Checkered

Here’s a pretty cool looking butterfly. One most might not even recognize as a butterfly because they’re so small as compared to the likes of Monarchs and Swallowtails -

The common-checkered skipper, aka, burnsius communis -

There are oodles of these black and white checkered beauties all along the walking path recently, which is spot on for this time of year; they’re right on time!

They seem to like to fly low to the ground and favor sunny open spaces and are constantly flitting about.

A Gaura Sphinx

I came across this dude back in early September, the 8th to be exact. Do you see it in the first picture? It’s kinda hard to miss and I saw it easily from a distance, as I approached. Stuck out like a sore thumb really -

This is a Proud Sphinx caterpillar, also know as a Guara sphinx, which apparently is a fairly uncommon moth in East Tennessee! Their documented range extends from Texas eastward and north to Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. So, this was a somewhat rare find in these here parts.

Outside of taking these pics I didn’t fuss with it too much or for too long, as I didn’t want to interrupt its feeding, which is sadly ironic because…

The plant this dude was feeding on is called Gaura and there were oodles of this plant all along this one stretch of the walking trails; the area that abuts Moon Creek. They sat back approximately five or six feet from the trail, just outside of the lawn mowers reach so they were left alone and grew quite tall.

Sadly, the day after I took these pics, the 9th of September, whomever maintains the walking trail drove the entire two mile trail using a bush-hog and cut ALL the brush along the trail down completely, some 15 feet back, which included the area where the Gaura had been growing and thriving, and where this dude had been dining, alas.

I’m guess this dude fell victim to the bush-hog, as did the Carolina mantis, see below, and many other insects I spied the day prior -

If it’s any consolation the walking trail looks greats and is opened up more now that all the over growth had been cut back but to what end?

As You Were

A couple of goldenrod soldier beetles enjoying each other’s company 😉 and who’ve ditched the goldenrod for yellow ironweed, tsk tsk tsk -

Yellow ironweed is a part of the aster family, as is goldenrod, so technically this fornication is acceptable, carry on 😉

*Apologies for the blurry pic…

A Day In The Life Of A Mad Scientist

So, I’ve been noticing these grubs crawling on the walking trail the last several weeks. I believe these are Green June bug grubs, as they crawl upside down, I kid you not! There’s not a whole lot but enough that it’s peaked my interest, also it’s something I’ve never seen before.

These dudes live in the dirt, so not sure why they’re coming up and out and crawling on the hot pavement, it’s odd to me -

I’m also seeing oodles of these, what look like sifted dirt mounds in the grass along side the walking trail. Turns out these are fire ant 🐜 mounds, yikes 😬 and ouch 🤕 if you get into them -

Using a stick, I poked some holes in and around a couple of these mounds and boy-o-boy they came alive!

I also performed a teeny, what some might view as a, sadistic experiment today 😬

Click the YouTube link below to see what happens when you disturb a fire ant nest and then introduce a grub into the  melee -

Fire Ant and Grub Experiment 

It’s a tad violent!

And a bit of a waste of a tasty morsel, yum 😋! Think I’ll see if I can find a couple, then head on over to the Nolichucky for bit of fishing, upon my return from Chicago. I’m guessing they would make terrific bait!

Perfect Camouflage

Yesterday, as I was trying to take some pics of this striking looking double-banded scoliid wasp -

I had to move around the yellow ironweed plant in an attempt to get a good pic. That’s when I realized I wasn’t alone and the only one eyeing this wasp!

Look closely, what else do you see in the picture below -

Here’s another angle that may help. See it -

Yuppers, that’s a Carolina mantis completely upside down (in pic above) just patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike, whether this wasp or some other unsuspecting insect -

I prefer the Carolina mantis over the Chinese mantis, just saying.

The Grasshopper Teacher

Yesterday, I followed a brown flying grasshopper, along the section of the walking trail pictured below, for I’d guess about a quarter mile.

That darn thing would fly ahead some 15’-20’ then land on the paved trail each and every time! I lost track of the count after 24 take offs and landings, I kid you not!

With the soybean field to one side of the trail and overgrowth on the other, that darn thing just kept moving forward refusing to land anywhere else but the trail. It didn’t have the smarts or desire to fly in the other direction, behind where we just came from, nope. Instead it kept moving forward and I’m guessing expended all its energy doing so -

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said -

“If you can't fly, then run; if you can't run, then walk; if you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward”

Carolina NOT Chinese

I spied this beauty making her way across the walking trail this morning -

I believe this is a female Carolina mantis, a native species to East Tennessee and which is a first for me!

I’m used to seeing the non-native, invasive Chinese mantis, which are also well established in East Tennessee.

 She blended in quite well with the dried mud. The walking trail is typically very busy on Saturday mornings, and today was no exception, so I picked her up and moved her out of harms way so no one would stepped on her.

The walking trail is full of all sorts of wildlife; I luv it!

Lady Bug Lov’n

A bit of insect fornication.

Guessing it was satisfying, for the male anyway, since their little tryst seems to have removed every spot from him entirely 🤣 -

 

A Famous Insect Visitor

First Monarch caterpillar at the ole homestead!

Being aware of milkweed plants and mowing around them instead of cutting them down has paid off for this on-the-cusp of being endangered beauty, and hoping future caterpillars -

Although, I was only able to locate this one, I’m hoping there’s more that I either missed or perhaps eggs yet to have hatched -

I opted to take this dude to the local

JC Monarch butterfly guru, my cousin PJ, to ensure its safety and successful metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly and release -

Although, sadly, there was only this lonely single Monarch caterpillar, there are oodles of Milkweed Tussock caterpillars -

And I mean oodles of them -

Like the monarchs, they eat milkweed, and also dogbane. What has me worried, since there are SO many of these dudes, is that they’ll take over, eat up and skeletonize the milkweed, leaving little food for future monarch caterpillars.

I’ll need to keep an eye on this. I would hate to intervene but will jump in if other monarch caterpillars appear and the milkweed plants are dwindling.

Eye Hope You Have A Nice Sunday

 Rise and shine humans!

It’s gonna be another hot 🥵 and humid day.

A Black & Yellow Kaleidoscope

Here’s a group (kaleidoscope) of male Eastern Yellow Swallowtail butterflies puddling along the Nolichucky drinking water and healthy minerals they so need.

Although, a bit hard to make out, there are five in the picture below -

They were busy doing their thing and were not bothered by my presence. There we oodles along the banks of the river, many in groups like these.

It’s been so darn hot and humid, who can blame them.

The Eyespots Though

Whatcha look’n at bub?!

This male Hackberry Emperor Butterfly thought I wouldn’t notice him perched on the back porch light fixture -

The row of white spots near the tips of its forewing is the tell that this is in fact a Hackberry Emperor butterfly and not its closely related Tawney Emperor butterfly. 

Learn something new every day 💡!

A “Good” Bug

I spied this BIG dude, and a second smaller one beneath it, on a walnut tree leaf this afternoon.

These are both Wheel Bugs, a type of assassin bug. The giveaway in identifying this bug is the spiny, gear-like crest (the wheel) on its back - 

Seems these are very beneficial to have around, as they’re excellent predators and help control pests, e.g. Japanese beetles, stink bugs, caterpillars and other insects that damage gardens and crops, so don’t squash them.

An interesting find, if I do say so myself.

Get A Room

Insect fornication -

A couple of Milkweed Beetles (trying to) enjoy a romantic outing!

Excuse Us!

Insect fornication -

There’s just no privacy these days, geesh!

Little Pests They Are

The ants go marching one by one...to their deaths, hurrah hurrah!

With the warm weather, tiny ants have invade our kitchen already, UGH!

We put out some fresh ant traps, in the areas where we're seeing them marching, and sure enough the ants are crawling off with their spoils, hehehe!  Little do they know what awaits them -

Good riddance and Gods speed.

They're Here!

The Lincoln Street Asian Lady Beetle invasion has begun!

Perhaps cute don't be fooled, these are NOT Ladybugs. Rather, they're false ladybugs otherwise known as Asian Lady Beetles.

Although they look similar, their size, color, and markings can help you tell the difference. 

The easiest way to tell Asian lady beetles apart from ladybugs at a glance is to look for the white “M.” Asian lady beetles have a distinctive, highly visible M-shaped black marking on their otherwise-white heads. This marking varies in size, thickness, and shape, but it’s always there, so look for the “M”, which you can clearly see in these pics -

Similar to ladybugs, Asian lady beetles feed on aphids and other insects that munch on plants. This means that although they can be a nuisance, they can still be a gardener’s friend.

However, these bugs won’t bid a happy goodbye after gardening season is over. They’re prone to swarming, and prefer to overwinter inside homes. Once they’re finished feasting on aphids, they will crowd on reflective surfaces like windows and sliding glass doors. If they have the opportunity, Asian lady beetles will invade your home -

The last week or so, when the temps during the day climb (mid 50ish), these beetles have started swarming the south side of my house!  There's not as many as the Boxelder beetles but certainly more than a handful.

I swat the Boxelder beetles every chance I get!  They're too messy but these Lady Beetles I leave alone.  They're too cute and likeable.

The Katydids By Golly!

When we were in Tennessee a couple weeks ago, we drove up onto our property to have a look around and check out the views, AND we were NOT disappointed.

The land had yet to be hayed and was quite a bit overgrown, which makes it an idle place for all sorts of critters but NOT for us walking. Oodles of grasshoppers and many opted to hitch a ride with us too.

I wish I had taken more pics to capture some of the other varieties but these are the only ones I snapped but how fortuitous was I to capture a male and female of the same family?!

Turns out these are NOT true grasshoppers at all!  Rather, these are Short-winged Meadow Katydids and a member of Tettigoniidae, which is the family for long-horned grasshoppers and katydids, that are distinguished by their long, thread-like antennae.

Female - 

Male -

The hind leg of the female, that she seemingly dropped off herself when I attempted to pinch her back legs together in an effort to pick her up to take a different angle pic, OUCH -

Something I just learned from the Google machine - "Insects can only regrow limbs during their nymph stage, before their final molt into adulthood. Once they become adults, their ability to regenerate limbs is gone, and any lost appendages are permanent."

Oops, SO sorry!

I've named her Eileen (I lean), hehehe

Well This "Stinks"

Green vs Brown -

Can you find the critter in the first picture below?!

** GREEN **

A green stink bug -

And how about this next picture, can you find the critter?!

** BROWN **

A brown stink bug -

There's no real difference between the two, except for their colors.

Just like in past years, this time of the year is when these pests appear in BIG numbers!  They're ALL over my house, windows and screens; they're everywhere.

I swat as many as I can but honestly, that makes a mess and a squashed stink bug truly stinks, UGH!

Flying Dragons?!

Do you see it?

It blends in perfectly on the branch of this red pine tree -

But upon closer inspection, TADA, it's no branch -

Rather a cool looking dragonfly.  Taking a breather, perhaps digesting it's food or searching for it's next unsuspecting insect meal -

Massachusetts is home to over 160 species of dragonflies and damselflies, so identifying this dude is tough, especially since the image is a bit blurry, my apologies for that.

If I was to take a guess, I'd say this is a female or a juvenile male Blue Dasher.  

Here's what the Google machine is telling me - 

"Females and Juvenile Males have a more muted coloration, often with yellow stripes along their abdomens, similar to markings on the sides of their thoraxes."

and

"Blue dashers often perch on stems or leaves, and their wings may droop downward when at rest."

Prove me wrong!