Insects of Richmond

Of all the places to look for insects, under debris (logs, boards) is the best.  Under them, many creatures shelter for the day. Then, they come out at night. One of the more common families of insects to do this are the Carabids, or ground beetles. Today I wanted to highlight this spectacular family, and in particular one species that seems to be really common here in Richmond. Here it is: This is, I believe, Pterostichus atratus*. Almost every board and log I flip yields some of these, and I'm always getting bit, letting them crawl on me, or watching them eat. Mostly,  I find them in open areas, and under sizable logs. I generally won't find them in the open, but when I flip logs, *voila*, one goes scurrying away. I'm almost never getting a good look at what these guys eat, because it's always so mutilated. My guess is they're either eating slugs or worms (anywhere I find these, there are LARGE populations of LARGE worms/slugs).  Specifically, places I've foun...

Chances are, if you're looking under logs, you'll see these guys scurrying away: A yet-to-be-IDed wolf spider. These, as the captions indicate, are wolf spiders. I went and posted the photo on both BugGuide and iNaturalist, and am waiting for an expert to weigh in with their opinion. I think it's Tigrosa annexa, a female, but I'm not so sure. I'll either edit this post, or put it in the comments what it actually is.  These spiders like to hide under debris by day, but do wander outside during the during those hours as well.  These are, like many spiders of its shape and build, wandering spiders. This means that, though they have a shelter to sleep/rest in, they prowl in search of prey. They do not spin a web to catch flies, nor any web-trap. They just sneak up, and pounce. These spiders eat roaches, crickets, small beetles, things of that nature. The prey items (of individual) are usually size  respective, meaning that a giant one of these would likely eat a bigger ...

One of my favorite insects to talk about are the moths; my favorite of those are the Noctuids (Owlet Moths). Now, I come across Noctuids a lot, but the ones I come across the most are the genera Polia and Lacinipolia (the Arches moths). This is one of them:  Implicit Arches Moth (Lacinipolia impilcata) So, one thing you'll notice if you ever study moths is that the entomologists who discover them often choose funny or weird names (like the False Wainscot, Confused Woodgrain),  so the name "Implicit Arches" is not so out of the ordinary as it may seem.  So, a caterpillar's gotta eat, right? Well, this one can eat a variety of plants, including one of the most common species of plant: the Common Dandelion.  The species is green, and black, with nice black patterns. They can be found on white walls, and pretty much anything white. I caught this one on the (white) wall of an apartment building, where it was resting during the day. At night, however, they become active an...

If you live on the East Coast, you'll know this butterfly:  The Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes spp. asterius) (male) On the East Coast, these butterflies inhabit public parks, vacant lots, and other open areas. They usually take nectar from flower species such as Butterfly Bush, and Aster. You may find them at puddles, too, bringing a splash of color to a rainy day. I've found them at pools, and sometimes even glasses of water left unattended.  You'll know these  butterflies if you grow parsley, too. Their fairly distinctive caterpillars munch on parsley, dill, and other related plants. They make chrysalis away from the host plant, so if you look on walls, poles, or fences, you'll probably find some. The swallowtails in general are weird, seeing as they don't actually suspend their chrysalises from leaves, as is the norm. Instead, they kind of molt  with a little belt holding them to the surface. So, if you want to find them, don't look for suspend...

 This post will detail an insect which I didn't find in Richmond, but I found near Charlottesville, so close enough. The insect is... (drumroll)... The Yellow-banded Underwing!  Now, where did I find it? Well, I didn't find the moth. I found the caterpillar at Humpback Rocks, in Shenandoah National Park. I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't been peeling away bark looking for beetles.  This lovely species of moth, the Yellow-banded Underwing (Catocala cerogama),  is one of my personal favorites, and it's probably easy to guess why. This species opens it's wings when startled, revealing the pattern of red and black.  When the wings are opened, they reveal a somewhat unique pattern, of black banded with yellow (hence the name).  A moth caterpillar, of course, has to eat. What does this one eat? American Basswood (Tilia americana) leaves! This is where I found my caterpillar - on a basswood trunk. What an amazing display/defense!  Now, let's suppose you wan...

So... this one's got a story behind it.  The story takes place in North Carolina, and that's where the specimen in the photos is from. I know, I know, this one isn't from Richmond, as the name of the blog would generally have you believe. The thing is, most stories, photos, features on this blog will be from RVA. Sometimes I'll collect, or take a photo of, something I really like that isn't even from VA . Take heart though, we do have them in VA, and even in Richmond.  The insect in question is a Cow Killer (which is how I'll refer to it for the rest of the post). It looks like this: This one was HUGE. So not small, like some other Cow Killers, but as big as half my index finger.  So, my family decides to take a trip, down to the farm of a family friend in NC. I go exploring, for hours, and then come back. Well, we decide we're gonna eat some watermelon (b/c our hosts have offered us some). After a half-hour, we're done, and we decide to feed the rinds t...

The subject of this post is one amazing species of spider wasp. It is one of the punier ones, however it is nonetheless striking. It's called Anoplius americanus, and it is characterized by the four orange semi-circular spots on its abdomen: This pic shows 2, there are 2 more on the other side.  The specimen I collected (shown above) was caught at the same goldenrod as I found the C. bipunctata on. This specimen is a female, I can tell by the stinger.   Now, these things have to have prey to paralyze, being parasitic. You can probably tell by the name that the prey must be a spider; however, it gets really specific, with certain spider wasps paralyzing only 1 species, genus, or family. A. americanus takes as prey members of the wolf spider family, Lycosidae. These wasps can be parasitized by Ceropales bipunctata. How that works I won't go into here, but you should look at my post on that species (where I go into it in detail). At the field I keep mentioning in posts (and ...

I have a pinned insect collection, and I collect specimens for it frequently (going out every day with a couple jars). This time of year, all the goldenrod blooms at my school. My school, Cardinal Newman Academy, is very small, however the space is sprawling and open. One of my personal favorite places to go there is what's called "The Field". It's a mown field, however there is brush all around the edges, that isn't tended to. The goldenrod is there,  and since this field is at a forest edge, this is prime habitat for spider wasps. I often find spider wasps there, and some of these are fascinating. For example, one species I have is a kleptoparasite of other spider wasps: Ceropales bipunctata. The species actually follows other spider wasps as they're dragging their spider prey to a burrow. Then, it lays a concealed egg in the prey (once it's abandoned, so the original captor can inspect the burrow for parasites), and so does the other female. The other f...

  Don't be fooled. This beetle isn't a Colorado Potato beetle. It's merely its less voracious cousin, Leptinotarsa juncta (the False Potato Beetle). It's a member of Chrysomelidae, the leaf beetles, and is related to the Colorado Potato Beetle. This beetle feeds on potato too (to a lesser extent), but also feeds on horsenettle, Physalis spp., and bittersweet. Actually, they don't even grow when feeding on potato. I have horsenettle in my yard, and lots of it. So that explains where this beetle came from (one of my family members caught it in the yard when I wasn't present). When in the jar I kept him in (before collecting him), he liked playing dead whenever I shook it in the slightest (I'll add some of those photos, too).  More photos:      It's a remarkable species. 

 One of the aims of this blog is to detail lots of the species found in Richmond, VA (hence the name). Well, one of the common species you'll find here by the thousands is Chlaenius tricolor (someday I'll write one on C. aestivus). The beetle is in the family Carabidae, also known as the ground beetles. Carabids are largely predatory, and so's this one. You'll find that this post will be short, I don't have too much info on the species.  These can be found under rocks, bricks, logs, and other debris in moist areas. They are separable from C. aestivus by the fact that the thorax is about as wide as it is long. Otherwise, they are almost exactly alike. The beetle has an iridescent (shining) thorax, that can be purple, or green. That depends, though, on the way light hits it. The rest of the body is regular for a ground beetle. The wing covers often have a velvety look to them. These are the fastest beetles I've personally tried to catch, though I'm often succe...

 As I stated in a previous post (see Locust Borer), beetles are fascinating and diverse, with varying diets, habits, sizes, and patterns. Well, the subject of this post will be the Red Milkweed Beetle, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus. The beetle is of the family Cerambycidae (the Longhorn beetles), which are somewhat known for their interesting and vivid patterns.  Many people who don't study insects will recognize the foodplant as that of the famous-yet-declining Monarch: Milkweed! However, sometimes, they feed on dogbane when no milkweed is present. These beetles employ a tactic called aposematic coloration,  which is what makes Monarchs so appealing to the eyes. Aposematic coloration, often a combination of red and black, is meant to deter predators by advertising a poisonous nature.  These beetles sequester toxins from milkweed, which is poisonous, as do the Monarch caterpillars. Milkweed gets its name from the fact that it "bleeds milk", or rather a latex-like substanc...

Beetles are some of the most fascinating, numerous, and diverse creatures. They have varying habits, diets, sizes, and color patterns. The subject of this post will be the Locust Borer, Megacyllene robiniae. This species is often confused with a species of moth which shares its name. The moth feeds on the same plant, Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).  The Locust Borer is seen in fall, where lots of goldenrod is present. It is a wasp mimic, mimicking wasps such as yellowjackets, hornets, and European Paper Wasps.  Locust Borers are patterned with yellow stripes, on a black body, enhancing the wasp mimicry.  The Locust Borer larvae bore into the wood of live Black Locust, and it takes almost a year for them to emerge as adults. The adults then spend about 2 months at goldenrods, mating, and laying eggs, for the process to repeat itself. They sometimes visit other flower species for nectar, however goldenrod is the primary one.  More photos (I've taken lots): View of...