On the fly

©2022 Karen Richards

The first two flies featured here are robber flies. All flies are in the Diptera order, and robber flies are in the Asilidae family. The fly above was fairly large, and until it landed I thought it might be a small dragonfly. Robber flies are hefty, have their six legs tucked under them like a six-legged chair, and are brilliant predators. I guess they “rob” grasshoppers, wasps and dragonflies (etc.) of their lives? They catch prey quickly, in mid-air, so I suppose they also “steal” up on unsuspecting insects. This individual is in the Asilinae sub-family according to the fine folk at BugGuide.

©2022 Karen Richards

Here’s another robber fly I saw a couple days ago. It’s costumed itself as a wasp, appropriately for Halloween week. This one is in the Laphria genus of bee-like robber flies. It kindly swept one wing to the side so we could see the stripes underneath. Some of the species in this genus feature orange stripes, and others are covered in yellow and black fluff that mimics bumblebees.

©2022 Karen Richards

You’ve probably seen this type of fly before, but if you’re like me you never took the time to really look at it. Woodpecker flies are in the Medetera genus and they like to perch on vertical, manmade surfaces. They always have this upright stance, like they’re in a child’s bouncy seat. Most of the ones I’ve been able to look at up close have greenish eyes.

These flies are predators of beetle larvae that live under bark… which is probably the source of their common name.

Fall is a great time to see insects. Get outside!

Cool Cats

©2022 Karen Richards

For insects that undergo complete metamorphosis, the pre-adult stages look and act like completely different animals than the adults, and most of us know that’s true for butterflies and moths. I’ve found a few interesting caterpillars lately. In most cases, I’ve never seen the adult, and in most cases, I’d like to.

Above is a Great Ash Sphinx moth caterpillar. The blue tentacle at the end is entrancing, and it’s what gives the caterpillars in this genus the nickname “hornworm.” Some other moths in the genus are more colorful than these, which are brown as adults, but they’re all known as hawk moths, or hummingbird moths because they beat their wings quickly and can hover in place.

©2022 Karen Richards

There are a lot of caterpillars in my photo library with the caption “unknown,” including this one. The tricky thing with some cats is they can vary in color, not only as they grow, but even at the same stage. It may depend on their diet or location (camouflage) or temperature, etc.

©2022 Karen Richards

I thought this fuzzy caterpillar was really interesting, with its white hairs of varying lengths. But when I looked it up, I found out it’s a Fall Webworm. The adults are white with black spots and good-looking, with a white puff of fluff around their heads. But the caterpillars are thought of as pests of trees and shrubs. This one was alone, but apparently they prefer group settings.

©2022 Karen Richards

On the other hand, I assumed these web caterpillars were nuisances, but I’m pretty sure now that they’re not. They match the description of several Checkerspot butterflies, which are named for the piecemeal pattern of black, orange, white and dark red on their wings. Many are very attractive and a few are rare.

The lesson: Don’t judge a butterfly (or moth) by its caterpillar! And, don’t forget the corollary: Don’t judge a caterpillar by its adult Lepidopteran.

October Orange

©2022 Karen Richards

I found four remarkable, pumpkin-toned insects this past week–how appropriate! The first (above) is a Large Gray Dagger moth caterpillar. Adults are nondescript gray moths, but the caterpillar is definitely descript!

©2022 Karen Richards

This moth cracks me up. It’s posing with a twist, as if it’s camera shy. If you look closely between the wings, you can see a feathery antenna–what a flourish! I’m fairly certain this is a Maple Spanworm. The BugLady has a great column about them here. The caterpillars of this species look just like twigs, complete with knots and varied coloration.

©2022 Karen Richards

Next up in the orange parade is this damsel bug in the Nabis genus. Like all true bugs, this one has a pointed, straw-like rostrum it uses to stab and eat. Damsel bugs are predators on all kinds of other insects including beetles, caterpillars, and other bugs. As omnivores, they also eat plant juices.

©2022 Karen Richards

The final entry in this orange pageant is this Braconid wasp. Isn’t she gorgeous? I know it’s a female because of the short, jutting ovipositor at the end of the abdomen. I don’t know the identification past the family at this point, but I’ve sent images to BugGuide for help. All wasps in the Braconidae family are parasitoids, which means they lay eggs in or on other insects. There are tens of thousands of species of these wasps that haven’t yet been named.