-
If you enjoy reading this blog, please consider making a donation. I would devote all my time to natural history writing and photography if I could! You can make a one-time donation using the yellow button above, or click the “Become a Patron” button to learn how you can support my work on a monthly basis, which gets you (among other things) monthly installments of my new leafminer book. To see other options for getting the book, click the image of its cover below.
-
To order either of my books, click on the images of their covers above.
-
Recent Posts
Do you know your plants?
For my Leafminers of North America project, I periodically need help identifying hostplants I find in my travels. You can peruse photos of them at iNaturalist. Thanks!
Most Used Tags
- Agromyzidae
- ant
- Arizona
- Asteraceae
- bee
- beetle
- Betulaceae
- black cherry
- Braconidae
- Bucculatrix
- butterfly
- caterpillar
- Cecidomyiidae
- chalcid
- cherry
- Chrysomelidae
- cocoon
- Coleoptera
- Curculionidae
- Curculionoidea
- Cynipidae
- Diptera
- egg
- Eulophidae
- Fabaceae
- Fagaceae
- flower
- fly
- Formicidae
- fungus
- gall
- gall midge
- gall wasp
- Gelechiidae
- goldenrod
- Gracillariidae
- Hymenoptera
- Ichneumonidae
- ichneumon wasp
- jumping spider
- larva
- leaf mine
- leafminer
- Lepidoptera
- midge
- moth
- Nantucket
- Nepticulidae
- new species
- oak
- parasitism
- parasitoid
- Phyllonorycter
- Platygastridae
- predation
- Prunus
- Prunus serotina
- Pteromalidae
- pupa
- puparium
- Quercus
- Quercus rubra
- red oak
- Rosaceae
- Salticidae
- sawfly
- Solidago
- spider
- springtail
- Stigmella
- Tenthredinidae
- Tortricidae
- Torymidae
- wasp
- weevil
Categories
Top Posts & Pages
Bug Links
Blogroll
Archives
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- June 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
Meta
Category Archives: Unsolved Mysteries
Down the Rabbit Hole
I’ve managed to study insects intensively for over a decade, writing two books and publishing over 50 scientific papers that included the descriptions of 76 new species and one new genus, without ever learning to dissect anything. I have relied … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Crambidae, genitalia, leaftier, moth, Nantucket, Pyraloidea, Pyraustinae, Salicaceae, Salix, willow
15 Comments
Acorn Plum Galls (and friends)
Hey, this blog now has over 1000 subscribers! Thanks everyone for your continued interest in my esoteric natural history investigations. I’m still slowly working my way through the photos I took last summer, during which one of my several jobs … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged acorn, ambush bug, Amphibolips, Amphibolips quercusjuglans, Ceroptres, Crabronidae, Crossocerus, Cynipidae, Fagaceae, gall, gall wasp, Hymenoptera, ichneumon wasp, Ichneumonidae, inquiline, larva, Lepidoptera, moth, oak, oak plum, parasitism, parasitoid, Phymata, predation, Quercus, Quercus ilicifolia, Reduviidae, scrub oak, wasp
4 Comments
Fringed Loosestrife Fauna
Fringed loosestrife (Primulaceae: Lysimachia ciliata) is a common plant of moist areas that, I realize now that I’m starting to write this post, I’ve never bothered to photograph. But it has yellow flowers and is related to garden loosestrife; it … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Aterpia, fringed loosestrife, larva, Lepidoptera, loosestrife, Lysimachia, Lysimachia ciliata, moth, Primulaceae, Tortricidae
2 Comments
The Yard List(s), Part 11
Now that I’ve declared my intention to find as many sawfly larvae as possible, they’re starting to show up everywhere I look. Today Julia and I made a rare trip away from home, lured by the news from my mother … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Agromyzidae, Amelanchier, Aphrophoridae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Betula, Betulaceae, birch, black cherry, butterfly, casebearer, Coleophora, Coleophora pruniella, Coleophoridae, Colias, Collembola, Daucus carota, Diptera, Dolerus, egg, Epermenia, Epermenia albapunctella, Epermeniidae, flesh fly, fly, fox grape, Galium, Galium mollugo, gall, globular springtail, goldenrod, gooseberry, Gracillariidae, grape, Grossulariaceae, harvestman, Heliopsis helianthoides, Heliozela aesella, Heliozelidae, Hymenoptera, larva, leaf roll, Lepidoptera, Liriomyza, Liriomyza arctii, Liriomyza eupatorii, Liriomyza galiivora, Opiliones, oxeye, Pamphiliidae, Pamphilius, paper birch, Parornix, Philaenus spumarius, Phyllocnistis, Phyllocnistis vitifoliella, Pieridae, Prunus, Prunus serotina, pussy willow, Ribes, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Salicaceae, Salix, Salix discolor, Sarcophagidae, sawfly, shadbush, Solidago, spittlebug, springtail, sulphur, Tenthredinidae, thrips, Thysanoptera, Vitaceae, Vitis, Vitis labrusca, wild carrot, wild madder, willow
12 Comments
Ten Years Later
Since we have ten fingers and ten toes, I suppose it’s worth mentioning that it was ten years ago today that Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates was first published. People are often surprised when I tell them that … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Bucculatrix, cocoon, Gelis, Hymenoptera, ichneumon wasp, Ichneumonidae, Lepidoptera, moth, parasitism, parasitoid, wasp
8 Comments
In Search of the Lost Sawfly
Greetings to everyone who subscribed to this blog after my recent post about the inhabitants of a clump of sod in my front lawn! This one will take us a little farther afield. As most of you know, I’ve been … Continue reading
In Search of Spring Beauties
Although spring is technically already half over, it only really got started around here in the past week or so. Yesterday I saw my first spring beauties (Montiaceae: Claytonia caroliniana): These little wildflowers are only around for a few weeks before … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Anthomyiidae, Claytonia, Claytonia caroliniana, Diptera, larva, leaf mine, Montiaceae, Pegomya, Pegomya flavifrons, spring beauty
2 Comments
Another Day, Another Mothy Mystery
Yesterday Cheryl Harleston of Yelapa, Mexico showed me these photos she had recently taken, and asked if I had any thoughts about them. She called the subject a “corral made of grains of sand.” My immediate reaction was “I’ve never seen … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Apocynaceae, Araceae, Asclepias, Asclepias syriaca, beetle, caterpillar, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera, larva, Lepidoptera, Mexico, milkweed, moth, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus, Xanthosoma
7 Comments
BugTracks 