Many Syrphid Flies do a great job at making you think you’re dealing with a wasp, hornet, or bee. Often seen hovering near or perched on flowers, the adults feed […]

On sunny fall afternoons, it sometimes looks like it is snowing. But it’s not snow …it’s the annual fall swarming of woolly aphids. These insects are really small. If it […]

If you find a group of aphids on a plant, you will often find an ant(s) that are “herding” them like cattle. The ants feed on the aphids’ honeydew (a […]

Without a ventral (underside) view of this butterfly, we were unable to decide if this is a Western White (Pontia occidentalis) or a Checkered White (Pontia protodice). Both can be found in this general […]

As adults, spittlebugs leave their protective, foamy (spit-like) mass behind and continue their diet of plant sap out in the open. Now exposed, this species relies on looking like bird […]

This beautiful Eurasian moth was accidentally introduced into North America on the east side of the Cascades in Oregon around 2003. It has since spread outside of the Pacific Northwest, […]

We are not 100% sure, but believe this is a Western Swallowtail Caterpillar. The Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) looks very similar in appearance. We’ve read that “The best clue [for the Two-tailed] is the black edge of the […]

These caterpillars look like the well-known “woolly bear” caterpillar, but with the addition of long, white hairs coming from the body. They can be found across southern Canada, in the […]

Female orbweavers (family Araneidae) construct intricate, circular webs to ensnare their insect prey. Adult male orbweavers are typically smaller and not often seen. They generally do not spin webs, but wander in the […]