In July, PG&E sent a crew to take down some big trees on its easement across the back of my property. I had no objection, as this area is unused. Now, six months later, when I finally got around to bucking and splitting it, I find the wood already colonized by insects. The bugs gnawing […]
HumBug
An exploration of invertebrates and nature photography
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Predators and Paparazzi
Ground Beetles Tip over a rock and you’ll likely encounter something. Frequently, you’ll see a black beetle a little smaller than a pumpkin seed scurry away from the light. These are a type of ground beetle, members of the family carabidae, one of the largest families of animals in the world. They are predators, preying […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Ground Beetles
Tip over a rock and you’re likely to encounter something. Frequently, you’ll see a black beetle a little smaller than a pumpkin seed scurry away. They really don’t like the light. These are type of ground beetle, members of the family carabidae, one of the largest families of animals in the world. They are predators, […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Little Bugs, Little Biters
Itsy bitsies It is a very human thing to look for the largest of anything. Here in Humboldt County, we have the world’s tallest trees and largest stonefly. We have giant water bugs and giant silkworm moths, and so it is easy to overlook small things. But I find them fascinating. Yesterday I saw a […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Itsy Bitsies
It is a very human thing to look for the largest of anything. Here in Humboldt County, we have the world’s tallest trees and largest stonefly. We have giant water bugs and giant silk worm moths, and so it is easy to overlook small things. But I find them fascinating. Yesterday I saw a column […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: The Return of Old Friends
Tonight, following our second rain of the season, I went out, camera in hand, looking for one of my favorite insects. Pterotus obscurripinis, our local glow worm. They hide in the ground all summer long awaiting the wet season. Serious snail hunters, they feed on some of our smaller local native land snails and slugs. […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Bitey Little Buggers
[image-4] As the fall days contract and weather cools, the insect world, too, shrinks. I see a few largish dragonflies, mostly shadow darners (Aeshna umbrosa) and they’re showing wear. I suspect they are what I call a “relict population.” Unlike aging humans, they can contribute nothing further to the survival of their species so they […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Halloween Spiders
With Halloween in mind, I set about looking for something creepy to photograph. According to some recent research, we humans are apparently programmed from a very early age to react to spiders and snakes. Looking for something dramatic to shoot, camera and flashlight in hand, I took a nocturnal tour of my backyard. This the […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: The Ins and Outs, Pros and Cons, and Nuts and Bolts of Collecting Insects
Lately, events have me laboring at the tedious process of “pinning” a few insects. I typically prefer to photo document, but the tiger moth was nearly dead when I found it and I felt it would have been a waste just to let it decay away. The scorpion and velvet ant were from out of […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: October Dragonflies and Butterflies
I started looking for one of my favorite dragonflies, the pale faced clubskimmer (Brechmorhoga mendax), in July. That’s when my files showed them flying along the flat stretches of the river where I see them dipping the tip of their abdomens into the water, depositing eggs. This year the first I’ve seen were in mid […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Autumnal Potpourri
As the days get shorter and the nights colder, many insect species have attained their adult phases. With one important exception, it is only in the adult phase that winged species get their fully developed wings and can reproduce. After spending a year or two as water breathing larvae, mayflies (order Ephemeroptera) make their way […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Orange is the New Butterfly
The local butterfly population is showing its fall colors and orange is the order of the day. Woodland skippers (Ochlodes sylvanoides), Mylitta crescent (Phyciodes mylitta) and California tortoise shells (Nymphalis californica) are all on display. The tortoise shells are particularly interesting. I’ve been seeing them for a week or so now, and they are always […]