Insects and Spiders Archives - Page 2 of 5

It’s time for the bark to come off the owl tree sculpture. Thousands of red ants, each no more than 1/16-inch-long, are instantly cast into a desperate effort to save the cream yellow babies. Their home is gone, their society in tatters in the blink of an eye. The giant who destroyed their world pauses a moment to reflect on the enormity of the act he has just committed. He snaps a couple of photos and brushes away a few of the tiny creatures who are biting him.

By the Thousands: Field Ants

Updated December 25, 2023

When I built the house on Owl Acres 20 years ago, a walnut tree stood sentinel at the corner of the driveway. Unfortunately, as time went on, that tree began to lean more and more toward the garage. It had apparently been compromised by all the building activity. We decided to take the tree down, […]

Insects and Spiders

Photo of a sculpture by Wendy Taylor on a masonry base at the London Zoo. One broad, disc-shaped beetle handles a ball of dung 10 times its size, while another perches on top. This public installation follows modern accessibility practice, common in cities in Europe. They’re becoming more so in the US.

Rolling the Sun: Dung Beetles

Updated December 14, 2023

The Ancient Egyptians have given us a lot of symbols to wonder about. I could never understand, for example, why the Israelites worshiped a golden calf until I learned while traveling in Egypt that a particular bull was worshiped by the Egyptians, and the Israelites were just copycats. Another symbol that needs explanation is the […]

Insects and Spiders

Dark green leaf of Virginia Creeper. Also called Five Leaf Ivy, the hand-shaped leaves are made up from 5 smaller, sawtooth-edged leaflets attached to a common petiole.

A Banquet for All: Virginia Creeper

Updated December 7, 2023

There’s a pile of it in the southeast corner of the yard. It’s growing on the fences and climbing the barn. We knock it back, ruthlessly severing it with the weed eater. And it comes back with a vengeance. It could be mistaken for poison ivy—we have plenty of that around here. But a careful […]

Boxelder bug reaches the end of the line, courtesy of a giant, hairy, black-eyed beast. The robber fly scores a tasty, fragrant dinner.

No Harm Done: Boxelder Bugs

Updated November 9, 2023

It’s time for fall colors. The trees are turning red, orange and yellow. And the bugs from the same color palate are looking for a warm place to spend the winter. There’s a gathering of them on the south-facing garage door just now. They’re basking in the sunshine. When it gets cold, though, they’ll head […]

Insects and Spiders

Tiny spider with long orange legs, indicating male. The rock-strewn desert surrounding him is the texturing of an interior house wall, which shows the size of this little guy. American house spider.

Cobwebs at the Door: American House Spider

Updated October 30, 2023

There is a recurring cobweb just outside the front door. I knock it down, and it comes right back. We find them just below the ceiling on the deck, and even under the cupboards in the kitchen. The culprit is most likely an American (or common) house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) or perhaps a pair of […]

Insects and Spiders

Comma butterfly sits on a bunch of summer berries. Orange wings with black marks and the angular/scalloped rear edges of both pairs of wings that give these animals the name “anglewings.”

Hop Merchants: Comma Butterflies

Updated October 26, 2023

Over 40 species of butterflies visit Owl Acres at various times throughout the year. Their flashes of color and elegant shapes brighten the landscape throughout the spring, summer and fall. Many are nectar-eaters, drawn to flowers throughout the warmer months. And some, like the comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album), fill a different type of niche in […]

Insects and Spiders

Sleek green grasshopper-like insect sits on a bright orange-yellow marigold bloom outside the front door of the house. Evidence of an earlier escape from a predator can be seen, as this katydid has lost one of its jumping legs. This is actually a “posed” photo, we‘re not sure the shy katydid would be caught dead in this flamboyant setting. The katydid had been in the house and was captured and removed to the flower where its picture was taken. It didn’t stick around to read the reviews.

Tireless Singer: Common Meadow Katydid

Updated October 12, 2023

Outside my study window, along with the crickets that have been singing there all summer, there’s another voice. The singer starts with a short series of ticks and then melts into a long rasping rattle. For hours he repeats his song, sitting in the same place along the edge of the sidewalk. He is quiet […]

Insects and Spiders

Green insect with dark chevron markings on the long hind legs it uses for jumping. Differential grasshopper clings to a sunflower stem in the early morning light. Too cold to move now, it will warm and become active with the sun’s arrival.

Summer Jumpers: Grasshoppers

Updated October 2, 2023

We planted a couple of big sunflowers that a friend gave us, and they have thrived, producing huge flowers and then handfuls of sunflower seeds. On a cool autumn morning, the sunflowers are hosting grasshoppers. The grasshoppers are too cold to do much but sit there and look at the camera while Bryan takes their […]

Insects and Spiders

Monarch butterfly rests, wings spread, on a milkweed. Colors are bold orange with prominent black veining, and white spots. This photo was chosen for its similarity to the photo of the Viceroy elsewhere in the post. There are differences in markings, but they’re easy to miss on casual observation.

Warning, Poison Here: Monarchs, Viceroys, Tussock Moths and Milkweed Bugs

Updated September 25, 2023

My favorite time of the year has just opened its arms to launch a festival of colors and aerobatic displays. Birds are beginning to migrate, and so are the monarch butterflies. Most birds make their migratory trips south and back north all in one generation, but the fragile and beautiful monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) have […]

Insects and Spiders

A field of tiny, cone-shaped holes in the sand next to the house. Antlion traps.

Angle of Repose: Antlion

Updated September 14, 2023

What’s up with this array of perfectly cone-shaped pits in the sandy soil along the foundation of the house? The pits are all exactly the same size with scribbly, doodly tracks in the sand between them. What we have here is an antlion larva, pronounced ant lion (Myrmeleon spp.). Its name is of old, showing […]

Insects and Spiders