Category Archives: Interesting insects
Spring Pests: What to Expect as Temperatures Rise
As the chill of winter fades and temperatures begin to rise, a variety of insect pests start to make their presence known. Environmental factors such as an increase in temperature and the moisture we often see during the spring season will signal over-wintering arthropods to emerge during these favorable times. Here’s a look at some of the common pests you might encounter in and around your home during spring. Ants: Arguably the most notable ant pest in the Texas landscape is the Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA). The… Read More →
Fluffy Moths Flying
You may have noticed a emergence of fluffy black colored moths flying around or flapping around on the ground. I noticed this emergence this morning and have to believe there was something in the weather that has sparked them all to emerge from their pupal cases as adults. These moths are none other than the adult form of those (maybe long forgotten) spiny caterpillars that we all dreaded this spring – the Eastern Buck Moth. Adults are fluffy and are primarily black in color. They have a white… Read More →
‘Bugs by the Yard’ and ‘Unwanted Guests’ cover Texas insects and pests
These two bug-based podcasts launched by Texas A&M AgriLife experts allows you to learn on the “fly” by enjoying a podcast on your time schedule. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts have launched two new podcast series: “Bugs by the Yard,” which covers insects found in Texas yards and gardens, and “Unwanted Guests,” which covers insects and other pests in homes and buildings. “It started with a podcast where Dr. Erfan Vafaie, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management specialist in Overton, was interviewing other entomologists,” said Wizzie Brown, AgriLife Extension… Read More →
Jumping champs
In the Master volunteer classes I teach every year on entomology, I race through so many different kinds of insects that I fear I do all a disservice. One group I always mention in passing are the different kinds of homopterous insects. This group includes the “hopper” families: treehoppers, leafhoppers, planthoppers and froghoppers. These are all plant-sap feeding insects that produce honeydew. One of the things I mention in class about some of these is that their droppings (excrement) are often so abundant that you can feel them… Read More →
It’s a “murder hornet”! Or is it?
If you’ve never heard of “murder hornets,” more accurately called Asian giant hornets, Vespa mandarinia, you’ve probably been living on the space station for the past month. And at the risk of stirring up a hornet’s nest, I thought it worthwhile to remind us all June is the month of the cicada killer wasp. This is another common large wasp likely to be mistaken for the Asian giant hornet haunting news feeds this spring. Actually, both Asian giant hornet workers and cicada killer wasps vary in size based… Read More →
This Land of Insects
Did you know that out of the 100,000 or so species of insects in the U.S., Texas is home to approximately 29,000 of them? We live in a state that is gloriously full of six-legged creatures. From leafcutter ants to luna moths, Texas is a great place to see and learn about insects, spiders and many other arthropods. As I was going through my 2019 calendar I was reminded of the Podcast on Natural Dallas (P.O.N.D.) that I did last year with Katharine Gulyamova, with the Dallas Public… Read More →
Firefly Month (or it should be)
Flickering lights, like so many Tinkerbells, dancing across lawns are one of the special memories of growing up in the South. This time of year is your best chance to see fireflies, so this week I thought I would give a shout-out to Ben Pfeiffer, a firefly lover who has devoted himself to learning about the fireflies of Texas. Ben has built an entertaining website, called Firefly.org. In it you can learn about the different kinds of fireflies (each has a unique flash pattern), where they live and… Read More →
Multiplying millipedes
At first glance, millipedes are most remarkable for their ability to walk without tripping over their own feet. The name millipede literally means “thousand feet” and though most don’t have that many legs, that’s still a lot of feet to keep track of. What’s even more remarkable about millipedes, once you get to know them, is their ability to reach astronomical numbers when weather conditions are prime. That’s what’s happening right now, at least in parts of north and east Texas. For the past month Extension offices have… Read More →
Good news about monarchs, but…
News headlines often bear a second look. And this week’s “good news” about monarch butterflies is no exception. News sources this week are reporting that monarch butterfly colonies covered almost 15 acres of Mexican mountainside in 2019, a 144% increase from last winter. Colony sizes are based on estimates of the total acreage of trees covered with monarchs in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico–the main overwintering site for eastern monarch butterflies. Acreage estimates provide an index as to how many butterflies survived the previous year’s… Read More →
Giving Monarchs a hand
Where have all the butterflies gone? If you think there are fewer butterflies, and just plain bugs, on your windshield compared to a few years back, you’re probably right. Recent studies point to alarming declines in both insect and butterfly populations. Most scientists think that the primary causes for these declines are the many changes we humans are making to our environment. As we replace plant-diverse rural landscapes with simplified urban and suburban streets and lawns, we reduce habitat abundance and food supply for butterflies, among other insects. … Read More →