Because summertime is wasp time, this column features the second remarkable wasp in a row. Females of the Leucospis genus have a convoluted and somewhat shocking egg-laying system, so fasten your seatbelt.
Read more →This striking red wasp with iridescent blue wings has been fairly visible on Queen Anne’s lace lately. It’s a Western Red Spider Wasp in the Tachypompilus genus.
Read more →In general, I think people should be talking more about moths. In the Lepidoptera order, more than 90% of species are moths, and less than 10% are butterflies. Plus, moths have remarkable variety in body type, wing shape, and antennae form.
Read more →This week’s subject is the rose weevil. Weevils are beetles with exaggerated snouts. The snout, or rostrum, helps the insect munch into its favorite foliage to lay eggs and to eat.
Read more →Seeing an oak treehopper (Platycotis vittata) was on my long-term wishlist, and it was so exhilarating to find one that I was on a nature high for a couple of days. These brightly-colored, odd-shaped true bugs look like they should live in tropical forests, but they’re fairly common in the Pacific Northwest.
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