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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!
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Meta
Tag Archives: Nantucket
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
Sawfly Surprise
As I’ve mentioned a few times before, I’m starting to work on a hostplant-based guide to sawfly larvae that will be arranged similarly to my leafminer guide. In addition to reviewing the existing sawfly literature, I’ve been sporadically collecting larvae … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Arge, Argidae, Betulaceae, chalcid, cocoon, Corylus, Eulophidae, hazelnut, Hymenoptera, larva, Nantucket, parasitism, parasitoid, sawfly, Tetrastichinae
5 Comments
Pesky Parasitoids, Part 3
First, another quick update on the leafminer book. Some people have asked if there’s a way to get it without recurring monthly payments, and/or by writing a check rather than going through Patreon. At the same time, Patreon recently announced … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Braconidae, bugleweed, caterpillar, chalcid, cocoon, Hymenoptera, hyperparasitoid, Lamiaceae, larva, Lepidoptera, Lycopus, Lycopus uniflorus, Microgastrinae, moth, Nantucket, parasitism, parasitoid, Perilampidae, Perilampus, wasp
6 Comments
The Endless Diversity of Tiny Wasps, Continued
A couple of months ago I gave a sneak preview of some new species I found during the 2016 Berkshire BioBlitz on Mt. Greylock. One of them now officially has a name, thanks to a paper that was just published … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Berkshire BioBlitz, blueberry, Cecidomyiidae, Dasineura, Dasineura parthenocissi, Diptera, fly, gall, gall midge, goat's rue, Hymenoptera, larva, midge, Nantucket, new species, parasitism, parasitoid, Parthenocissus, Platygaster, Platygaster tephrosiae, Platygaster vaccinii, Platygastridae, Tephrosia virginiana, Torymidae, Trichacis, Trichacis virginiensis, Vaccinium, Virginia creeper, wasp
4 Comments
A Hard-won Moth
You may recall that last spring I wrote a series of three posts that each highlighted something I hoped people would keep an eye out for; the last of these was a moth whose life history I had pieced together … Continue reading
Posted in Solved Mysteries, Uncategorized
Tagged Ageniaspis, Anurophorus, arrowwood, beetle, Brentidae, chalcid, cocoon, Coleoptera, Contacyphon, Encyrtidae, Entomobrya, Entomobrya nivalis, Entomobryidae, Eulophidae, Gracillariidae, Hymenoptera, Isotomidae, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, Marmara, Marmara viburnella, moth, Nantucket, Neapion, Neapion herculanum, new species, parasitism, parasitoid, Quadrastichus, Scirtidae, springtail, stem mine, Tetrastichinae, Viburnum, Viburnum dentatum, wasp, weevil
18 Comments
Giving Wasps Their Due
I often see pie charts like this one suggesting that about a quarter of all insect species are beetles. Suspiciously, other sources (e.g. here) say beetles represent about a quarter of all animal species, and Wikipedia goes so far as to say … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged black cherry, Cecidomyiidae, Contarinia, Contarinia cerasiserotinae, Diptera, Eulophidae, fly, gall, gall midge, inquiline, larva, Lasioptera, Lasioptera vitis, Nantucket, new species, parasitism, parasitoid, Platygaster, Platygaster pruni, Platygaster uvulariae, Platygaster vitisiellae, Platygastridae, Prunus, Prunus serotina, Rosaceae, Uvularia sessilifolia, Vitisiella, wasp, wild oats
3 Comments
Updates On Some Mystery Moths
This month’s issue of the Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society includes an article of mine* discussing two leaf-mining moths I’ve written about here previously. The first is an oak-mining eriocraniid that I had expected to be Dyseriocrania griseocapitella when I collected the … Continue reading
Posted in Solved Mysteries, Uncategorized
Tagged Acanthopteroctetes, Acanthopteroctetidae, chalcid, Colorado, currant, Eriocraniella, Eriocraniella platyptera, Eriocraniidae, Eulophidae, Fagaceae, larva, leafminer, Lepidoptera, moth, Nantucket, oak, parasitoid, Pnigalio, Quercus, Quercus gambelii, Quercus ilicifolia, Ribes, wasp
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Is it just me…
…or does this jumping spider look like it’s driving a truck, with its left hand on the wheel and its right arm dangling lazily out the window? It had taken up residence in a dragonfly naiad’s shed skin along the … Continue reading
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