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Category: Bug of the Week (Page 35 of 218)

Bug of the Week: Funnel Weaver Spider

August 8, 2018 / / 2 Comments

During a recent trip, my nephew pointed out a classic funnel web a spider had built in a bush. Funnel webs consist of flat sheets of webbing with a round tunnel that serves as a retreat.

A few hours later, he pointed out the spider.

 

Funnel web spiders look a lot like wolf spiders, but they have a different eye pattern (see BugGuide)

You can see a better photo of the web structure at Wikimedia.

If you are interested in spiders, I’ve read some great books lately. I found two new fiction children’s picture books feature spiders as characters (reviewed at Wrapped in Foil) and also an adult nonfiction book, Amazing Arachnids by Jillian Cowles (reviewed at Wild About Ants.)

Have you seen any cool spiders lately?

Bug of the Week: Ailanthus Webworm

August 1, 2018 / / 1 Comment

Just when we thought we were done with moths, we found an orange, black, and white beauty feeding on a Queen Anne’s lace flower in western New York. It almost looks as lacy as the flower.


With the striking coloration, it didn’t take long to figure out it is an ailanthus webworm moth, Atteva aurea.

These moths were thought to be native to Florida, where they feed on paradise trees, Simarouba glauca and S. amara. The introduced Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) can also serve as a host plant. When the Tree of Heaven began to spread throughout the U.S., the ailanthus webworm did, too.

The caterpillars are called webworms because of the silk they produce while feeding. You can see them in action in this video.

Many of the caterpillars in the ermine moth family (Yponomeutidae) build webbed nests like this.

It turns out these little moths are ideal models, probably because their orange and black colors are a warning pattern. The one in the photo was not fazed by my attention, probably because not much tries to eat them. What a cool little moth.

Have you discovered any interesting moths this week?

Bug of the Week: Bee or Clearwing Moth

July 25, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Is it a bird? Is it a bee? No, it’s a…. moth!

This moth has many names. Because its fuzzy amber yellow and black body resembles a bumble bee, it is called a bee moth, bumblebee moth, or bee hawk moth. Unlike other moths, you can see through its wings, so sometimes they are called clearwing moths. Finally, because they are active during the day, because of their size, and because they hover around flowers sipping nectar, members of their family are also called hummingbird moths.

As is usual for the Family Sphingidae, bee moth larvae (caterpillars) have a pointy “horn” or spike at the end of their abdomens and are called hornworms.

This short video shows a bee moth caterpillar feeding. Can you see its brownish thorn-like horn?

The caterpillars eat various shrubs, such as snowberry, or some small trees like cherry trees.

Once mature, larvae drop to the ground to pupate in the leaf litter before transforming into an adult moth.

The adults feed on nectar from flowers. They seem to be particularly attracted to bee balm (Monarda).


Aren’t moths amazing?

And don’t forget, it’s National Moth Week.

Have you ever seen a bee moth? What did you think it was?

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