Tag Archives: Sciaridae

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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Introducing Phytosciara greylockensis

You know I’ve been way too busy when I let weeks go by without celebrating the publication of a new species description in a BugTracks post. Julia and I spent much of July exploring Michigan and Ontario (including visiting the … Continue reading

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Why You Should Let Me Collect Bugs On Your Land With Impunity

Last year I posted some of my most interesting finds from the June 18 Berkshire BioBlitz on Mt. Greylock—at least, the ones that were most immediately visually interesting. There were several more significant discoveries that I didn’t want to write about … Continue reading

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Marsh Marigold Menagerie

In the spring of 2013, I wrote about the four-toed salamander surveys I was conducting at the time, which involved crawling around in swamps all over northwestern Massachusetts. On June 1, the last day of the survey, Julia tagged along, … Continue reading

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Sticky Plants

When you use a technical botanical manual to identify a plant, you will often encounter vague references to “glands” or “glandular hairs” on various plant parts, without any indication of the functions of these structures. Four years ago I wrote about … Continue reading

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Fungus Gnat Train

It’s been two and a half months since my last post—not, of course, because I’ve run out of things to write about, but because there’s too much going on at this time of year for me to find the time … Continue reading

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Life on a Bolete

Time for another installment of my celebration of fungus fauna.  The day after Hurricane Irene came through my woods, I went for a walk to survey the damage.  There was practically none, as it turned out, other than the hickory … Continue reading

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Extrafloral Nectaries

Last weekend I participated in the Berkshire BioBlitz, a 24-hour event in which people gathered on Mt. Greylock in Adams, Massachusetts to see how many different species of animals, plants, and fungi they could find.  Since there are generally plenty … Continue reading

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