Nadia’s Backyard- Two-Marked Treehoppers: It’s Complex December 21, 2023
- Birds of a Feather? October 3, 2023
- The Promise of Disorder in a Winter Yard February 11, 2022
- Rerun: Men of Rice December 7, 2016
- Where the Words Live November 30, 2016
- Going Native October 16, 2016
- Backyard Gooseberries are Saucy Little Things June 17, 2015
- Spring Rerun: Kimchi from your backyard to you April 27, 2015
- A Seagull Named Emma January 27, 2015
- The Long Travelers: Leaf-cutter Bees, Part II September 29, 2014
Category Archives: Insects
Late Boneset
We just added a new page under Our Native Plants for the under-appreciated Late Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum). A humble, but worthy addition to anybody’s backyard, which literally buzzes with activity!
Posted in Gardening, Insects, Landscaping, Native Plants
Tagged Butterflies, Gardening, Insects, Landscaping, Native Plants, nature, Plants, Pollinators, Wildflowers
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Through the Keyhole
It takes patience to walk a beagle. It is not an exercise for the terminally rushed, nor is it for those who want to cover a lot of ground and work up a sweat. Beagles have other agendas. It doesn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Insects, Musings, Pets
Tagged Beagles, Butterflies, Communication, Dogs, Insects, Musings, nature, Perception, Pets
4 Comments
A Fair Trade
We may not have any more parsley in our yard, but we should soon have a bumper crop of Black Swallowtails.
Posted in Gardening, Insects, Photography
Tagged Agriculature, Butterflies, Gardening, Insects, Missouri, nature, Plants
4 Comments
A Lotta Damn Gall(s)
(NOTE: Full confession—I goofed! The following article is partially incorrect. The apple-like galls are NOT caused by one of the generations of a cynipid wasp, but rather by Polystepha pilulae, a midge, a mere dipteran, not a noble hymenopteran. … Continue reading
Posted in Insect pests, Insects, Landscaping, Native Plants
Tagged Climbing trees, Insects, Native Plants, Oak galls, Parasitic insects, Pest control, Pests, Pin Oaks, Trees, Wasps
2 Comments
The Golden Invasion
Koganemushi froze, senses alert for danger as it detected motion. It raised its tiny oars in defense, then tucked and rolled, releasing its devastated leaf in a desperate bid to disappear beyond my sight. Too late. Before it could turn … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Insects
Tagged Coleoptera, Gardening, Insects, Japenese beetles, Native Plants, Pest control, Pests
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We Hardly Knew Ye……
The Great Southern Brood has flung its fling, sung its songs, flown its flights, sowed its seeds. A few lonely latecomers still flit around, looking a little lost, wondering where the big party is, but the waves of red-eyed revelers … Continue reading
Posted in Insects, Musings
Tagged Cicadas, Insects, Missouri, Musings, nature, Reproduction, thirteen year cicadas
2 Comments
Troubling a Star
“All things by immortal power Near or far, Hiddenly To each other linked are, That thou canst not stir a flower Without troubling of a star.” — Francis Thompson Having never been a father, I have to take my Father’s … Continue reading
Posted in Insects, Musings
Tagged Butterflies, Father's Day, Insects, Musings, Plants, Reproduction, Zebra Swallowtails
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The Great Southern Brood
The Great Southern Brood is in our backyard, playing out a small part of its epic history here during these hot, oppressive days of late May, early June—-days more reminiscent of July and August than of this supposed pre-summer interlude. … Continue reading
Posted in Insects, Musings
Tagged 13-year cicadas, Brood 19, Cicadas, Great Southern Brood, Insects, Magicicada, Musings
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