Tag Archives: Gracillariidae

Celebrating Silky Willow

Simply not mowing the lawn, and welcoming whatever plants decide to grow in its place, has done wonders for the biodiversity of our yard. But we have also welcomed gifts of native plants from friends, and today I’d like to … Continue reading

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Behind Door #1…

When Julia was in high school, she built this little cabin in the woods behind her family’s house in central Ohio: One chilly morning last April, when we stopped there on our way to spending a week exploring the Ozarks, … Continue reading

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Dogwood Mysteries

As I go through my Leafminers of North America e-book and update each chapter for the (now nearly complete) second edition, I’ve been putting together a spreadsheet of mystery leaf mines that need further investigation. There are now over 700 … Continue reading

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Carrot Stem Dwellers

Carrot (Apiaceae: Daucus carota) is native to Europe but widely cultivated and has become a ubiquitous weed in North America (also known as Queen Anne’s lace), so you’d think we’d have a pretty good handle on what bugs eat it … Continue reading

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The Yard List(s), Part 12

If you have somehow been keeping up with all these posts, you will recall that back in Episode 10 I found a sawfly larva on lady fern (Athyrium angustum) next to my house. Yesterday I stepped out the front door … Continue reading

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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

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The Yard List(s), Part 10

Yikes, I let more than a week go by since my last report on the yard lists. I guess I’m due for an update! First the leafminers… #32: Pegomya bicolor section (Anthomyiidae). On May 30 I saw the beginnings of mines … Continue reading

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The Yard List(s), Part 9

Things are really picking up now… First of all, I collected something from the arborvitae hedge at the end of the day yesterday that I didn’t get around to investigating until this morning. There were two of these little white … Continue reading

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The Yard List(s), Part 8

You may recall that back in early April I said that this year I would be listing not just the leafminers and edible plants I find in my yard, but also the sawfly larvae. So ever since I spotted the Monoctenus … Continue reading

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The Yard List(s), Part 7

Last night I finished revising and updating the Lepidoptera chapter for the second edition of Leafminers of North America, and when I got to the end I was reminded that some species of Leucania (like the ill-fated one I wrote about … Continue reading

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