Reports from the Field

Bug o’the Week – Galls II – Historic Galls Redux

Greetings, BugFans,
This week’s episode is a rerun from the very early days of BOTW.
The BugLady loves it when the research she is doing makes a sharp turn toward History.
Galls are mentioned by (very) early observers. People have been pondering the mysteries of galls for a long time, although not all of the hypotheses have been righteous ones. For example, because they were considered “supernatural growths,” galls were used to foretell the future. In the Middle Ages, their contents were examined (much tidier than chicken entrails). Spiders signaled pestilence; maggots meant either famine or a plague among cattle; flies – war; and ants – a bountiful harvest.

05.12.25

Bug o’the Week – A Tale of Two Mussels – Eight Years Out

Howdy, BugFans,

The BugLady has been curious about the status of Zebra and Quagga mussels since she posted an episode about them in 2016 (“A Tale of Two Mussels – the One-Two Punch”). Here’s the original post (slightly tweaked and clarified), with a summary of her recent search of the literature at the end. Put your feet up and grab a beverage.

04.30.25

Bug o’the Week – Common Aspen Leaf Miner

Greetings, BugFans,

Leaf miners have been mentioned in these pages before – even the Aspen leaf miner (Phyllocnistis populiella) has appeared briefly.  When she did a little more research, the BugLady was ecstatic to discover that Aspen leaf miners have an association with EFNs, one of the coolest things she’s ever found out about in her 16 years of writing BOTW (more about that in a sec).  Here’s its story.

04.23.25

Bug o’the Week – And Now for Something a Little Different III – Timberdoodle redux

Howdy, BugFans,

This episode was originally adapted from the Spring, 2010 issue of the BogHaunter, the newsletter of the Friends of the Cedarburg Bog, written by the BugLady wearing a different hat. It’s further revised from a BOTW of seven years ago – new words and new pictures.

Woodcocks are wonderful birds with a great story. They were a big part of the BugLady’s childhood – their return to our brushy fields was celebrated each year and it was (and still is) a race to see who would hear the first one (thanks, Mom, thanks, Dad).

04.16.25

Bug o’the Week – Monarch Butterfly Status Update

Howdy, BugFans,

This is a Good-News-Bad News-Stay-Tuned kind of story. 

But first, a little background.  Besides being large and lovely, Monarch butterflies, of course, catch our fancy because of the death-defying migrations they undertake twice a year.  Migrations – fueled by flowers – that carry some of them 3,000 miles from central Mexica into Canada. 

04.14.25

Bug o’the Week – Gulf Fritillary – a Snowbird Special

Howdy, BugFans,

Life is busy – here’s a not-so-Golden Oldie, from the BugLady’s favorites list.

First of all, it’s a stunning butterfly. Second, unlike many of BOTW’s featured bugs, there was an abundance of information about this species, some of which sent the BugLady traipsing happily down a few rabbit holes.

04.07.25

Bug o’the Week – Jade Clubtail Dragonfly

Greetings, BugFans,

Last year, BugFan Nancy told the BugLady that she was making a quilt with a dragonfly motif, and asked what colors dragonflies came in. All of them. The BugLady sent her pictures of blue, green, purple, orange, red, and a variety of multi-colored dragons and damsels. The BugLady promises that BOTW is not going to march through the entire list of North American dragonflies and damselflies, but, oh my, isn’t this a handsome dragonfly! Plus, it’s being photobombed in one shot by a brilliantly-orange Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (interestingly, one of the BugLady’s Facebook friends also posted a shot of an Amberwing perched on a Jade Clubtail).

The BugLady hasn’t seen this species yet – thanks, as always, to BugFan Freda for sharing her pictures.

03.26.25

Bug o’the Week – Bugs in the News XV

Greetings, BugFans,

Here’s another episode from the BugLady’s favorites file (yeah, yeah – Mom shouldn’t have favorites).

When BugFan Mary sent “what-is-it?” pictures from Florida of this wildly handsome grasshopper nymph, the BugLady said “More, please,” sending Mary back out into the palmettos to stalk grasshoppers with her Smartphone.  Thanks, Mary!!!  With luck, the neighbors weren’t watching. 

This is one serious grasshopper!  It’s hard to ignore a grasshopper that’s large enough to trip over and too large to fly.

Big grasshopper?  Big story.  Put your feet up.

03.19.25

Bug o’the Week – Eastern Lubber Grasshopper – a Snowbird Special rerun

Greetings, BugFans,

Here’s another episode from the BugLady’s favorites file (yeah, yeah – Mom shouldn’t have favorites).

When BugFan Mary sent “what-is-it?” pictures from Florida of this wildly handsome grasshopper nymph, the BugLady said “More, please,” sending Mary back out into the palmettos to stalk grasshoppers with her Smartphone.  Thanks, Mary!!!  With luck, the neighbors weren’t watching. 

This is one serious grasshopper!  It’s hard to ignore a grasshopper that’s large enough to trip over and too large to fly.

Big grasshopper?  Big story.  Put your feet up.

03.13.25

Bug o’the Week – Two-spotted Long-horned Bee

Howdy, BugFans,

The BugLady keeps getting solicitations from a large, national conservation/environmental organization whose message is “Save the Bees.”  Alas, the only bees they picture or mention are honey bees.  Heaven knows that honey bees are vital pollinators, and they’re certainly facing big challenges, but the same can be said of our (apparently invisible) native bees. 

Turns out that the unassuming Two-spotted long-horned bee (Melissodes bimaculatus) (bimaculatus means “two spots”) is a Pollinator Extraordinaire.  

02.27.25

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