Insects and Spiders Archives - Page 4 of 5

Sesame-seed-shaped, brown dog tick walks on a person’s finger

Little Vampires: Ticks

Updated May 18, 2023

When I was a little girl, we had a huge lilac bush in the yard. It was big enough to play in, hide under, and explore. And whenever we came in from that play, Mom started searching in our hair for ticks. When she found one, which she often did, she lit a cigarette, kept […]

Insects and Spiders

Large yellow and black Bumblebee sits on a bright yellow flower. The hairy bee is peppered with yellow pollen grains.

Buzz: Bumblebees

Updated May 4, 2023

I’ve always discounted bees as nuisances, little demons wanting to sting me. My closest encounters have been with bumblebees and sweat bees, but there are between 300 and 400 different species of bees in Iowa alone. Worldwide the number of species is in the ten thousands. Bees branched off from wasps some 120 million years […]

Insects and Spiders

Sleek, high speed insect rests on a concrete surface. Northern Paper Wasp has 4 smoke-colored membranous wings and abdomen marked with prominent yellow bands, connected to its thorax by a threadlike petiole, inspiring the term “wasp waist.” 6 yellow-brown legs, yellow face stripes and curved-end antennae complete the ensemble.

Finding the Balance: Northern Paper Wasps

Updated March 16, 2023

One day last March, when the weather teased us with a note of spring, we took advantage of the day to sit out on the screened in porch. It was a sunny day, with a promise of warmer days to come. In the corner were 15 or 20 reddish-brown insects with yellow rings around their […]

Insects and Spiders

Pea-size purple berries hang individually from leafless twigs. Hackberry fruits.

Teeming with Life: Hackberry

Updated February 9, 2023

On a frigid evening in late winter, I love to sit in my favorite chair beside a blazing fire in the fireplace. Dave lies on my feet, and I revel in the warmth, and the popping, fizzing, roaring, chuckling, murmuring of the fire. The wood we’re burning is a mix of things gathered from downed […]

Large black ant stands on a white surface

Super Women: Carpenter Ants

Updated February 6, 2023

One day last fall, we were making a batch of apple wine from apples we’d harvested from our tree. We mixed the must, put in the apples, and set the buckets on the basement floor where it’s cool and out of the way. Within minutes, a column of ants was lined up to harvest the […]

Insects and Spiders

Rough-sawn elm beam riddled with bore holes from Powder Post Beetle infestation

Unto Dust: or, Powder Post Beetles

Updated December 19, 2022

There’s an old shed on Owl Acres. It has board and batten siding, and a dirt floor. It’s in need of paint. Many creatures lived in that shed during the time we were away. Firewood was stored there along with other things. With the possibility that the firewood might contain some undesirable elements, we were […]

Insects and Spiders

Black spider with short legs and a white spot on its abdomen sits on a wood picnic table in the sunshine

Audacious Hunter

Updated December 1, 2022

There’s an amazing, sophisticated, and unwelcome creature who has made its way into the house. It’s not very big—only about half an inch long. It’s sitting on the kitchen counter. It’s looking around with its astonishing set of optical tools, contemplating its universe. Without warning, a giant dome comes from nowhere and traps the creature. […]

Insects and Spiders

Fuzzy caterpillar looks like a bottle brush. Three equal length color bands, black at front and rear, brown in the middle

The Weather Forecast

Updated November 10, 2022

On a bright Indian summer day, we took our tandem bicycle to a nearby rail trail for a 20-mile bike ride. The trees had begun to turn, and the combines were out in the fields harvesting the corn. Along the trail we saw squirrels on personal business, a snake basking in the sun, a confused […]

Insects and Spiders

A shield-shaped insect with a tiny head sprouting antennae in a vee stands on a white marble countertop

This Stinks!

Updated October 27, 2022

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) Harvest is underway, and the nights are getting colder. All the little creatures, including stink bugs, are looking for someplace to spend the winter. A few have managed to get into the space between the windows and the screens, and one or two have made it all the way […]

Insects and Spiders

Manduca quinquemaculatus – Five-spotted Hawk Moth standing on a woman’s hand.

Monsters in the Garden

Updated October 27, 2024

Tomato Hornworms, Hawkmoths and Parasitic Wasps Early last spring, my sister gave me an heirloom grape tomato plant. I hadn’t done anything about a real garden by then, but had a space next to the front porch that I thought would do. I planted it, and it began to stretch and grow in all directions. […]

Insects and Spiders