Category Archives: Unsolved Mysteries

In Search of Spring Beauties

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Charley Eiseman

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

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Charley Eiseman

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

Mailbag

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charley Eiseman

People regularly send me photos of mystery objects and other bug-related phenomena to see if I recognize them. Often I’m able to respond with a precise (or approximate) identification, and that’s the end of it. Other times I’m intrigued by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Solved Mysteries, Unsolved Mysteries | Tagged Anthidiellum notatum, bee, butterfly, Cercyonis, Cercyonis pegala, chrysalis, common wood nymph, Diptera, Epicypta, fly, fungus gnat, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Megachilidae, Mycetophilidae, Nymphalidae, pupa, resin bee | 8 Comments

Things To Look For This Spring, Part 3

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Charley Eiseman

First, a quick update on the hackberry galls: Mike Palmer has found a bunch of them in Oklahoma, and in fact they may already all have been abandoned there. Some of them have holes near the base, and others have … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Unsolved Mysteries | Tagged Agromyzidae, arrowwood, bark mine, caterpillar, Ceanothus, Ceanothus sanguineus, Cecidomyiidae, Celtis, Celtis occidentalis, cocoon, Diprionidae, Diptera, Encyrtidae, Encyrtus, fly, gall, gall midge, Gracillariidae, hackberry, Hemaris, Hemaris thysbe, hummingbird moth, Hymenoptera, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, Marmara, Monoctenus, Nantucket, new species, parasitoid, Phyllonorycter, Phyllonorycter viburnella, Sackenomyia commota, sawfly, Sphingidae, sphinx moth, Tortricidae, Tuckernuck, Viburnum, Viburnum dentatum, Zomaria interruptolineana | 5 Comments

Things To Look For This Spring, Part 1

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Charley Eiseman

I have a pretty much endless mental list of natural history mysteries that I would like to follow up on at some point, but there are several that, for various reasons, are in the front of my mind right now. A few of … Continue reading →

Posted in Unsolved Mysteries | Tagged Agromyza, Agromyza varifrons, Agromyzidae, Cecidomyiaceltis deserta, Cecidomyiidae, Celticecis, Celtis, Celtis occidentalis, gall, hackberry | 16 Comments

Dune-burrowing Moths

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Charley Eiseman

In late July of 2008, Noah and I were on our way to Zion National Park in Utah when we spotted a sign for Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, which we had never heard of. It sounded like a good … Continue reading →

Posted in Unsolved Mysteries | Tagged beetle, burrow, darkling beetle, Gelechioidea, larva, moth, Scythrididae, Tenebrionidae | 4 Comments

Turrets Topped With Pebbles

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Charley Eiseman

Here’s another little mystery for y’all. Two months ago, Sheryl Smith-Rodgers posted to BugGuide’s ID Request the following three photos, which she had taken on March 10. These structures were found in a dry creek bed on a ranch in … Continue reading →

Posted in Unsolved Mysteries | 7 Comments