Late summer is an active time for hornworms.
Usually hornworms have pale green heads and prolegs.
If you look closely, this one has a white head and prolegs.
Any idea why?
Category: Bug of the Week (Page 95 of 218)
The timing of natural events, or “phenology,” is something worth noting.
Take the pond damselfly in this photograph. These delicate, light-brown damselflies arrive each year in our yard in August and September.
We found them in August 2012 and
in the September of 2011.
It is likely the adult emergence coincides with the summer rains we usually get in July and August. The humidity rises, plants start to grow again, and more insects of many kinds are active.
Interestingly, the brown damselflies we see each year are probably females because the males are often bright blue or violet.
What insects do you see at the same time year after year?
My son noticed a beetle on the sidewalk. For once, I wasn’t all that glad to spot an insect.
See the long snout that is rather like an elephant’s trunk? This insect is an agave weevil.
Because the adults don’t fly, it likely came from one of the agave plants in our yard.
Sure enough, when we dug around at the base of one of our agaves that was looking yellowed and wrinkly, we found some agave weevil larvae.
The first thing you notice is that although they are legless, the larvae are able to move quite quickly. This one is upside down, so you can view where the legs should be. You can also see its mouthparts on the dark brown head.
What are those paired structures at the end of the abdomen? This one has spiracles for breathing, which you can see as circles down the middle of the side. Once embedded in the plant, however, it is possible the larva uses those tubes at the rear for breathing. Other insects that live in wet soil have similar structures.
After studying the larvae, I have to admit I began to find them interesting. Sometimes my yard feels like an “outdoor laboratory.”
What did you find in your “outdoor laboratory” this week?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.