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 CHAN’S MEGASTICK: Have you ever seen or heard of an insect that measures 22.3 inches in length? No? Well, meet the Chan’s Megastick. Discovered in 2008 in Borneo, the Chan’s Megastick beat its nearest competitor stick-insect, the Phobaeticus kirbyi (14 inches), by 8+ inches.  Very [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the ASSASSIN BUG: Aggressive, accurate, ambushing and acutely toxic… the Assassin Bug doesn’t mess around.  It gets an A+ in killing. The Assassin Bug has a license to kill (other insects, that is).  It uses its beak to stab its insect victims with great speed.  Once [...]

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 UNDERWING MOTH: The Underwing Moth is a perfect example of hidden beauty. Why? The forewings of an Underwing Moth are a dull color that no-one might notice.  These dull-colored, unexciting wings give the Underwing Moth perfect camouflage from predators while it’s at rest. But the [...]