Giant Walking Stick (Megaphasma denticrus)

Giant Walking Stick (Megaphasma denticrus)

Walking sticks are primarily tropical, but several species are found in the more temperate regions of North America. One usually sees males like one above because, as is the case with many insect, males are out and about searching for females. Giant Waling Sticks are the longest insects found in NA. Female can grow up to around 7" long and are less colorful and gracile (more blunt and bulky) than males. While this critter appears very conspicuous while crawling around on the porch, he can blend in well when among twigs and leaves.

Walking sticks are generally harmless plant eaters. The "pincers" at the end of his abdomen are actually claspers for holding onto a female during mating. An exception to the harmless generalization is the Two-striped Walkingstick (Anisomorpha buprestoides) which is found in the far southeastern U. S. (mostly Florida). Members of this genus can deliver a chemical spray to the eyes that can cause corneal damage.

Giant Walking Stick (Megaphasma denticrus)

Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)

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Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)

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This little yellowish-green wildflower is only about an inch across, much less conspicuous and showy that it's cousin Passiflora incarnata. Both are vines native the the southcentral and southeastern U. S. (USDA distribution map)

Missouri Flora says P. lutea grows in low rich woods, rocky woods, slopes, thickets and along railroads.. That site mentions that it is most often seen as a small non-flowering plant, but in low, moist woods flowering plants are common. This particular plant is growing in an open and rocky area alongside our road out, hardly a low, moist woodland.

Jo gets the credit for both finding and photographing this specimen.

Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)

Black Stink Bug (Proxys punctulatus)

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Black Stink Bug (Proxys punctulatus)
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Not really a rare bug, but the first of its species I've seen around our place.  Black stink bugs are found in the southeastern U. S. and range southward into the neotropics.  Like all stink bugs, this species has a probe-like mouth and feeds on plant juices.   According to BugGuide there is "some association, perhaps, with Spiderwort".

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Black Stink Bug (Proxys punctulatus)

Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

For such a large plant, burdock has an relatively inconspicuous little bloom -- a lot more inconspicuous than the burrs it forms in the fall.

Links:

Previous post showing burdock burrs. 

Missouri Flora 

Virginia Tech Weed ID Guide

Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

I finally found a Snowberry Clearwing Moth at rest and was able to get a clear photo of its wings.
To be honest, judging from its wear and fade, I suspect this moth was beyond resting and was very nearly to the point of eternal slumber. It still moved, but stayed in the same location for several hours. The moth was gone the next morning, but did it fly away or was it eaten? We will never know.

Previous post with Snowberry Clearwing nectaring on Bee Balm.

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

Black & Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Black & Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)


Probably the most common orb-shaped web spider in North America. Other common names include Yellow Garden Spider, Golden Orb-weaver, Yellow Garden Orbweaver and Writing Spider. A. aurantia range throughout most of temperate NA, south through Mexico and into Costa Rica. The black and yellow color pattern can vary considerably between individuals.

Like most orbweavers, these spiders first appear and begin constructing webs in the spring. However, they are often not noticed until fall when they and their webs are much larger and conspicuous. The Argiopes you see are almost always females. They are considerably larger than males. Males spend most of their lives wandering in search of a receptive female and spend little time on the web once she is found. If they are fortunate enough to escape becoming a post-mating protein supplement for the female, they die shortly after breeding anyway.

These orbweavers almost always construct a conspicuous white zigzag pattern (stabilimentum) into their webs. It is a distinctive characteristic of this species. Juveniles often enlarge the zigzag into something of an oval. Some believe this helps camouflage the young spider. You sometimes see the web of Argiopes vibrating rapidly back and forth. It doesn't look as if the spider is causing the vibration, but she is. She uses the vibration to check for prey in her web.

BugGuide links:
Family Araneidae
Genus Argiope
Species Argiope aurantia

Black & Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Rosepink (Sabatia angularis)

I learned a new vocabulary word today: Protandrous. According to Dictionary.com protandrous means "Of or relating to a flower in which the anthers release their pollen before the stigma of the same flower is receptive." It is a strategy by which a complete flower -- one having both male and female parts -- prevents or limits self-pollinization and helps ensure the exchange of genetic information with another member of the same species. Rosepink (Sabatia angularis) is an example of a protandrous flower.

When the rosepink flower first opens the five stamens (male) stand erect their anthers are heavily laden with pollen. However, the style (female) lays flat against the petals and its two branches are twisted together concealing their stigmatic lines. Any pollinators visiting the flower -- usually short-tongued bees -- are likely to receive a dusting of pollen from the anthers, but highly unlikely to deposit any of that pollen on the style and fertilize the flower.



After a few days when the anthers' pollen supply is significantly reduced, the style begins to stiffen and stand erect.



The two branches of the style also untwist exposing their pollen receptive stigmatic lines.



Eventually the two branches of the style are spread out across the top of the flower. Pollen dusted insects don't know that this flower's supply of pollen is depleted. As they enter the flower and probe about looking for pollen, they accidentally dust the stigmas and fertilizer the flower.

Rosepink is a native annual that blooms mid-summer in most of the central and eastern United States except for the far northeast. (USDA distribution map)
Missouri Flora has an excellent photo showing the entire plant.

Now all I have to figure out is how to work my new vocabulary word into casual conversation before I forget it.

Rosepink (Sabatia angularis)

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

It just seems wrong naming something this beautiful "common".


Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) from Butterflies and Moths of North America:

Life history: Males perch during the day on low plants or bare ground to watch for females, flying periodically to patrol or to chase other flying insects. Females lay eggs singly on leaf buds or on upperside of host plant leaves. Caterpillars are solitary and eat leaves. Caterpillars and adults overwinter but only in the south.

Range: Resident in the southern United States and north along the coasts to central California and North Carolina; south to Bermuda, Cuba, Isle of Pines, and southern Mexico. Adults from the south's first brood migrate north in late spring and summer to temporarily colonize most of the United States and parts of southern Canada.

(Click the link above for more photos and details. Also, BugGuide.)

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Black-waved Flannel Moth (Megalopyge crispata)

So you think you're having a bad hair day?


Above is a Black-waved Flannel Moth caterpillar. These moths and their caterpillars are found throughout eastern North America in deciduous forests. The caterpillars of all members of this genus (Megalopyge) should not be handled because they can cause skin irritation or a sting.

A male Black-waved Flannel Moth

Compared to the female, the make is darker, more yellow and has the dark waves on his wings that give this species its common name.
As with many moth species, the male also has larger, fuller antennae than the female. The male uses his antennae to locate a female by "smelling" the pheromones she releases.



The female Black-waved Flannel Moth is whiter than the male and has more thread-like antennae.

Source: BugGuide

Black-waved Flannel Moth (Megalopyge crispata)

Leafhopper (Tinobregmus viridescens)

Leafhopper (Tinobregmus viridescens)

A small (5/16" -- 6mm) and somewhat unusual-looking leafhopper. This T. viridescens was the first of its species submitted to BugGuide and was identified by Dr. Andrew Hamilton of the Canadian National Collection (CNC) of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes. Upon his request, I granted the CNC permission to add this photo to its digital collection.

Dr. Hamilton's comments on the characteristics of this species:

The hind legs are tucked up under the body, but they are so long that the "knee" joints extend as far forward as the eyes, and stick out way beyond the sides of the body. That is characteristic of this genus. Females like this (as in numerous grass-feeding genera) are short-winged.

That is everything I know about T. viridescens.
(Note: The leafhopper did not make the holes in this leaf. Leafhoppers (Family Cicadellidae), both adults and larvae, feed on plant sap.)

Leafhopper (Tinobregmus viridescens)

Tersa Sphinx (Xylophanes tersa)

Tersa Sphinx (Xylophanes tersa)

From BugGuide:

     *  Range:  Eastern, central, southwestern North America: Massachussetts, Ontario, to Florida, west to midwest, southwest, south through Mexico. Resident year-round in southern states and migrates north in warmer months.

    * Season:  May-October (1 brood) in much of range, February-November (several broods) in Florida, Louisiana.

    * Food:  Adults take nectar from deep-throated flowers.

    * Life Cycle:  Larvae feed on Madder Family, Rubiaceae, including Smooth buttonplant (Spermacoce glabra), starclusters (Pentas species), Borreria, Manettia; and Bignoniaceae: Catalpa.

See also:  Butterflies and Moths of North America

(Blogger is giving me fits with layout.  If it's readable, I'm going to go with whatever Blogger thinks best.  Grrrrrr!) 

Tersa Sphinx (Xylophanes tersa)

Delta Flower Scarab (Trigonopeltastes delta)

Delta Flower Scarab (Trigonopeltastes delta)

I could not find a great deal of information on these beetles in the popular literature. They are not agricultural pest and, therefore, not a great deal of research has been done.

Delta Flower Scarabs are common in the Southeastern United States as far north as New Jersey. Adults take pollen and/or nectar. Mating occurs on flowers. (In this case Slender Mountain Mint.) Their common name refers to the distinctive triangular pattern on the pronotum which resembles the Greek letter Delta. That's about all BugGuide had to offer in the way of information.

Delta Flower Scarab (Trigonopeltastes delta)

Bee Assassin (Apiomerus crassipes)

Bee Assassin (Apiomerus crassipes)

Unlike many assassin bugs, Bee Assassins are good fliers. They also have sticky hairs on their front legs which help them secure their prey. It is probably for these reasons that the name "Bee Assassin" was bestowed upon them. They can capture bees while most other assassin bugs cannot. That does not mean Bee Assassin Bugs do not prey on other insects, however. In this case, I think the Bee Assassin is being an opportunistic scavenger. It is feeding upon a recently dead beetle up on our porch, a beetle perhaps stepped on during the previous night's activity under the porch light. The Bee Assassin avoided the beetle's hard shell by inserting its beak gap between head and thorax.

Once the beetle was punctured, salivary secretions were pumped through a canal inside the bug's piercing/sucking beak. The salivary secretions not only serve to quickly immobilize prey (in most cases) but they also dissolve the prey’s internal tissues. This process enables the assassin bug to withdraw the bodily contents of its prey.

Sources and Additional Information:
BugGuide Species Page
Beneficial Insects in the Garden
Assassin and Ambush Bugs of Kentucky

Bee Assassin (Apiomerus crassipes)

Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus)

Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus)

Other common names: Cedar Hairstreak, Olive Hairstreak
Range: Throughout most of the United States, but more heavily concentrated in the west.
Larval host: Junipers and cedars
Adult food: A wide variety of flowers. (This one was nectaring from Slender Mountain Mint.)

Links:
BugGuide Species Page
Butterflies and Moths of North America

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Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus)

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

Passionflower is a native, perennial vine growing in the southeastern United States. Its vine can be up to 25 feet long and climbs with axillary tendrils or sprawls along the ground. It spreads by root suckers. The vine dies back to the ground during winter, but re-emerges in the spring.

Passionflowers are often purple, but can range from a deep purple to almost pure white. All passionflowers I've found around here are white, although you can see a slight tinge of purple in some of the fringe. Many different pollinators from bees to butterflies nectar on the passionflower and it is a larval host for Gulf Fritillary, Zebra Longwing, Crimson-patch longwing, Red-banded hairstreak, Julia butterfly, Mexican butterflies.

Other common names: Apricot vine, Maypop, Purple passionflower. The name passionflower was given to the plant by early Spanish explorers and relates to the resemblance of the floral parts to aspects of the Christian crucifixion of Christ story.

Some consider passionflower and invasive weed. It does spread, but I've never found it to be all that aggressive. I consider it to be the prettiest, most exotic-looking native wildflowers you're ever going to find growing around the edges of an Arkansas cow pasture.




A Passionflower bud.




Passionflower Fruit (Maypop)

When a passionflower fruit is ripe, it turns yellow and is said to be edible, though I've never tried one. The fruit should be left to ripen on the vine and various woodland creatures are less patient than I. A ripe fruit is filled with a juicy, seedy pulp that is supposed to taste like guavas, which I've never tasted either.

If stepped on, the fruit is said to pop loudly when crushed. Hence, the name of the fruit and another common name for the passionflower plant. (I've never gone out and stomped on a maypop either. What a boring life I lead.)

Sources and Additional Information:
Floridata
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
2bn The Wild
Alabama Wildflowers
USDA Plants Database
Missouri Flora

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)

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Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)

This largest species of assassin bug can be found throughout most of North America.  The "wheel" on the adult insect's back is unmistakable (see photo below). Immature nymphs are mostly red. Adults are grey to brown.  Mature adults grow up to a bit over an inch long (25mm).  All life stages prey on a variety of insects.  Like all assassin bugs, wheel bugs can deliver a painful bite.

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BugGuide has an excellent series of photos showing the wheel bug's lifecycle from egg to adult.

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Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)

Spider Wasp (Tachypompilus ferrugineus)

Spider Wasp (Tachypompilus ferrugineus)

A common wasp often found in open areas (old fields, meadows, prairies and woodland edges) throughout most of North America.  Adults feed on nectar/pollen.  Females provision their nest with spiders, usually Wolf Spiders (Family Lycosidae). 

A female captures and paralyzes prey prior to constructing a nest.   She then drags the spider back to the nesting area.  I do not know where this female captured her spider or the location of her nest, but she dragged the spider through the garden for about fifty feet while I was watching.  A couple of times one of the dogs wandered too close and she abandoned the spider.  However, both time she returned after several minutes and resumed her arderous journey.

Nests are constructed in a crevice or at the base of a rock pile, walls, or building.    The female scoops out a shallow depression in the soil, deposits prey and then lays her eggs.  She covers the nest with soil and debris.

Thanks to Nick Fensler on BugGuide for the ID.



 

Spider Wasp (Tachypompilus ferrugineus)

Skipper - Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)

Skipper - Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)

One of the multitude of the little brown/tan Skippers that skip from flower to flower.  This male was on one of the zinnia that add color to our veggie garden.  

Sachems can be found in almost any open space: fields, meadows, parks, roadsides, disturbed areas, lawns, etc.  They are a residents in the southeastern United States, and extreme southwest into Mexico. In the fall they migrate  northward into great plains, along west coast, rarely reaching southern Canada.

Thanks to Herschel Raney on BugGuide for the ID.

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Skipper - Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)

Nymph With Weapon

That's a mighty potent-looking weapon for such a small guy to be wielding.

Nymph With Weapon

Red-banded Leafhopper (Graphocephala coccinea)

Red-banded Leafhopper (Graphocephala coccinea)

Another common name for this leafhopper is Candystriped Leafhopper.  

There are over 3,000 species of leafhoppers in North America.  All are small jumping insects with one or more rows of small spines on the hind tibiae.  Both nymphs and adults feed on sap of above-ground stems or leaves of plants and can be everywhere vascular plants grow.  Several species are serious agricultural pests because of the damage they do to commercial crops. Some species also transmit plant pathogens such as viruses, mycoplasma-like organisms, or other microorganisms.

Leafhoppers have special sound-producing organs (tymbals) at the base of their abdomen; most leafhopper songs are too faint to be heard by humans without special amplifying equipment.

Thanks to BugGuide for the ID.

Red-banded Leafhopper (Graphocephala coccinea)

Assassin Bug Nymph (Again)

Another assassin bug nymph. This one enjoying a beetle break. (Blogger is being totally uncooperative tonight. It refuses to lay out the simple post correctly. I give up.)

Assassin Bug Nymph (Again)

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

Nectaring on Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa) on 6/22/08.

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

It's only taken two years and an astronomical number of deleted pixels to get a halfway decent shot of one of these clearwing moths. I see them every year, though we do seem to have a larger than usual population this year. Seeing them and getting a photograph are two entirely different matters, though. I've never seen one at rest, but always in constant motion as they move from flower to flower.

Adults are said to mimic bumblebees, but except for the coloration, I don't really see the comparison. They feed during the day and are found throughout most of the United States and western Canada.

Thanks to Bobby Grizzard on BugGuide for confirming this ID.



On Slender Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium) 7/2/08

Sources and Additional Information:

Species Page on BugGuide
Species details from Butterflies and Moths of North America
Images of pinned specimens from Moths of Maryland

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

(Photo taken on 6/25/08)

Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

Nectaring on Purple Cone Flower.

The Great Spangled Fritillary is our most common mid-summer butterfly.

 

Previous post with more species details.

Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

Assassin Bug

Sometimes even assassin bugs get no respect.

Assassin Bug

Tachinid Fly (Archytas sp.)

Kiss me!

Another Tachinid Fly (Archytas sp.)

Tachinid Fly (Archytas sp.)

Walnut Caterpillar Moth caterpillar (Datana integerrima)

The little assassin bug nymph in the post below doesn't really stand a chance of having much of an impact on our population of Walnut Caterpillar Moth caterpillars (Datana integerrima). Every year about this time, the caterpillars strip a few branches on our black walnut trees, but they don't do any real damage to the trees, so I just let them eat.

The caterpillars start out tiny, reddish-brown and virtually hairless. As they eat the caterpillars grow rapidly, darken to black and get very hairy.

Photo of adult moth from BugGuide.



(This photo was taken about ten hours after the one above.)

Walnut Caterpillar Moth caterpillar (Datana integerrima)

Assassin Bug Nymph

An assassin bug nymph. Plant sucking bugs have straight beaks. Bug sucking bugs have curved beaks.

This little critter is not earning his keep. Those bare stems it's climbing around on should be covered with black walnut leaves, except the leaves on this branch have been stripped by Walnut Caterpillar Moth caterpillars (Datana integerrima).




Now the little assassin bug nymph is hard at work reducing the Walnut Caterpillar Moth caterpillar population.

Assassin Bug Nymph