulose fiber (paper) to brood their young. Paper wasp nests are typically small, attached by a stalk to an overhanging support, and have a single comb of cells.

The larvae of wasps are grubs. To grow in the nest cell, the grub needs food – so the adult wasp paralyzes a caterpillar with its sting and stuffs it into the nest cell and lays an egg in the cell. The egg hatches and has ample food to grow to full grub size.

After it eats, the grub enters the pupal, or resting stage, wherein its body is rearranged, and it emerges as an adult winged wasp. In the picture above, an adult has caught a caterpillar to feed its offspring.

Adult Paper Wasps eat nectar. Dill and fennel are especially favored, but parsley, parsnip or carrot gone to seed are also food sources for these insects.

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Orange-winged Grasshopper

Posted on September 14, 2019 by tspuckler

While visiting a Pine Barrens habitat in Maryland this Summer, I came across this very cool creature.

Grasshoppers jump to get around and to escape from predators and several species enhance their leaps by having the ability to fly.

This species prefers old fields, meadows and open woodlands, where it is almost always grassy, sunny and near (but not usually under) trees. It is more often seen in upland areas than in valleys and prefers areas where there are patches of bare soil.

True to its name, my specimen had orange wings, but the inner wing color can also be yellow or pinkish. The Orange-winged Grasshopper belongs to a group of insects known as Band-winged Grasshoppers, as evidenced by its black wing borders.

These grass-eating insects are heavy-bodied and equipped with enlarged hind legs. Their head too, has an appearance of being over-sized. It’s bright, intricate, cryptic colors make for a neat looking invertebrate.

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Snowy Tree Cricket

Posted on December 9, 2018 by tspuckler

I often find this insect in the Autumn, not only when visiting southern Illinois, but also in my home state of Ohio.

This pale green species occurs over a wide distribution in the northern United States and parts of southern Canada.

The Snowy Tree Cricket is known for having a chirping rate highly correlated with ambient temperature. This relationship is known as Dolbear’s Law and was published in 1897 in an article called “The Cricket as a Thermometer.”

As their name implies, these creatures live in trees and shrubs, for which they are well camouflaged. The bodies of tree crickets are long and skinny compared to the bodies of other types of familiar crickets.

Like other species of in their family, they feed on a wide range of items like plant parts, other insects and even fungi.

The call of the Snowy Tree Cricket is commonly used as a background sound in movies and on television in order to depict a warm Summer evening.

This is a neat, delicate-appearing invertebrate that I enjoy coming across, whether while doing yardwork or out herping.

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European Hornet

Posted on October 14, 2018 by tspuckler

While searching for snakes in southern Illinois this month, I flipped a rock and under it was this large (over an inch long) insect. This the only true hornet found in North America, having been introduced by European settlers in the 1800′s.

Most examples I’ve seen have been in the Autumn and are probably females (mated queens) looking for a place to overwinter before starting a new colony the following Spring. Only overwintering queens survive in protected sites such as under loose bark, in tree cavities, under rocks and in buildings. All other colony members produced in the current year perish.

I have seen European Hornets in my home state of Ohio as well. They are mainly carnivorous and hunt insects such as beetles, caterpillars, moths, dragonflies and crickets. They also feed on fallen fruit and other sources of sugary food. I saw this one at a hummingbird feeder. These insects have been observed stealing prey from spiders, which can be classified as an example of kleptoparasitism.

Though they probably have a painful sting, they usually aren’t particularly defensive when not protecting their nest. This woodland species constructs its large paper hive in natural cavities, especially in hollow trees. The nests typically have 200-400 workers.

It’s always a neat experience to observe one of these impressive invertebrates while out on a hike.

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Northern Walkingstick

Posted on June 23, 2018 by tspuckler

While walking on the Buckeye Trail, I came across this very cool insect. Adults are 3 to 3-1/2 inches long and remarkably well camouflaged. They are slender, elongated and resemble a twig.

Northern Walkingsticks have a wide range, extending down the Atlantic Coast from Alberta, Canada to Northern Florida.

These creatures feed mainly on the leaves of trees. They are leaf skeletonizers, eating the tissues between the leaf veins before moving on to new leaves.

There favored habitat is deciduous woodland edges and forests where their preferred food sources (Oak and Hazelnut) are in good supply.

Northern Walkingsticks have the extraordinary ability to regenerate legs that are lost by attacks from predators. When predators are present, they remain motionless with their legs close to their bodies, thus resembling a stick.

They tend to lay their eggs in September; they do so, usually from great heights, dropping them down to the leaf litter where they are left to overwinter. The eggs falling from the trees sound like of droplets of rain.

We often think of strange, exotic-looking insects as creatures inhabiting tropical rainforests, but the Northern Walkingstick graces us with its presence right here in Ohio.

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Moth Fly

Posted on January 27, 2018 by tspuckler

Recently I found this strange creature in my basement. It is also commonly known as the Drain Fly, Filter Fly or Sewage Fly. Moth flies are frequently found indoors on windows, sinks and walls. The source of the fly infestation is generally from sinks and floor drains.

The adult insect is about one-fifth of an inch long. It has a dark gray body and lighter colored wings. It is densely covered with long hair, which gives the body a fuzzy appearance, hence the name “Moth Fly.”

Their eggs are deposited in moist, decomposing organic materials. These materials, which accumulate in drains, provide an ideal site for metamorphosis. Adults live about two weeks and feed on flower nectar and polluted water.

During the day adults rest in shaded areas or on walls near plumbing fixtures and on the sides of showers and tubs. Most of their activity occurs during the evening. It was neat to make an acquaintance with this unusual insect.

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Brown Lacewing

Posted on December 31, 2016 by tspuckler

It’s wintertime, yet if you look around, there are still insects to be found, like the Brown Lacewings that occasionally turn up in my house.

They are predators both as adults and larvae. These creatures prefer soft-bodied insects such as aphids and mealybugs, as well as insect eggs.

I suspect the reason I’m finding them indoors is that the were inadvertently brought in when outdoor plants came in for the Winter.

Brown Lacewings are native throughout North America, though are not as abundant as Green Lacewings (these were the first examples I’ve ever seen).

Adults are small, only about half an inch long, and as their name implies, they have heavily veined wings. The larvae look like tiny alligators with sickle-shaped jaws.

Although they are fragile-looking, lacewings are one of the most effective beneficial insects to the gardener and I surely don’t mind having them around.

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Sweat Bee

Posted on September 3, 2016 by tspuckler

Sweat bees are the most brightly colored native bees in our area. The shiny, metallic green insects are quite eye-catching.

Augochlora Sweat Bees nest in the ground, building long vertical nest cavities. Most are solitary nesting, but some species share the same nest entrance, but build their own cavities.

They are short tongued, so they visit shallow or easily accessible flowers for nectar. They also steal nector collected by plant parasites, like aphids.

These insects are tiny (less than 1/2 an inch) and are named because of their habit of landing on people and licking the perspiration from the skin in order to obtain salt.

This brilliant “living jewel” performs the same function as other species bees – they are very important pollinators for many wildflowers and crops.

Lately fair numbers of them have been visiting my deck garden and I enjoy seeing them every day.

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Bald-faced Hornet

Posted on December 5, 2015 by tspuckler

It may be December, but a walk through the woods can still yield insect life, if you are willing to turn a few logs. Earlier in the week I found this hardy creature.

This insect gets the first part of its name from the ivory-white markings on the face. Despite the second part of its name, the Bald-faced Hornet is not a “true” hornet, rather it is a a type of yellowjacket.

Fertilized queens like this one overwinter in protected places such as in hollow trees, rock piles, under bark and in the walls and attics of buildings.

In springtime, she collects cellulose from rotting wood by chewing it. She then adds her saliva and creates a paste to make a papery material with which to construct a football shaped, grey paper-like nest.

The queen creates a few brood cells within the nest and deposits eggs in them and feeds the larvae when they hatch. This Bald-faced Hornet built her nest on my deck in the summer.

Though they don’t have much of a “fan base,” Bald-faced Hornets are considered a beneficial insect because they reduce populations of unwanted insects (including other yellowjackets) and pollinate flowers when they are searching for nectar…and I think they are a cool creature to come across on a December hike.

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Autumn Meadowhawk

Posted on November 8, 2015 by tspuckler

Even though it’s November, I’m still seeing a fair number of dragonflies when I go hiking. Most are Autumn Meadowhawks. Their common name refers to the late flight season of this species. This insect lives in a variety of habitats, including marshes, bogs, ponds, lakes and slow-moving streams.

These are small to medium-sized skimmer dragonflies, known as darters in the UK and as meadowhawks in the North America. Dragonflies are expert fliers. They can fly straight up and down, hover like a helicopter and even mate in mid-air. Dragonflies catch their insect prey by grabbing it with their feet.

Nearly all of the dragonfly’s head is made up of its eyes, so they have incredible vision that encompasses almost every angle, except right behind them. Each compound eye contains as many as 30,000 lenses. A dragonfly uses about 80% of its brain to process all this visual information.

At this time of year when insect life if nowhere near as plentiful as it was a few months ago, seeing one of these brightly colored creatures is a welcome encounter.

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Category Archives: Insects – Other

Paper Wasp

Orange-winged Grasshopper

Snowy Tree Cricket

European Hornet

Northern Walkingstick

Moth Fly

Brown Lacewing

Sweat Bee

Bald-faced Hornet

Autumn Meadowhawk