-
Join 1,067 other subscribers
-
If you enjoy reading this blog, please consider making a donation. I would devote all my time to natural history writing and photography if I could! You can make a one-time donation using the yellow button above, or click the “Become a Patron” button to learn how you can support my work on a monthly basis, which gets you (among other things) monthly installments of my new leafminer book. To see other options for getting the book, click the image of its cover below.
-
To order either of my books, click on the images of their covers above.
-
Recent Posts
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!
Most Used Tags
- Agromyzidae
- ant
- Arizona
- Asteraceae
- bee
- beetle
- Betulaceae
- black cherry
- Braconidae
- Bucculatrix
- butterfly
- caterpillar
- Cecidomyiidae
- chalcid
- cherry
- Chrysomelidae
- cocoon
- Coleoptera
- Curculionidae
- Curculionoidea
- Cynipidae
- Diptera
- egg
- Eulophidae
- Fabaceae
- Fagaceae
- flower
- fly
- Formicidae
- fungus
- gall
- gall midge
- gall wasp
- Gelechiidae
- goldenrod
- Gracillariidae
- Hymenoptera
- Ichneumonidae
- ichneumon wasp
- jumping spider
- larva
- leaf mine
- leafminer
- Lepidoptera
- midge
- moth
- Nantucket
- Nepticulidae
- new species
- oak
- parasitism
- parasitoid
- Phyllonorycter
- Phytomyza
- Platygastridae
- predation
- Prunus
- Prunus serotina
- Pteromalidae
- pupa
- puparium
- Quercus
- Quercus rubra
- red oak
- Rosaceae
- Salicaceae
- Salticidae
- sawfly
- spider
- springtail
- Stigmella
- Tenthredinidae
- Tortricidae
- wasp
- weevil
Categories
Top Posts & Pages
Bug Links
Blogroll
Archives
- February 2023
- November 2022
- October 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- June 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
Meta
Tag Archives: springtail
Behind Door #1…
When Julia was in high school, she built this little cabin in the woods behind her family’s house in central Ohio: One chilly morning last April, when we stopped there on our way to spending a week exploring the Ozarks, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Ariadna bicolor, bee fly, Bombyliidae, Bombylius, Bombylius major, Bourletiella hortensis, Collembola, Diptera, egg sac, fly, globular springtail, Gracillariidae, Lepidoptera, moth, Phyllonorycter, Phyllonorycter celtifoliella, Segestriidae, spider, springtail, web
5 Comments
The Yard List(s), Part 11
Now that I’ve declared my intention to find as many sawfly larvae as possible, they’re starting to show up everywhere I look. Today Julia and I made a rare trip away from home, lured by the news from my mother … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Agromyzidae, Amelanchier, Aphrophoridae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Betula, Betulaceae, birch, black cherry, butterfly, casebearer, Coleophora, Coleophora pruniella, Coleophoridae, Colias, Collembola, Daucus carota, Diptera, Dolerus, egg, Epermenia, Epermenia albapunctella, Epermeniidae, flesh fly, fly, fox grape, Galium, Galium mollugo, gall, globular springtail, goldenrod, gooseberry, Gracillariidae, grape, Grossulariaceae, harvestman, Heliopsis helianthoides, Heliozela aesella, Heliozelidae, Hymenoptera, larva, leaf roll, Lepidoptera, Liriomyza, Liriomyza arctii, Liriomyza eupatorii, Liriomyza galiivora, Opiliones, oxeye, Pamphiliidae, Pamphilius, paper birch, Parornix, Philaenus spumarius, Phyllocnistis, Phyllocnistis vitifoliella, Pieridae, Prunus, Prunus serotina, pussy willow, Ribes, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Salicaceae, Salix, Salix discolor, Sarcophagidae, sawfly, shadbush, Solidago, spittlebug, springtail, sulphur, Tenthredinidae, thrips, Thysanoptera, Vitaceae, Vitis, Vitis labrusca, wild carrot, wild madder, willow
12 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
Quinquennial Snow Flea Session
After my “In Search of Snow Bugs” post a few days ago, Lang Elliott asked if I had any great pictures of snow fleas. I checked my files, and I found that my last attempt to photograph snow fleas on snow … Continue reading
December Bugs
It’s been quiet here on the BugTracks front lately, as I’ve been devoting all of my computer time to working on the leafminer book. As a result, I’ve decided to take a break from “monthly mysteries” for the winter, since … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged beetle, Carabidae, Coleoptera, Collembola, crab spider, crane fly, Diptera, elongate-bodied springtail, Entomobrya, Entomobrya clitellaria, Entomobrya griseoolivata, Entomobryidae, Harpalini, Heleomyzidae, Hypogastrura, Hypogastruridae, larva, Orbellia, Philodromidae, Philodromus, spider, springtail, Trichocera, Trichoceridae, winter crane fly
7 Comments
Sweater-wearing Springtail
One of the nice byproducts of rearing leafminers is that in checking the vials every day, I get to see some interesting tiny bugs I never would have seen otherwise (in addition to the actual leafminers and their parasitoids). There … Continue reading
Overwintering Oak Galls
Last October I spotted a couple of tiny, pearl-like cynipid wasp galls on the underside of a fallen white oak (Quercus alba) leaf. I stuck the leaf in a plastic bag to see if anything would emerge in the spring. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Cynipidae, gall, gall wasp, Hypogastruridae, oak, Quercus, Quercus alba, springtail, wasp, white oak
6 Comments
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
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged bolete, Ceratophysella, Collembola, dark-winged fungus gnat, Drosophilidae, egg, elongate-bodied springtail, Entomobrya ligata, Eucoilinae, Figitidae, fly, fungus, fungus gnat, globular springtail, mushroom, parasitoid, Ptenothrix marmorata, Sciaridae, Sminthurinus quadrimaculatus, springtail, vinegar fly, wasp
11 Comments
Puffball Bugs
The fungi are out in force right now, as are all the creatures that feed on them. This week I’ve been particularly drawn to puffballs. On Wednesday I noticed a little wasp walking around on a gem-studded puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum). … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged beetle, Collembola, Diapriidae, Endomychidae, Endomychus biguttatus, fungus, gem-studded puffball, handsome fungus beetle, Lycoperdina ferruginea, Lycoperdon, Lycoperdon perlatum, Lycoperdon pyriforme, Mycetina perpulchra, Orchesella celsa, parasitoid, pear-shaped puffball, Ptenothrix marmorata, puffball, Spilomicrus, springtail, Tomoceridae, wasp
1 Comment
BugTracks 