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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: new species
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
Introducing Haplopeodes loprestii
This leafminer business all started nearly ten years ago, in the fall of 2011. I had become fascinated with these tiny creatures while I was writing Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates a few years earlier, but it … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Abronia, Agromyzidae, Diptera, Fagonia, fly, Gelechiidae, Gnorimoschemini, Haplopeodes, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, Liriomyza, Liriomyza trifolii, moth, new species, Zygophyllaceae
5 Comments
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
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Acordulecera, Agromyza, Agromyza aristata, Agromyzidae, American elm, Anthomyiidae, apple, Argyresthia, Argyresthiidae, Asteraceae, beetle, Betula, Betula lenta, Betulaceae, birch, black birch, black raspberry, Castanea, Chalepini, Chalepus, Chalepus bicolor, chestnut, Chrysomelidae, cocoon, Coleophora, Coleophora comptoniella, Coleophora serratella, Coleoptera, Corylus, Cosmopterigidae, Cosmopterix, Cosmopterix gemmiferella, deertongue grass, Dichanthelium, Dichanthelium clandestinum, Diptera, elm, Fagaceae, fly, goldenrod, Gracillariidae, grass, hazelnut, Hymenoptera, Japanagromyza viridula, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, Leucospilapteryx, Malus, Marmara, new species, oak, Orchestes, Orchestes mixtus, Pegomya, Pegomya rubivora, Pergidae, Phytomyza, Phytomyza solidaginophaga, Poaceae, Quercus, Quercus rubra, raspberry, red oak, Rosaceae, Rubus, Rubus occidentalis, sawfly, Solidago, Solidago canadensis, Solidago rugosa, stem mine, Sumitrosis, Sumitrosis inaequalis, Thuja, Ulmaceae, Ulmus, Ulmus americana
6 Comments
Introducing Grapholita thermopsidis
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
Another year, another 20 new species
2020 is off to a good start! This afternoon I gave my “Native Plants as Insect Habitat” slideshow in the Berkshires, and on the way home stopped at Noah’s house because his not-quite-six-year-old son wanted to show me the bobcat … Continue reading
Some more flies 4 U
When I finished my previous post, I checked my email and discovered that my third paper with Owen Lonsdale has just been published*. In it we describe another ten new species of agromyzid flies, which brings our total to 49 … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyza, Agromyza princei, Agromyzidae, Antennaria, Asteraceae, BioBlitz, black raspberry, Calycomyza, Calycomyza smallanthi, Diptera, fly, Garrya, Garryaceae, hairy leafcup, Lamiaceae, Liriomyza, Liriomyza garryae, Liriomyza phloxiphaga, new species, Ophiomyia, Ophiomyia antennariae, Phlox, Phytomyza, Phytomyza salviarum, Polemoniaceae, pussytoes, raspberry, Rosaceae, Rubus, Rubus occidentalis, sage, Salvia, silktassel, Smallanthus uvedalius
6 Comments
Complete leafminer guide now available!
This weekend I finished the first edition of my Leafminers of North America e-book—1857 pages long (plus a 54-page table of contents, 20-page glossary, and 68-page bibliography), and illustrated with thousands of color photographs. To purchase it or learn more about … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyzidae, Argidae, beetle, Calycomyza, Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Curculionoidea, Diptera, fly, Hymenoptera, larva, leaf mine, leafminer, new species, Orchestes, Orchestes pallicornis, sawfly, Sterictiphora, weevil
7 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
Some more new flies
Nope, attention-grabbing titles just aren’t my forte. Anyway, you may recall that last fall Owen Lonsdale and I published a paper describing 30 new species of agromyzid flies, two of which I found right along my driveway, and the rest … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Ageratina, Agromyzidae, Asteraceae, Bidens, Carphephorus, chalcid, Diptera, Eulophidae, fly, Hymenoptera, leaf mine, Liriomyza, Liriomyza carphephori, Mikania, new species, parasitoid, wasp
5 Comments
How Many New Species?
I am often asked how many new insect species I have found (or “discovered”). I’m never quite sure how to answer this. I’ve certainly reared dozens of undescribed species of moths, for instance, that are now sitting in my office … Continue reading
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