Reports from the Field

Bug o’the Week – Monarchs 101 Reprised

Howdy, BugFans,

It has been a quiet summer, Monarch-wise, but (OMG), it’s almost September! The BugLady once read that in September, every time they fly up in the air to search for flowers to nectar on, Monarchs will land a little south of where they took off from. The very definition of “drifting” south.

Anyway, here’s an upgrade (new words and new pictures) of the first of maybe a half dozen BOTWs about Monarch butterflies, written in June of 2008 (about a year into a series that started as a joke in August of 2007).

08.26.26

Bug o’the Week – Chinese Mystery Snail

Howdy, BugFans,

When the BugLady was growing up near Brown Deer, Wisconsin, close to the Milwaukee River, she heard a story of some 1930’s entrepreneurs who imported Roman or Edible snails (Helix pomatia) with an eye toward some home-grown escargot. They housed the snails in cages on an island in the river (what could possibly go wrong?). Savvy BugFans are already writing the ending to this script.

08.19.26

Bug o’the Week – Mid-summer Stories

Howdy, BugFans,

It’s August!!! Or, to put it another way, it’s August – yikes! Halfway(ish) through summer. Here are some of the sights that the BugLady has enjoyed so far. Many of these have already starred in a BOTW of their very own.

08.05.26

Bug o’the Week – Dun Skipper Butterflies

Greetings, BugFans,

Seasoned BugFans know that the BugLady’s relationship with skipper butterflies is fraught. These are small, speedy butterflies, most of which are either orange and brown, or brown and orange. Her interactions with skippers always start with the question, “What is it?” and end with “Are you sure?”

07.29.26

Bug o’the Week – Bronze Jumping Spider

Howdy, BugFans,

On a walk at Spruce Lake Bog in May, the BugLady spied this Bronze jumping spider (Eris militaris, in the family Salticidae) (thanks, Mike) sitting on an unfolding alder leaf. He spied her, gave her a firm look and then went on his way, apparently unimpressed.

Turns out that the Bronze jumper, aka the Bronze lake jumper (or Saltique militaire, if you’re in Quebec), can be seen across 80% of the country, plus Canada, making it one of the most widely-distributed Jumping spiders we have. It likes suburbs and countrysides, and it lives in sunny areas where there’s vegetation to sun on, to hide in, and to hunt in, and it’s sometimes found in leaf litter on the ground. It also likes agricultural areas, especially orchards, where it picks off crop pests.

07.15.26

Bug o’the Week – A Tale of Two Robber Flies

Greetings, BugFans,

The BugLady was walking at Riveredge Nature Center one day in mid-June when she spied a small Robber fly perched on a leaf, hanging onto its prey.  When she put the picture up on the monitor, she recognized the predator as a small (barely ½”) Robber fly named the Stripe-legged robber fly (family Asilidae).  Then she tried to figure out what it was holding.

07.08.26

Bug o’the Week – A Quartet of Moths

Greetings, BugFans,

In honor of National Moth Week, here are three lovely moths that the BugLady has found recently, plus one from BugFan Freda (the BugLady’s definition of a “lovely moth” includes being identifiable).

06.24.26

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