Monthly Archives: February 2012

Campoplegines, Part 3

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Charley Eiseman

I’ll conclude Campopleginae Week with this cocoon I found on a spicebush (Lindera benzoin) leaf in September: The host plant and the big fake eyes on the caterpillar skin identify the ichneumon’s host as  a spicebush swallowtail (Papilionidae: Papilio troilus). The … Continue reading →

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Campoplegines, Part 2

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charley Eiseman

Last August I spotted a cocoon I didn’t recognize, nestled among some boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) flowers: Before I get to that, I should mention that this photo also shows the stripey legs of a crab spider (Thomisidae), waiting to grab … Continue reading →

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Campoplegines, Part 1

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charley Eiseman

I have been a fan of the cocoons of ichneumon wasps in the subfamily Campopleginae ever since I saw my first one five years ago, stuck to a chain-link fence along the Winooski River in Burlington, Vermont. They come in … Continue reading →

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Beachcombing

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Charley Eiseman

After four intensive days of surveying the island of Nantucket for galls and leaf mines last September, Noah and Sydne and I headed to the beach to bask and unwind.  I am mostly a forest creature, and I am ignorant … Continue reading →

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