Aptly named, wolf spiders are fast, ground-dwelling hunters. Many species live in burrows. You may often see a female carrying her cream-colored egg sack from the end of her abdomen. And, as seen […]
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What can you see around Western Montana right now?
A Brown Lacewing (Micromus variegatus)
There are 60 species of brown lacewings in North America. They range in size from about .25 to .5 inches in length. They are similar to the more familiar Green Lacewing, but are typically brown in […]
Read MoreLarge Looper Moth (Autographa ampla)
The Large Looper Moth, also called the Brown-patched Looper Moth and Broken-banded Y, flies most commonly in June and July in our area. Part of the Looper subfamily (Plusiinae), the […]
Read MoreSmall-eyed Sphinx (Paonias myops)
The name of this sphinx moth is a bit misleading. The moth has normal eyes, not small at all, but the eyelike spots on the hindwings could be considered small. These handsome […]
Read MoreIsabelline Mound Ant (Formica ravida)
A banana for scale isn’t going to cut it for this large, mounded, thatch nest …luckily there is a person. Without seeing the ants in more detail, our best guess […]
Read MoreMason Wasp (subfamily Eumeninae)
This is a strong contender, if not outright winner, for the What’s Buzzin’ photo submission of the year. Wow! Kyle went to move a flower pot in his backyard and found these larvae […]
Read MoreMulticolored Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)
Kristi captured three of the four distinct stages (egg, larva, pupa, and adult) that the multicolored Asian lady beetle passes through. The alligator-like larvae are voracious eaters of aphids, scale insects, […]
Read MoreDot-tailed Whiteface (Leucorrhinia intacta), Female
The dot-tailed whiteface is aptly named. Mature males have a black thorax and abdomen, with a prominent, squarish yellow spot on top of the seventh abdominal or “tail” segment. The ivory white […]
Read MoreYellow Velvet Beetle (Lepturobosca chrysocoma)
These golden, fuzzy-looking beetles can be found from Canada to Northern Mexico, mainly in the western part of North America. They range in size between 1 to 2 centimeters. Adults […]
Read MoreA False Long-horned Beetle (Cephaloon tenuicorne)
False long-horned beetles (Stenotrachelidae) are a small family, with just 10 species in North America and only two of those living in the Pacific Northwest. They are so-called for their […]
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