Bold beetles, dashing dragonflies, mimicking moths, beautiful butterflies – this week’s submissions were full of wild wonders! We know fall is around the corner, but for now, the arthropod diversity is still really high. Let us know what you’re seeing while you’re out soaking up the last weeks of summer!
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: Could you find a bug with a more descriptive name? The Dimorphic Flower Longhorn Beetle (Anastrangalia laetifica) has it all: “Dimorphic” refers to the sexual dimorphism between males and females (females, like the one shown here, have bright red elytra with four black dots, while the males are entirely black); “Flower” refers to this beetle’s preferred food source; and “Longhorn” refers to the prominent antennae that are a feature of all species in the family Cerambycidae (Longhorn Beetles). Western Montana is at the very eastern edge of its northwestern range, which extends from southern British Columbia to the southern coast of California. – Glenn Marangelo, August 14, 2025, near Condon, MT
Two-spotted Melyrid
Collops bipunctatus
Beetles in the genus Collops are typically brightly colored and males typically also have greatly enlarged basal antennomeres (antenna segments close to the head). Like most beetles in the family Melyridae, both the adults and larvae are predaceous, eating aphids and other small insects as well as eggs and larvae. The Two-spotted Melyrid is found throughout western North America.
Coral Knauer, August 8, 2025, Missoula, MT
Cherry Dagger Moth
Acronicta hasta
The Cherry Dagger – named for dark spear-shaped markings on the wings of the adult moth – is a great example of a fuzzy caterpillar best observed with eyes only: its hairs are particularly irritating and are said to be hollow and contain toxins. Though largely absent from the Great Plains, this species is found throughout hardwood forests in eastern North America and in mixed conifer-hardwood forests at middle elevations in the Pacific Northwest. The caterpillar feeds on cherry, oak, and plum trees, and will spin a tough cocoon of silk and irritating hair before overwintering in its pupal stage. Adults emerge in the spring and are on the wing from roughly May to August, but the flight period depends heavily on location.
Corrie Kegel, August 9, 2025, Mount Jumbo, Missoula, MT
Red-bordered Wave Moth
Idaea demissaria
The color patterns of individual Red-bordered Wave Moths can vary from lightly straw-colored to dark reddish-brown. They all possess wavy lines paralleling the outer edges of the wings, and each wing is marked with a small black dot. Although this tiny moth can be found throughout North America, little information is available about its life history or habitat preferences.
Sue Lowery, August 14, 2025, Missoula, MT
Western Conifer Seed Bug
Leptoglossus occidentalis
Perhaps you noticed some of these insects entering your home last fall. They weren’t looking to eat anything, just a warm place to hang out until spring. And maybe you got a whiff of their distinctive air freshener, which has been variously described by our social media friends and followers as apple cider vinegar, cherry almond extract, squashed banana, green apple, Pine-Sol, and more. Although they are a type of leaf-footed bug, they are often mistakenly lumped in with “stink bugs,” a different family of true bugs, for emitting an odor when disturbed.
Sue Lowery, August 14, 2025, Missoula, MT
Woodland Skipper
Ochlodes sylvanoides
These small, tawny orange butterflies start to emerge in mid to late summer and can be found in just about any habitat, including sagebrush, woodland clearings, gardens, and small streams. Woodland skippers can be found from British Columbia south to southern California; east to Montana, Colorado, and Arizona.
Glenn Marangelo, August 14, 2025, near Condon, MT
Sawfly
Tenthredo sp.
Despite the name, sawflies aren’t flies at all and reside in the order Hymenoptera, along with the more familiar wasps, bees, and ants. Females don’t pack a sting, but most species have a saw-like ovipositor that they use to cut into plant tissue before laying an egg. Many in this genus, which includes about 118 species in the U.S. and Canada, mimic stinging wasps like yellowjackets and spider wasps. Adults are often seen on flowers and feed on pollen and nectar, as well as smaller insects. The caterpillar-like larvae feed on foliage.
Glenn Marangelo, August 14, 2025, near Condon, MT
Grass Spider
Agelenopsis sp.
Grass spiders are large, harmless spiders found across North America, and while their markings are relatively nondescript (superficially resembling several other funnel-web spider species), their webs are easily recognizable. They don’t build the beautiful, circular webs associated with orb weavers; grass spiders build flat, sheet-like webs in the grass and are particularly easy to see on a dewy fall morning. The webs are also not sticky – instead, if an insect falls or lands on the web, its feet get entangled in the silk, giving the spider enough time to rush out and bite its prey; the spider’s fast-acting venom subdues the prey within seconds, allowing the spider to then drag its meal back into a small funnel-like tube in the web before consuming it.
Christian Bowman, August 15, 2025, Rocky Mountain Gardens, Missoula, MT
Fireweed Clearwing Moth
Albuna pyramidalis
Clearwing moths (family Sesiidae) are weird and wonderful, mimicking wasps in surprising detail. In many, the wings have large areas devoid of scales. Fireweed Clearwing Moths fly by day and are attracted to flowers. The fast-flying males hover over the blossoms to nectar, while the heavier, sluggish females rest on the foliage or flowers. Larvae bore into the roots of evening primrose and fireweed, sometimes up to two feet below the soil surface. These moths are present in Canada, Alaska, the northeastern United States, northern Michigan, and Wisconsin, and in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Mountain ranges.
Glenn Marangelo, August 15, 2025, Jewel Basin, near Bigfork, MT
Striped Meadowhawk
Sympetrum pallipes
Meadowhawks (genus Sympetrum) are common and widespread dragonflies easily recognized by their bright red bodies. Adult females are often seen ovipositing eggs in damp, marshy fields in late summer, usually in spots they know will fill with water in the spring (unfortunately, they are sometimes fooled by freshly-watered lawns). Like all dragonfly species, the nymphs (naiads) begin life in an aquatic state, feeding on underwater insects and fish. Adult meadowhawks are fast, flighty, and skillful aviators, capturing up to 90% of the prey they pursue. Meadowhawks can often be difficult to identify to species without examining genitalia, but the white stripes on its “shoulders” and hint of gold at the base of its wings distinguish this one as a Striped Meadowhawk.
Klara Briknarova, August 17, 2025, Missoula, MT
Hedgerow Hairstreak
Satyrium saepium
The Hedgerow Hairstreak normally has small “tails” extending from near the shiny blue patch on its hind wings. These tails are supposed to mimic the butterfly’s antennae, fooling a predator to go after it’s “false head” and only end up with a bite of wings instead. Looks like the tactic worked for this individual! This is the most common brown hairstreak in the west, and a regular visitor to flowers. Since it perches with wings closed, you may only glimpse its bright orange upper side in flight. Females lay their eggs on Ceanothus species in the buckthorn family; the eggs will overwinter and hatch next spring. It ranges throughout the Rocky Mountain states to the west coast. Here in Montana, it can be found mainly in July and August.
Glenn Marangelo, August 15, 2025, Jewel Basin, near Bigfork, MT