Love is in the air! Several of our highlighted species this week have been caught in the act of procreation. Once insects reach their adult stage, producting young is a major driver of their, often short, life.
Submit your bug pictures to bugid@missoulabutterflyhouse.org (and remember to include your name, the date, and the location where you took the photo)!
Header photo: Spittlebug nymphs create a foamy (spit-like) mass as a form of protection. Inside the spittle, they hide from the view of predators and parasites. The goop they form from their waste provides both thermal and moisture control. The spittle also has an acrid taste, deterring predators. Once the spittlebug becomes an adult, it leaves the goo behind and continues its diet of plant sap out in the open. Family Cercopidae – Stacy Carr-Poole, June 3, 2025, Missoula, MT
Ornate Tiger Moth
Apantesis ornata
This striking moth is typically found in the Northern Rocky Mountain states and Pacific Northwest in moist forest and grassland habitats. The larvae are generalists, feeding on a wide variety of herbaceous vegetation.
Deborah Hoagland, May 29, 2025, Missoula, MT
Western Tiger Beetles
Cicindela oregona
The western tiger is slightly smaller than our other tiger beetles in Montana. Their color can vary from brown, green, purple to black. They are active in May and June (mating), with the next generation appearing in late summer and fall. This beetle seeks out sandy, muddy habitats along rivers and has a 2-year lifecycle with both adults and larvae overwintering. Like other tiger beetles, these guys run extremely fast …so fast that they outrun the capacity of their eyes and brain to process what they are seeing. They literally run themselves blind and need to stop, look around and then continue their pursuit of their prey.
Kristi DuBois, May 24, 2025, Missoula, MT
Filmy Dome Spider
Neriene radiata
The Filmy Dome Spider belongs to the subfamily Linyphiinae, the sheet-weavers. They will construct a dome-shaped web facing the ground and hang upside down from the top. This spider has a holarctic distribution and is found throughout North America and Europe. Despite her bright patterning, which could be interpreted as warning coloration, she poses no threat to humans and only possesses a mild venom.
Janet Palmer, June 1, 2025, Condon, MT
Western Sculptured Pine Borer
Chalcophora angulicollis
The only western species in the genus Chalcophora, the western sculptured pine borer is so named for the sculpted look of the elytra and thorax. As a member of the metallic wood-boring beetle family, it doesn’t comes across as “metallic” at first; but once she lifts her elytra (wing covers) for takeoff, the striking blue and purple iridescence of the abdomen is revealed. If one is flying nearby, you’ll likely hear it before you see it. These large beetles are conspicuously (and sometimes alarmingly) loud aviators.
Qin Yu, May 31, 2025, Missoula, MT
Nevada Bumblebee
Bombus nevadensis
It’s hard to miss a Nevada Bumblebee—they are massive. Workers range from .7 to .8 inches in length, while queens can be as large as an inch. They have a long proboscis (tongue) and short, dense fur. They are found throughout western North America in open grassy prairie, sagebrush steppe, and montane meadows, usually at lower elevations but reaching above treeline. The queens hibernate underground, sometimes with several queens sharing the same hibernaculum (underground space where they overwinter).
Connie Geiger, June 1, 2025, Helena, MT
Narcissus Bulb Fly
Merodon equestris
This bug may look like a bumblebee, but is actually a fly that mimics the bumblebee (look closely at the wings, flys only have one pair of wings). It is an introduced speices from Europe, but can be found throughout North American anywhere that daffodils can be found. The larvea overwinter in the bulb of the daffodils.
Klara Briknarova, June 2, 2025, Missoula, MT
Convergent Lady Beetle
Hippodamia convergens
The female needed an aphid snack! This common species of lady beetle (or ladybug) will spend the winter in hibernation in groups of thousands of individuals and then emerge to mate and start the next generation in late winter / early spring. If you purchase lady beetles to release into your garden, this is most likely the species you will get.
Olivia Holmes, May 30, 2025, Missoula, MT
Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil
Polydrusus formosus
Completely covered with metallic green scales, except for brownish or yellowish-brown legs and conspicuous black linear grooves in elytra. Native and widespread throughout Europe, they are an introduced species to North America. The adults grow up to 5–6 millimeters. They are considered a pest of fruit trees, causing extensive damages to their buds, blossoms and shoots.
Shelby Fisher, June 2, 2025, Missoula, MT
California Darner
Rhionaeschna californica
Darners include our largest dragonflies and spend most of their time flying. California darners prefer habitats like lakes, ponds, marshes, and stream pools with edge vegetation, including many with alkaline water conditions. Adults will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect including mosquitoes, flies, small moths, mayflies, and flying ants or termites. Despite their name, they are widespread in western North America, as far east as South Dakota.
Connie Geiger, June 1, 2025, Helena, MT
Blinded Sphinx Moths
Paonias excaecata
Description
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