Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the LOVEBUG: The Lovebug lives up to its name in the black fly world… but not in the human world. Let’s begin in the black fly world. The Lovebug, Plecia nearctica, is a small black fly with a red thorax (the area behind the head).  The [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the ANT LION: The Ant Lion has two interesting nicknames… the Doodlebug and the Sand Dragon.  Each of these nicknames tells us a little something about the habits of the Ant Lion. First, the Ant Lion’s movements make little doodle-like figures in sand as it looks [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the ZEBRA SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY: It doesn’t take much guessing to know that the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly resembles a zebra. Distinctively black-and-white striped, the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly is considered a rather common butterfly and is found in Southern Ontario, Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, the Gulf States and [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the YELLOW MEADOW ANT: Common to Central Europe, the Yellow Meadow Ant is also found in North America, North Africa and Asia. As you may have guessed, the Yellow Meadow Ant is yellow, but its color shades vary into brown, too.  The Worker Yellow Meadow Ant [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the XERCES BLUE BUTTERFLY (pronounced Zer-seas): Sadly, the beautiful Xerces Blue Butterfly is eXtinct.  X-ed off the planet. (This is a YIKES that’s unimaginable.) Perhaps more sadly,  the Xerces Blue Butterfly is the first butterfly in North America to have become extinct at the hands of [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the WATER MEASURER: Not many creatures on earth are able to literally walk on water… but the Water Measurer is one that can. The Water Measurer gets its name from its appearance of slowly, methodically and deliberately measuring water without breaking its surface.  The long, thin [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the RED VELVET MITE: What looks like a tiny, red velvet thumbprint? The Red Velvet Mite, of course. The Red Velvet Mite is considered an arachnid and is a member of the subphylum Chelicerata, which derives from the Greek word meaning crab’s claws. The Red Velvet [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the TSETSE FLY: The Tsetse Fly is large biting fly that inhabits Africa.  It resembles a common housefly, but is larger. Both male and female Tsetse Flies suck on the blood of mammals… and its this bloodsucking that causes so much harm to human beings and [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the STINK BUG: Let’s just begin this whole discussion of the Stink Bug with a YIKES! The Stink Bug stinks. Seriously. The Stink Bug gets its name for its ability to release a very unpleasant odor when it’s hurt or its home is threatened. The Stink [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the RED DAMSELFLY: Actually, there are two species of the Red Damselfly… the Small Red and the Large Red and both are found in Wales, southern Britain and Ireland. There are distinct differences that make the two identifiable, the most obvious difference being size.  The Small [...]