Night photography: European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis)

I used the XotoPro to capture this image last night. This species was introduced in the early 1900s. Larvae damage corn stalks while burrowing and feeding. They also feed on beans, potatoes and a variety of other plants.

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Six Months Ago Today: Outdoor Sundews at the Univ of IL Plant Biology Conservatory

Six months ago I went to the University of Illinois Plant Biology Conservatory for the first time. It’s a wonderful place to see a variety of plants. My focus was the large number of carnivorous plants cultured and displayed in an indoor room. Because the summer population can become large, a number of specimens were [...]

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Insect Mythology: Wooly Bears

Woolly worms/wooly bears (Pyrrharctia isabella), larvae of Isabella tiger moths, are common throughout the fall. They are thought by some to be endowed with the ability of forecast upcoming winter weather conditions. There is no basis or data that supports this supposition, but folklore is always fun and it is arthropod-related, so here I go! [...]

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Parasitized Sphingid Larva

One of my students found two of these caterpillars dining on their neighbor’s tomato plants. The female braconid wasp lays its eggs within the caterpillar. The wasp larvae feed on the caterpillar’s body until they chew their way to the surface and spin the white cocoons. The majority of the wasps already emerged, though a [...]

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Cryptic Caterpillar

Appearing similar to your surroundings does have its advantages. This noctuid moth caterpillar was feeding along one of the paths to some of the many ruins areas of Provence, France. This cryptically colored larva will eventually become an equally cryptically colored adult moth. Source: Insectes de France. Michael Chinery http://www.amazon.fr/Insectes-dEurope-occidentale-Michael-Chinery/dp/2082013758/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276609225&sr=8-1

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Tomato Hornworm Pupa

While stirring up last year’s soil and adding compost in preparation for planting this year’s tomato plants, I encountered the tomato hornworm pupa shown above. I’m hoping to get some pictures during emergence. We’ll see how well I can do with being in the right place at the right time with the right equipment… The [...]

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