In case you haven’t noticed, it’s tent season. Tour our local parks and forest preserves, even your own neighborhoods, on a weekend and you’re sure to see tents sheltering dozens, perhaps hundreds, of revelers. It’s graduation and wedding season, and celebrations are in full swing. But if you own a fruit tree—apple, cherry, anything in
Bug, Insect, Tent Caterpillars
So this week I was going to write about the amazing wildlife I saw while on vacation last week in Wisconsin’s Northwoods葉ales of places where grouse hunters roam, and deer and otters play耀hoot, there was even a bear in a grocery store’s beer cooler. But those stories will have to wait, because here on the
Asian Beetle, Bug, Insect
When was the last time you saw a little green man? For me, it was last Sunday. I was just going into the garage when something small and bright caught my eye. I looked down and there he was, all shiny and chartreuse: a freshly emerged cicada, clinging to his now-empty shell. Cicadas are reliable
Bug, Cicada, Insect
“What is that?” Here in the naturalist department, it’s a phrase that’s repeated often. And, I’ve got to admit, it’s one I love to hear. Over the last few months, we’ve answered questions about and helped identify ticks (American dog as well as deer); skulls (mostly raccoon, with the occasional opossum and coyote); birds (Cooper’s
Clearwings, Insect, Moth
I ran into a gypsy again the other day, and I wasn’t happy about it. Don’t get me wrong—human gypsies seem pretty cool, and I really wouldn’t mind meeting one of them. The gypsy I’m talking about, though, is Lymantria dispar, the gypsy moth, an imported insect with a penchant for feasting on forests. I
Gypsy, Insect, Moth
Some people attract wildlife to their yards by hanging up birdhouses. But this weekend, I’m putting up a bee house. That’s right. Bees. Those insects which are, for the most part, peaceable and mild, yet have an undeserved reputation for being cantankerous and hostile. The ones that supposedly sting every chance they get, but in
Bees, Bug, InsectSeeing as it’s June, the most popular month for weddings, it only seems fitting that we talk about…underwing moths. I’m sure you’re probably thinking, “Moths? Eww. Aren’t they the critters that eat my wool sweaters and hatch out of my birdseed?” Well, yes, but that’s a topic for a whole different column. Many other fine
Bug, Insect, Moth, Underwings
What comes to mind when you think of a good neighbor? The folks next door? State Farm? Bald-faced hornets? Okay, that last one may sound like a stretch. After all, aren’t hornets the critters people get “mad as?” And isn’t “stirring up a hornet’s nest” the last thing you want to do? Really, though, bald-faced
Bug, Hornet, Insect
The entertainment world is full of former child stars—in fact, where would the “E!” channel be without them and their True Hollywood Stories? But the insect world has its share of child stars, too—little larvae that are instantly recognizable as youngsters, only to turn ordinary when adulthood hits. The antlion comes to mind; as juveniles
Caterpillar, Insect, Wooly Bear