Found this bee washed up on the Lewes beach. You can see the larger grains of sand dried into it’s hair covered thorax.
A bee’s hair is used for insulation, attracting pollen through electrostatic charge and it’s colors serve as a warning to predators.
Lewes beach, Delaware.
April 21, 2013
The weather has turned and that means it’s time for UDU to return. In honor of the season change we’re listing what’s in our bag when we bug hunt.
Our bag turned inside out contains:
Fish tank net
Plastic baggies
Jars (Varying sizes)
Old sealable pill bottles
Magnifying lens
Knife
Journal, pencil and pen
Cameras (Sony Alpha and iPhone 5)
Bug Alien bug catcher (http://bugalien.com/bug-catcher/)
What’s in your bug hunt bag?
This beetle was hightailing it across the parking lot to get out of the rain. Insects just seem to really love the macadam here in the rain.
Found this injured camel cricket jumping around my porch at night.
November 19, 2012. Milton, DE.
Saw this tree from a distance and could just tell it was crawling with ladybugs. Flying, landing and crawling about this individual tree in the middle of the park.
Milton, DE. November 13, 2012.
For all of you wondering what happened to the mantid I caught last week, here it is released back into my yard.
November 3, 2012. Milton, DE.
Now that you’ve seen my lab assistant at work, observing mantids, here’s a photo of my field assistant checking in on a recent find from this morning’s outing.
This is now the second mantid I’ve found in the exact same location in the park. Wondering why almost full grown mantids are hanging around the same area, it may be mating season.
November 2, 2012. Milton, DE.
Here’s a mantid photo round up from last week.
Both of the long photos are of a mantid I found and caught in the week outside where I live. After taking a swipe at my field assistant, Minnie, I caught it in a glass jar for later pinning.
The square photo of the mantid in my hand, was taken after I had found the mantid clinging to life after, what I assume to be, a pretty serious squishing.
October 22 through the 27, 2012. Milton, DE.
Wheel Bug. Arilus Cristatus.
Two separate people texted me photos of the same type insect within the same day. So here’s a photo of the wheel bug* and a return guest post from Jonathan McVerry:
*Jonathan and friends nicknamed it “Godzilla Bug”
“We were tailgating at the Penn State-Navy game. We typically hold a very welcoming tailgate and host friends, family, and passers-by alike. This little guy showed up on a paper plate and quickly garnered a lot of attention from the group—especially the ladies. He seemed harmless. We offered him a beer. I am pretty sure if we knew he was a wheel bug from the assassin bug family, as well as a Pitt fan it turns out, we would have sent him on his way.”
October 6, 2012. State College, PA.
Photo by Jonathan McVerry.
Here are some beautiful guest photos from Grace Canfield.
Armed with a great eye for landscape and nature and her iPhone, Grace is constantly taking wonderful photos every day. Be sure to follow her tumblr and instagram for more of her photos.
