Polished Lady Beetle

Polished Lady Beetles (Cycloneda munda) are native to Eastern North America. They range in color from red to tan and are free from spots. They are very tiny at a 1/4 of an inch. Their pronotum (thorax region) is black and edged with white with two white lobes that extend into the black portion.

They are found in gardens, meadows, parks and prairies, where they feed on aphids, scale insects and other soft bodied insects. This little ladybug has many different names, and it probably depends upon your region as to what you call it, these names include Red Lady Beetle, Spotless Lady Beetle and Immaculate Lady Beetle.

Harvestman

Harvestman , or as they are more commonly called, Daddy Longlegs, are found throughout North America. What childhood would be complete without letting one of these spider-like creatures crawl across your leg or arm? I used to play with these crazy looking cousins to spiders all the time, in fact I still can't resist coaxing one onto my hand. Their delicate legs tickling my flesh as they climb my arm. Harvestman are not actually spiders, they are closely related to spiders and are in the same classification of Arachnids, but they are in the family Leiobunidae. Spiders have two body segments called a cephalothorax, whereas Harvestman have only one. They are called Daddy Longlegs for good reason, those impossibly long legs make them look as if that is all they are, their body is very tiny in comparison.

Daddy Longlegs hatch in the spring, and these tiny newborns will grow and molt about every ten days. Once they reach adult size they will begin seeking mates. Males possess a penis, and they seem to actually enjoy copulation; upon meeting they will readily mate and quite often. The male will form a type of umbrella over the female as she lays her eggs in the fall. The eggs will overwinter in the ground and the young emerge the following spring to begin the cycle all over again. They are capable of living up to 2 years.  As appropriate as it may seem the females are not called harvestwoman or Mommy Legs. Both males and females have the same name.

 

 

These arachnids feed on a wide variety of food, including earthworms, fruit, plant matter and insects. They can be found almost anywhere, I can walk outside and see them all over my porch, in my gardens and even crawling up the house. Look for them under logs, rocks and moist areas in woodlands. These spider cousins do not build webs, instead they travel to look for food. Many of us have heard the Old Wives Tale about how venomous the Daddy Longlegs is....this is simply not true. They are unable to bite through our skin and even if they could they possess no significant venom glands. Therefore they are completely harmless. These are great "bugs" to use to introduce young children to the wonderful world of insects. They aren't intimidating, they are gentle and it is fun to compare their touch to a tickle.

 

There is a spider Pholcus phalangioides that is also called Daddy Longlegs, this spider does possess venom glands but has not been known to have bitten anyone. Because there are no known bite victims it is not known whether this spider would be harmful to humans or not. These particular spiders are not found in the United States. 

 

A fun fact: If our bodies were the size of a Harvestman, in proportion our legs would have to extend over forty or fifty feet. We could cross the road without setting foot on the pavement.

American Rubyspot Damselfly

This colorful damselfly is a female American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana). They can be found throughout most of the United States with exception to Washington and Idaho. Populations also occur in three provinces in Canada including Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario, also found in Mexico.

They are a fairly large damselflies reaching lengths up to 2 inches. The females can come in two color forms, one has green on the thorax and the other form has copper on the thorax. They are found near streams or slow moving rivers. The one pictured here was photographed at Elrod Mill Conservation Area near the Platte River in NWMO.

The one here to the right is the male, he was in constant motion and was very difficult to photograph (hence the poor quality). He was just as striking as the female with his red patches and red thorax. These are one of the prettiest damselflies in North America, and I was excited to find them.

Green June Beetle

Green June Beetles (Cotinis mutabilis) are in the same family as June Bugs or May Bugs, called Scarabaeidae. These are the scarab beetles. When you dig around in your back yard and you come across those fat little white grubs chances are they are the larvae of one of the species of June Beetles. Green June Beetles are fairly large at about one inch in length. Their coloring is a bit different than most June Beetles, instead of being brown or black they are green with tan or bronze stripes on their wings. Their underside is a beautiful metallic sheen. These beetles are most often found near gardens, but can also be found in backyards, and in orchards where the adults will sometimes feed on the fruit. This is an exception to the rule as the adults generally don't eat.
Mating occurs in the early summer months, and after mating, the female will lay tiny white spherical eggs. When the eggs hatch the larvae will feed on the roots of turf grass or other organic material. Because of their food preferences they often cause damage to yards. This damage can be minimal to severe depending upon how extensive their population is. When they reach two inches in length they are ready to pupate. A unique characteristic of this grub is its habit of crawling on its back using its abdominal muscles to gain traction as it moves. There will be one generation per year. The adults will appear in June and continue to be around through September. When they fly around your yard they sound like bumble bees. Just goes to show that not every big bug buzzing around our head with a very loud wing beat is a bee, it just might be one of these large June Beetles.

Spreadwings

Spreadwing Damselflies in the family Lestidae are found throughout most of North America.They earned their name from their habit of holding their wings out in a "Spreading" fashion. They range in size from  1 1/4 to 2 1/4 inches. They are common around wetlands, slow moving brackish waters, marshes, streams, ponds and temporary watering holes. Males are more colorful than females, and are usually shades of blue, dark gray or greenish. Females are more cryptically colored in shades of brown.

Mating takes place near the wetlands that they favor. After mating, the female will use her ovipositor located near the tip of her abdomen to slice slits into plant stems. She will then lay eggs within these openings. This usually occurs 3 to 4 inches above the surface of the water. When the young nymphs hatch they will drop into the water. They will live an aquatic life for the next year or so, feeding on aquatic insects.

Early in the summer large populations of these may occur in what appears to be population explosions. When the nymphs are ready to shed their larval skin for the last time, they will crawl up on a stalk and their exoskeleton will split down the back and the new adult will emerge. Many times these little nymphs all leave the water at the same time. Which causes these huge explosions in numbers.  This past summer I had hundreds of these lovely damselflies all over near our garden and an old dried up pond that sometimes holds water, especially after the spring rains. I would walk down there around the old pond and these lovely little damselflies would land all over me. They are fairly easy to approach, and fun to photograph.

Large Milkweed Bug

Large Milkweed Bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus) are insects in the family Hemiptera, or True Bugs. They reach lengths up to 3/4 of an inch, and are brightly colored black and orange. There is a large black triangular marking that extends from the back of the head to the center of the wings. Across the mid-portion of the wings is a wide black band. These bright colors are a warning to potential predators that they taste bad. This unpalatable taste comes from the milkweed plant that they feed from, which is also where they get their common name. They are found throughout the Eastern and Southwestern portions of the United States. There is also a population in Ontario Canada.

After mating, the female will deposit eggs at the rate of about 30 per day within the milkweed pod. She is capable of laying up to 2000 eggs in her lifetime. That is a lot of Large Milkweed Bugs! After hatching it takes the nymphs approximately 4 weeks to reach adult size. The adults overwinter in leaf litter. They will be found in all types of habitats like meadows, fields, along roadsides, backyards, most anywhere there is milkweed or dogbane.

Normal phase

Every year I have these bugs in large numbers, but this year I had a few minorities among the majority. I was greatly puzzled by a young nymph I spotted with all the other Milkweed nymphs. As you can see this nymph is brightly colored with orange and red, and looks very different from the other nymphs. In fact it looked so different I thought it was a different species entirely. I sent this image to Eric Eaton from Bugguide.net and he was unsure of what it was. 

Unusual morph

About a week later this little nymph took on a completely different look, as you can see by this picture. So once again I fired off another email to Eric, and this time he knew exactly what my mystery bug was. It is a newly emerged Large Milkweed Bug, whose wings have not dried out completely! Imagine my shock, to have discovered these unusual morphs. There were only two of this color variance and I was excited to find them.

It just goes to show, when you think you have it all figured out, something comes along that makes you realize you haven't even begun to figure it out.

Mysterious Monarch

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) Butterflies are easily the most recognized butterfly in the World. They are found throughout all of the United States, Southern Canada, Australia, Indonesia, South America, Mediterranean Countries and numerous other Pacific Islands. Their bright orange and black coloring brightens any landscape, and it is common to see them fluttering about meadows, marshes, fields, cleared roadsides and backyard gardens nectaring at a wide variety of flowers. Some Monarchs can be quite large with a wingspan bordering on 5 inches, still others are small at just over 3 inches. Males have distinctive scent glands on their hindwings (Visible in the first picture as two black spots).
The Monarch Migration is probably one of the most incredible phenomena in the animal kingdom. These remarkable butterflies will migrate to Mexico, Cuba or Southern California. Incredibly enough not one of these butterflies makes the entire round trip journey. After leaving their winter grounds these butterflies start their northward migration laying eggs as they move North. The eggs hatch, and shortly after the adults perish. These new caterpillars feed on the milkweed plants where they hatched. Once reaching full size they will pupate and in about 2 weeks the new adults will emerge. These new adults move further north, and lay eggs as they go. This cycle repeats itself over and over along their journey. Many of these butterflies will reach Canada. In autumn these butterflies will begin their journey southward. Many will overwinter in Mexico and still others will migrate to Cuba or Southern California. They make this journey without ever having traveled these routes before. It is not uncommon for these migrations to be in such large numbers that they will blacken the sky. Nobody knows why they do this, or how they know to do it. These monarchs will live 8 months in the cold mountainous regions of Mexico. This autumn generation is the only generation to live this long. Spring and summer adults only live a few weeks.
If you want to attract these butterflies to your yard, plant varieties of milkweed. This is includes Swamp Milkweed, Common Milkweed and Butterfly Weed. Milkweed has long been considered toxic to humans, this is not so. There is a great book entitled "The Foragers Harvest" by: Samuel Thayer, in his book he discusses all sorts of wild edibles that he has eaten. One of these is the common milkweed, with no adverse affects. Being the person I am, I had to try it. I broke a leaf off and sucked on the milky white fluid seeping from it. It had a mild taste, and almost glued my lips together! It may not be toxic, but I'm thinking there would be a market for glue made of the stuff! So rest assured you are safe to plant milkweed in your garden. Now this cannot be said for Monarchs, they use the milkweed to their full advantage, the toxins the plant contains helps aid the Monarch against predation. Birds, other insects and other creatures that might decide to dine on this butterfly would find it terribly distasteful. All stages of the Monarch's growth is toxic, from newborn caterpillar to adult.
Another common butterfly that uses the Monarch's coloration to their benefit is the Viceroy (Limenitis archippus). They look almost identical to the Monarch, this mimicry gives them protection from predation. If you look like something distasteful, chances are a predator won't take a chance and try to eat you. After all a belly ache is  no fun at all!

This is the Viceroy, one way to tell the difference is to look for the black line that runs through the hindwings, making a smile face of sorts. They are also usually smaller than Monarchs. The body of the Viceroy is not speckled with white like the Monarch either.

 These colorful caterpillars brighten up any landscape, and try bringing some milkweed inside along with a few caterpillars and watch them munch away. In about 2 weeks they will form a cocoon.The chrysalis is unmistakable, light green with a row of metallic gold dots.  Two weeks later they will emerge as a full fledged adult ready to be released to the World. It is said that if a newborn baby ate as much as a caterpillar, he would weigh as much as a hippopotamus in a single weekend! That's a lot of leaves!

A fun project to participate in is one sponsored by the University in Manhattan, Kansas. Called Monarch Watch. This worthwhile project keeps track of Monarch Migrations, population numbers, and over all habitats for these lovely flying flowers. In the spring or summer you can order a kit from the University Monarch Watch at this link. The cost is $15.00. The money goes to aid in research. They are hoping to answer the Mysterious questions of "Why do Monarch's Migrate"? "How do they know where to go"? as well as ensure that the general public is educated and the habitats are protected for these lovely butterflies for many generations to come.

My first tagged Monarch of the year. I found a caterpillar a few weeks ago, brought it into the house, and overnight it formed a cocoon. In two weeks the male emerged, I tagged and released him on Saturday, September 26, 2009.  It was cool day, and he sat for over an hour on a plant on the front porch. I finally took pity on him and moved him to the sun. After about a minute he took flight and headed directly south, amazing!!

Thread-Waisted Wasps

This large unusual looking wasp is called a Thread-Waisted Wasp (Ammophila maculiventris). This particular specimen measured 1 1/2 inches. They are found throughout North America in a variety of habitats, including meadows, prairies, backyard gardens and anywhere else that flowers can be found. The adults dine on nectar and pollen from many types of flowers, like the sedum pictured here. This late in the year it is slim pickin's as far as flowering plants go in Missouri. The air is changing dramatically and from all the changes I've been seeing it is only matter of time before the first frost hits. Once that happens about the only insect activity we will see is the Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetles and the Boxelder Bugs. All these unusual wasps will disappear. I wonder where they go? Do they hibernate in a state torpor? Do they perish and leave behind eggs to hatch the following spring? Do the larvae overwinter, and emerge as adults once warm weather returns? I could not find any information to answer those questions. If anyone knows, please comment.

These are solitary wasps, which basically means they do not rely on a hive or colony for their survival. After mating, the females will dig a shallow depression in the soil. She will then seek a caterpillar, that she stings to paralyze it. Flying back to the burrow she created, carrying the paralyzed caterpillar, she will deposit it in the hole and lay an egg on it. Once the egg hatches the young wasp larvae will begin feeding on the caterpillar provided by its parent. It takes several weeks for the wasp larvae to consume the entire caterpillar, once it has the larvae will pupate and emerge later in the summer as a full fledged adult. These wasps are expert hunters, and are designed with carrying large prey (caterpillars) in mind. They resemble the Sikorsky Skycrane Helicopter.

Orb Weavers

Orb Weavers are in the family of spiders called Aranidae. They are one of the largest groups of spiders in the World with over 2800 species worldwide. They are identified primarily by the web they build, which is an intricate round or "Orb" shape. Depending upon the species of spider that builds it, some of these webs can get quite large. I found one in my yard the other night that was easily 2 feet in circumference. It is believed that Orb Weavers first appeared on Earth during the Jurassic period approximately 200-140 million years ago. So as you can see, they've been around quite some time perfecting the art of web building. Many species of orb weavers design an intricate pattern into their web called a stabilimentum. This is a zig-zag looking line that runs up the center of the web. It is uncertain what the exact purpose of this feature is. The most common belief is that it is a lure of sorts for insects, or a deterrent to keep birds away from the web. I've also heard accounts that say it is a stabilizing structure, making the web more sturdy. Whatever its purpose it is an interesting phenomena. The garden spiders in the genus Argiope are the most famous spiders for using this feature.

This banded garden spider captured a grasshopper and busy wrapping it in silk, perhaps to dine on later. Spiders use their fangs to inject venom into their prey. This venom acts fast to keep the struggling victim from tearing apart the web. Soon the quarry will be paralyzed. If the spider is particularly hungry she will dine on whatever is unfortunate to get caught in her web, right at that moment. If she fed recently, she will wrap it in silk and save it for leaner times, just like this individual. 

Close-up of the fangs

Almost always the webs are vertical in shape and you will find the spider hanging upside down usually in the center. There are a few Genera within this family that do not build webs at all. They instead use a sticky line of silk, tainted with a pheromone that acts as a lure to certain species of moths. The moths are tricked into thinking a mature female ready to mate is nearby, and instead they meet an untimely demise, and become dinner to a hungry spider. Such trickery! Many spiders within the Orb Weaver Family build new webs each night, they will consume the old web typically at dusk, and shortly thereafter construct a new one. The purpose of this I assume is so that they have a strong web at all times, making it more difficult for prey to wiggle away to freedom.

Black and Yellow Garden Spider

Mating between these spiders usually takes place late in the summer or early fall. The males will tap out a little love dance on the edge of the web, if the female is receptive, she won't eat him (just kidding). Although some females will dine on their mates, it isn't a typical response by the female. I guess it just depends on her mood. There is one European species that bites through her mates stomach, and holds on with her fangs (can we say ouch!). And men think they have it bad! Males will perish soon after mating, and even occasionally during.

Mating Orb weavers, male is on the right, notice how much smaller he is than his female counterpart.

This is the perfect time of year to see these wonderful, if not a bit creepy creatures. They have almost all reached adult size, and are busy building their webs everywhere. They are fascinating to watch and are performing a great service to us, by consuming many insects that we often find a nuisance, most especially moths and flies. It is a bit worrisome to walk into one of these webs at night, and find yourself wondering where the spider is, hoping and praying it isn't on you! Even with that being said I still find myself looking for them and photographing them at every opportunity.

Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetle

 The name of this little ladybug is a mouthful; to say the least. They are called Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis), or just Asian Beetle as many of us refer to them. They are native to Asia as the name suggests, and were brought to the United States in 1916 to help control Aphid populations in greenhouses. A few of these beetles escaped the greenhouses and found this new country much to their liking. So much so that they are now found throughout all of the United States and most of Southern Canada. On top of those that escaped confinement there were enterprising individuals who felt that our own native species just weren't doing their job adequately enough to suit them, so in their infinite wisdom they released these beetles in various locations all across the United States. In effect they succeeded in controlling the aphid populations, but they also made things very difficult on our native lady beetles, which just couldn't compete with a new, more aggressive interloper. Consequently many of our own lovely  ladies have disappeared in parts of their range and are severely declined in other areas. Not all ladybugs are created equal....Asian lady beetles amass in huge numbers in the fall and invade our homes, garages, and other structures, looking for a place to spend the cold winter months. Asian ladybugs also give off a musky sent when disturbed and can give a little nip when handled. Sometimes they will land on your arm and bite for no apparent reason, other than they feel like it.

Asian lady beetles are highly variable in color, ranging from orange, red, reddish-orange and even black with red splotches out in the western most part of their range. Sometimes they are spotted, but many are not. In Missouri these beetles have a white pronotum (thorax region) that contains four black spots, that vary from small to large, and can sometimes blend together to look like a "W" or "M".

Mating takes place at all times during the late spring and summer. I've seen larvae as late as September, feeding on aphids. The tiny larvae look like miniature alligators, they are voracious eaters and consume untold amounts of aphids, thrips, mites, moth and butterfly eggs and other soft bodied insects. It typically takes them a total of four instars(molts) to reach adulthood. In the last molt they will enter into a pupal stage. This pupa is an elongated dome shape attached to leaves by the spikey remains of the last molt clinging to one end. Once they reach adult size they may live up to 90 days, depending upon food sources available and temperatures. In Missouri there are probably two generations each year.

Newly Emerged Asian Lady Beetle

                                           
                                                                   
                                                               Asian Lady Beetle Larvae

                                                     Asian Lady Beetle Pupa

For many of us, a Ladybug is a Ladybug. I suppose in some ways this true, they certainly look similar. I can't say that I dislike these Asian Lady Beetles, they are serving a great purpose by ridding us of harmful aphids and other plant eating insects. I only wish it didn't come at such a high price for our lovely native ladies.

Im sure many of you have been reading about a worthwhile project that Cornell University is sponsoring. Cornell is famous for it's citizen scientist outreach projects. We are all familiar with the Great Backyard Bird Count, and Frog Watch. This newest project called "The Lost Ladybug Project" encourages individuals to explore their parks, natural areas, backyards and anywhere else that you are likely to find ladybugs. Camera in hand, photograph any all ladybugs you find. Take those pictures and upload them to Lost Ladybug Project. Give your best guess as to what species you think you've photographed. They compile this information and use it to determine how populations of individual species have changed, including their range, and numbers. It is truly a worthwhile project and fun for anyone who enjoys getting outside.