While beetles were my first love when I started studying insects and are believed to have the greatest number of species of any of the insect orders, I find I seldom write about them. There are plenty to write about. The following are just a few I’ve seen in the last week. Two years ago […]
Anthony Westkamper
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Spring Bug Break
Spring is finally, really, underway. I took a walk along the Van Duzen River got nearly 100 photos of invertebrate wildlife. There were three different kinds of dragonfly: California darners, variegated meadowhawks and a single female red rock skimmer. This is the third year I’ve photoed the latter species here despite the fact that in […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Day Fliers and Night Lighters
Between the raindrops Despite the dreary weather, life must go on. Eager to get along with their lives, our local insects show up even for the brief patches of sunshine that occasionally grace my backyard. Mostly disdained by the local honeybees, oxalis, dandelions and English daisies draw a crowd. Aside from the digger bees mentioned […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: New Neighbors
Late the other evening, my wife and I went out for a walk. Along the road we saw several large shiny brown millipedes. In the middle of the road, apparently investigating a smeared member of that species, was something that at first looked like a slightly smaller one. On closer inspection, it was something completely […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Bugs Between the Raindrops
Despite the dreary weather, life must go on. Eager to get along with their lives, our local insects show up even for the brief patches of sunshine that occasionally grace my back yard. Mostly disdained by the local honeybees, oxalis, dandelions and English daisies draw a crowd. Aside from the digger bees mentioned last week, there […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Looks Can be Deceiving
Last week I mentioned a large shiny black bee that visited my rosemary plants. In all my field guides the only large shiny black bees are carpenter bees, genus Xylocopa. Although there was a definite similarity, something wasn’t quite right so I investigated further. With the help of some online friends and resources, I learned […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Partial Sun, Chance of Butterflies and Bees
Well, at least we had one sunny day. Along with the rest of us, the insects crawled from their hidey holes in bark crevasses, burrows in the ground and old wood. A couple of days ago I got a brief glimpse of what I suspected was a California tortoiseshell butterfly (Nymphalis californica). Sometimes, for reasons […]
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Spring Revival and Indoor Death
Spring at last After a few false starts it feels like spring is finally underway. Days ago, a walk in the woods with my dogs produced a tick. I’ve said before I do not like ticks but as a community service I try to give a heads up when I see them about. I also […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Spring May Have Finally Sprung
After a few false starts it feels like spring is finally underway. Days ago, a walk in the woods with my dogs produced a tick. I’ve said before I do not like ticks but as a community service I try to give a heads up when I see them about. I also kicked up what […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Going into the Light (Fixture)
In an effort to make one of those yucky housecleaning tasks a tad more interesting, I decided to check out the dead bugs in my kitchen light fixture before feeding them to my goldfish. In the past I’ve found millipedes and, once upon a time, even a potato bug (Jerusalem cricket). How that got up […]
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HumBug: Blooming too Early or Bugs too Late?
Despite the weather lately, spring is happening, at least in the plant world. Last night on a walk, I saw fetid adder’s tongue (aka “brownies,” aka Scoliopus bigelovi), and Indian plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) and a patch of naturalized daffodils, all in bloom. Along with brilliant yellow acacia and the pink and white fruit trees along […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Throwback Crickets and Darkling Beetles
Bugs from long ago About 30 years ago, I was riding my mountain bike in the desert north of Reno when I saw a large, shiny insect climbing up one of the sage bushes. I stopped, emptied the little container I kept full of bike tools into my pockets and collected it. By that time, […]