Tag Archives: Lepidoptera

The Yard List(s), Part 3

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

Spring continues to lurch along here in northern Massachusetts. This morning I woke up once again to the sight of fresh snow (though not a continuous blanket like last time), but in the meantime the daffodils, hyacinths, Scilla, and Forsythia have been blooming, … Continue reading →

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Green Wasps from a Green Island

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

Last October I picked up a fallen black cherry (Prunus serotina) leaf from my yard because it had a good example of the “green island” phenomenon I’ve written about here and here. Apparently, endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria in certain leaf-mining larvae … Continue reading →

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The Yard List(s)

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

This year Julia and I decided to take a break from traveling and—for once—experience our yard through all the seasons without missing anything. Given the stay-at-home orders of late, and my almost complete lack of employment opportunities as a result, … Continue reading →

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Adventures in Taxonomy

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

Apparently today is “Taxonomist Appreciation Day,” so I suppose it’s an appropriate time to write a little something about my latest paper, which I discovered had been published right after I clicked “publish” on my previous blog post. I never … Continue reading →

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Mallow Munchers

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

Three years ago, Don and Mignon Davis described a new species of moth, Telamoptilia hibiscivora (Gracillariidae), whose larvae mine leaves of swamp rosemallow (Malvaceae: Hibiscus moscheutos) along the Atlantic Coast*. Specimens were known from Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, and adjacent Mexico, dating back … Continue reading →

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Ten Years Later

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

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 →

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Introducing Grapholita thermopsidis

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

Almost every year since we bought our house, Julia and I have spent a few weeks on a road trip in search of exciting new leafminers. At this point we’ve visited nearly every US state and two Canadian provinces. This … Continue reading →

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Backyard Bowerbird

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

This morning I heard some bluebirds twittering outside the window, so Julia and I took the cue to go out and clean out the nest boxes. The bluebirds’ nest from last year was a dense mass of pine needles and … Continue reading →

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Swallowtail Surprise

Posted on January 11, 2020 by Charley Eiseman

I’ve made it up to the end of August in my photo sorting, which means I’m now going through all the pictures I took over the two days Julia and I spent surveying for leaf-mining moths at Black Rock Forest … Continue reading →

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Cup Plant Creature

Posted on December 29, 2019 by Charley Eiseman

At the end of June, Julia and I visited Marci and Jim Hess and explored some of their remnant and restored prairie in Lafayette County, Wisconsin. We were of course focusing on collecting leafminers, and I spotted something unusual on … Continue reading →

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