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Category Archives: Insects

Eastern-tailed blue

This tiny butterfly can be difficult to photograph, especially with its wings open.

Posted byMatthewOctober 14, 2020December 11, 2020Posted inInsects, Lepidoptera

Spotted Cucumber Beetle

This little guy is a major agricultural pest affecting more than just cucumbers. I should have squashed’em after the photo… but I didn’t.

Posted byMatthewAugust 25, 2020August 25, 2020Posted inInsectsLeave a comment on Spotted Cucumber Beetle

Clouded Sulphur

Doesn’t look very orange to you? Well maybe it’s orange on the inside. I submitted this photo to BAMONA, and they (eventually) classified it as Clouded Sulphur. (I assumed it was Orange Sulphur.) So I’ve updated this post with the new id.

Posted byMatthewAugust 15, 2020August 18, 2020Posted inLepidopteraTags: Clouded, SulphurLeave a comment on Clouded Sulphur

Pearl Crescents

Dorsal view and ventral view of the Pearl Crescent butterfly (Phyciodes tharos) in a single photograph.

Posted byMatthewAugust 15, 2020August 15, 2020Posted inInsects, LepidopteraTags: Crescent, PearlLeave a comment on Pearl Crescents

The Many Shades of the Spangled Fritillary

The silvery spots (or “spangles”) of the Great Spangled Fritillary are just like shiny little mirrors. With the right angle, they will reflect the colors around them. These pictures are all of the same butterfly as he sampled the many flavors of zinnia in our garden.

Posted byMatthewAugust 14, 2020August 14, 2020Posted inInsects, LepidopteraTags: Fritillary, Great, GSF, SpangledLeave a comment on The Many Shades of the Spangled Fritillary

Tiger Bee Fly

Large and exotic, this fly is actually harmless to humans with neither a bite nor a sting. The female lays its eggs in carpenter bee nests, where the fly larvae seek out and devour carpenter bee larvae before they can mature and escape.

Posted byMatthewAugust 9, 2020August 9, 2020Posted inInsectsTags: Bee, Fly, TigerLeave a comment on Tiger Bee Fly

Tiger Swallowtail

Everything butterfly-related is a running a little late this year because of the cold spring. Normally I would see these in July, but now they are here in August. I’m not going to complain.

Posted byMatthewAugust 9, 2020August 9, 2020Posted inInsects, LepidopteraTags: Swallowtail, TigerLeave a comment on Tiger Swallowtail

Zabulon Skipper

Ahh, skippers. So many, so very hard to tell apart. In this case, I feel confident in my id.

Posted byMatthewAugust 6, 2020August 6, 2020Posted inInsects, LepidopteraTags: Skipper, ZabulonLeave a comment on Zabulon Skipper

Physocephala tibialis or Thick-headed Fly

Identification is tentative but probably correct or very close. It’s a wasp-mimic, but the eyes are distinctly those of a fly. It was strikingly beautiful in the field. It’s not a great photo, but its one of only two I got before it flew away. The colloquial name, while amusing, is not a pejorative but […]

Posted byMatthewAugust 4, 2020August 5, 2020Posted inInsectsLeave a comment on Physocephala tibialis or Thick-headed Fly

Hunchback Bee Fly

An interesting fly in both appearance and behavior. Something like the “Brown Cowbird” of insects, it will lay its eggs in the nest of wasps. The unsuspecting wasp stocks the nest with provisions for its own larva, but this fly’s larva gets fed instead.

Posted byMatthewAugust 4, 2020August 5, 2020Posted inInsectsTags: Bee, FlyLeave a comment on Hunchback Bee Fly

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