Reports from the Field

Bug o’the Week – Wetland Homage – Waterlily leaf beetle

Greetings, BugFans,

The final installment in National Wetlands Month, though the BugLady would argue that wetlands should be celebrated every month. The BugLady attempts to photograph this burnished beetle everywhere she sees them – some in aquatic settings as they peruse the flowers of yellow water-lilies, and others on marsh marigolds and skunk cabbage in the adjacent swamps. They are not huge – most would have to stretch to reach a half-inch – and they often appear to be gold.

05.29.26

Bug o’the Week – 6-spotted Fishing Spider

Howdy, BugFans,

2026: Week two of our homage to wetlands. Why wetlands? Let me count the whys. For starters, wetlands are fascinating communities that are full of animals that have devised unique ways to deal with the challenges of life underwater. Wetlands both filter and sponge – removing chemicals from water systems and soaking up extra water to minimize flooding. More “whys” next week.

05.13.26

Bug o’the Week – Wetland Homage – Cyclops

Salutations, BugFans,

May 1st kicks off American Wetlands Month! While we love wetlands year-round, May is a particularly great time to celebrate them as we enjoy the re-awakening of wetlands and all their glorious sights, sounds, and smells.  Let’s kick the month off with the story, from 2013, of a tiny, but very numerous and very important, wetland critter.

The ephemeral pond is humming these days, and the BugLady has been giving her 50mm macro lens a workout, channeling her inner photomicroscopist (a person who takes pictures through a microscope).  A reminder to newer BugFans – the BOTW definition of “bug” is the one that your average first grader uses. 

05.06.26

Bug o’the Week – European WoolCarder Bee

Howdy, BugFans,

Today’s bug is a world traveler, and the pictures shared by BugFan Freda were taken far from our shores. Thanks, Freda!

So, no guesswork about the geographical origin of the European Wool Carder Bee (Anthidium manicatum) (in the Old World, it’s also found in Western Asia and Africa). The EWCB was first recorded in North America in 1963, near Ithaca, NY (three years before the BugLady got there), was seen in California in 2007, and is now established in a large chunk of the US and Canada. Its nesting habits make it eminently portable, and it has also made its way to parts of South America, New Zealand (2006), and more.

04.29.26

Bug o’the Week – Whitebanded Crab Spider

Greetings, BugFans,

The BugLady loves crab spiders, so she’s been thrilled to find two, new (to her) species in the last few years.  One, the Whitebanded crab spider, is in the family Thomisidae, a family of, well, crab-shaped spiders, many of whom make their living on flower tops, and many of whom, in the genera Misumena, Misumenoides, and Misumenops (Mecaphesa), can be tricky to ID.  We’ll meet the other one next week.

04.22.26

Bug o’the Week – Pussy willow Pollinators

Salutations, BugFans,

The pussy willows near the BugLady’s lakeshore home are in bloom. Here’s a BOTW about pussy willows from late March of 2012 – a few new words and pictures.

04.15.26

Bug o’the Week – Brush-tipped Emerald

Greetings, BugFans,

Dragonflies! But not soon enough!

Quick and dirty dragonfly phenology (phenology – the study of Mother Nature’s calendar. Cliff notes version – things appear/bloom/disappear/migrate in pretty much the same order every year, we just can’t predict the start date). Common Green Darners lead the parade, their arrival from the south governed by temperature and by the same weather fronts that bring migratory birds north (coinciding, hopefully, with the emergence of some insect prey for both). Migrating Variegated Meadowhawks show up in early May – or they don’t. The next tier, usually airborne by mid-May, includes Common Baskettails, Common Whitetails, Chalk-fronted Corporals, Four-spotted Skimmers, and the aptly-named Springtime Darners.

04.01.26

Bug o’the Week – Monarch Butterflies – Spring, 2026

Howdy, BugFans,

THEY’RE COMING!!!

It’s barely spring, officially – way too early to be thinking about butterflies, right?  Nope.  The first butterflies of the year have already been reported on the Wisconsin Butterflies website (which also serves your Tiger beetle and Robber fly needs). 

03.25.26

Bug o’the Week – Common Green Darner rerun

Howdy BugFans,

The BugLady checked the (highly searchable) website of the Wisconsin Odonata Survey to see if anyone had reported a Common Green Darner yet.  They are early migrants from the southeastern part of the country, traveling north with the warm weather, and they’re often the first dragonfly species of the year.  Here’s an episode about them from nine years ago.  New pictures, a few new words.

03.23.26

Bug o’the Week – Golden Silk Orb Weaver – A Snowbird Special

Howdy BugFans,

It’s almost time for Snowbirds to head back north to rejoin us here in God’s Country for the final days/weeks/months of winter. The BugLady read recently that the number of days below freezing in March here in God’s Country has drastically decreased in the past 25 years, and March is increasingly considered a spring month rather than a winter month (but when the BugLady was a kid……..). The temperature may be moderating, but March still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and most of them involve snow.

BugFan Tom supplied the pictures of this big, beautiful spider that inhabits the South from Virginia to Texas (and beyond, to Argentina and Peru). Thanks, Tom.

03.04.26

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