Most people don’t like wasps, and for good reason – they can sting you! But not all wasps can sting, and even though the long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp looks pretty scary and intimidating, it is totally harmless to humans.
All tagged Insects
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Predatory Bee-Mimic Robber Fly
In nature, there are many creatures that mimic other creatures – for one reason or another. This is especially true in the insect world. Often, insects try to look like another species of insect that is poisonous or tastes bad.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Beautiful White Admiral Butterfly
One of the common butterflies of the northern United States and Canada is the White Admiral. This stately-looking butterfly is very dark – almost black all over, with a very bright white stripe running through its forewings and hind wings.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Poplar Sphinx Moth
Most moths don’t seem to get the love that butterflies enjoy. People like butterflies because they are colorful, they flit along almost playfully on bright sunny days, and they are totally harmless to humans. They also pollinate the flowers that we spend so much time growing in our gardens.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Those Nasty Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets. Almost everyone knows what they are! They are often mistakenly called bees or hornets, but they are actually a species of wasp. There are at least 17 species of yellowjackets living in North America.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Common Field Cricket
The melodious chirping of crickets on a quiet summer night is a familiar sound to most people. The crickets we hear are one of several species of common field crickets, and they can be pretty hard to tell apart. Crickets can be found throughout most of the United States and even parts of Canada and Mexico.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Ebony Jewelwing – Streamside Beauty
Dragonflies and damselflies are common sights along the shorelines of streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and other bodies of water. Most of them are very colorful and downright beautiful, and the Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly is no exception.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Beautiful Fritillary Butterfly
Most butterflies are beautiful – but the various species of fritillary butterflies really take it to the next level. Many of them are dazzling! There are 14 species of greater fritillaries and 16 species of lesser fritillaries.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Hated Squash Vine Borer Moth
Early last summer I was watering plants in my vegetable garden when I saw an interesting insect sitting on the leaf of a nearby flower. It looked a bit like a moth, but it was unlike any I had ever seen before. It was black and reddish-orange in color, with black antennae that looked like some moths I’ve seen in the past.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Swarms of Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are a common insect all over the United States (and the world, for that matter). There are approximately 11,000 species of grasshoppers worldwide and more than 400 species live right here in the USA.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Fireflies Light Up the Night
Many of us grew up chasing fireflies in our yards during the summertime. They were fun to watch and even more fun to catch. These insects are also called lightning bugs, and both names are appropriate since these creatures have the ability to light up with their amazing internal light source.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
If you’ve seen a large yellow butterfly in your yard or garden this summer, chances are good that it was a tiger swallowtail butterfly. Tiger swallowtails are one of the easiest butterflies to identify in the eastern United States since they are bright yellow with very distinct black “tiger stripes” on their forewings.