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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!
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Tag Archives: Nepticulidae
A leaf-mining midge odyssey (Part 1)
Back in 2012, when I had only recently realized I needed to write a complete guide to the leafminers of North America and as a result Julia and I were driving around the US to find them all, we visited … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyzidae, Balsaminaceae, Ceanothus, Chironomidae, Diptera, Eriodictyon, Erythranthe, exuviae, fly, Gelechiidae, Impatiens, jewelweed, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, Limnophyes, Limnophyes viribus, Metepeira, Metriocnemus, Metriocnemus erythranthei, Metriocnemus eurynotus, midge, Mimulus, monkeyflower, Namaceae, Nepticulidae, new species, orbweaver, Phrymaceae, Phytomyza, Phytomyza eriodictyi, Plantaginaceae, pupa, Rhamnaceae, speedwell, spider, Tischeria, Tischeriidae, Veronica, Veronica anagallis-aquatica, water speedwell, web, Xenolechia ceanothiella, yerba santa
2 Comments
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
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Agromyzidae, Cornaceae, Cornus, Diptera, dogwood, fly, Gracillariidae, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, Nepticulidae, Phyllocnistis, Phytomyza, Phytomyza agromyzina, Phytomyza notopleuralis
4 Comments
A wasp has its day
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know that a lot of my attempts to rear insect larvae to adults end up producing parasitoid wasps. You have probably also heard me lament from time to time … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Adelius, Adelius coloradensis, Adelius floridensis, Braconidae, cocoon, Fomoria, Formoria hypericella, Frangula, Frangula purshiana, Hymenoptera, Hypericaceae, Hypericum, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, Nepticulidae, new species, parasitism, parasitoid, Rhamnaceae, Stigmella, wasp
13 Comments
Pesky Parasitoids
A big “thank you” to my first 13 patrons! I’m almost done writing the main introductory chapter that I’ve been putting off dealing with for a few years now, and soon I’ll get to work trying to put together a … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Berkshire BioBlitz, Betula, Betula lenta, Betulaceae, birch, black birch, Eulophidae, Hymenoptera, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, Nepticulidae, parasitism, parasitoid, Pnigalio, wasp
8 Comments
Birch Munchers, Large and Small
The woods behind our house were logged not long before we moved here, and as a result there are lots of black birch (Betula lenta) saplings around. Yesterday on my morning walk I spotted this amazing caterpillar eagerly devouring the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Betula, Betula lenta, Betulaceae, birch, black birch, casebearer, caterpillar, cecropia moth, Coleophora, Hyalophora, Hyalophora cecropia, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, Nepticulidae, Saturniidae, Stigmella
13 Comments
Green Islands (Part 2), and Another Mystery Moth
(Note: For those who have already read yesterday’s post, I’ve added a little more information at the end after hearing back today from Jerry Powell, who described the genus Areniscythris in 1976.) Last January I wrote about the “green islands” … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged aspen, Ectoedemia, Ectoedemia agryropeza, green island, larva, leaf mine, moth, Nepticulidae, new species, Populus, Populus tremuloides, quaking aspen, Salicaceae, Salix, Salix pentandra, Stigmella, willow
6 Comments
Tiny Bugs from Tiny Leaves
I’ve now finished uploading plant photos from last fall’s road trip through the western states. If you’d like to help with identifying them, you can see them all organized by location here. Thanks to those who have helped out already; … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged buckthorn, California, Chrysocharis, Chrysocharis wahli, cocoon, Eulophidae, larva, leaf mine, moth, Nepticulidae, parasitism, parasitoid, Rhamnaceae, Rhamnus, Rhamnus crocea, Stigmella, wasp
12 Comments
Dill Moths (and others)
On Tuesday I noticed webbing at the tops of some dill plants in the garden, with moth pupae suspended within. Most webs had a single pupa, but this one had three: Investigating further, I saw that the developing seeds on … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Acer, Acer saccharum, American chestnut, Apiaceae, Betula, Betula populifolia, birch, Cameraria, Castanea dentata, chestnut oak, Depressaria depressana, dill, Elachista, Elachistidae, Elymus, Elymus repens, Erebidae, evening primrose, Gracillariidae, gray birch, Haploa, Haploa clymene, leaf mine, maple, Mompha, moth, Nepticulidae, oak, Oenothera, Oenothera pilosella, Parornix, parsley family, Phyllonorycter, pin oak, pupa, quackgrass, Quercus, Quercus palustris, Quercus prinus, Quercus rubra, red oak, Stigmella, sugar maple, web
8 Comments
Norway Maple Seedminer
Two weeks ago I was walking across the Amherst (Massachusetts) town common and I had two minutes to kill before a bus arrived, so I stopped under a Norway maple tree to see if I could find any mines of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Acer, Acer platanoides, cocoon, Ectoedemia, Ectoedemia sericopeza, egg, maple, moth, Nepticulidae, Norway maple, Norway maple seedminer, pupa
3 Comments
Adapting to New Menu Options
Exotic plants–those that have been introduced to new habitats by humans in recent history–tend to be conspicuously free of signs of feeding by insects. Most plant-feeding insects are highly host-specific, and the lack of insect herbivores keeping them in check … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged buckthorn, common buckthorn, introduced species, leaf mine, moth, Nepticulidae, Rhamnaceae, Rhamnus cathartica, Stigmella, Stigmella rhamnicola
8 Comments
BugTracks 