Square-headed wasps (subfamily Crabroninae), as you can probably guess, are named for their large and square heads. They are active, solitary wasps that mostly hunt adult flies to stock their […]

Kelly’s first photo almost had us believing this dragonfly had four wings on the left side, due to some shadows. The top dragonfly is a female and the bottom is […]

Aidan photographed this striking, day-flying moth while monitoring trumpeter swans near Ovando. We initially thought it was a Ridings’ Forester Moth (Alypia ridingsii), but it lacks the “white stripes” on the […]

It looks like a new generation of beetles will soon be on the way. Adults and larvae like to feed on willows, poplars, and (as you might guess) cottonwoods. They can be […]

This is one of several species of checkerspot butterflies in western Montana. Checkerspots are generally medium-sized, larger than crescents, and have orange and black checkered uppersides. Their flight is fairly fast, direct […]

This long-horned beetle can be found in coniferous forests across North America, especially in the northern United States, upper Midwest and much of Canada. The males have one white spot […]

This sighting is very exciting. Monarch butterfly populations are not doing well, especially for the western population of monarchs (overwintering off the coast of California). Despite growing conservation efforts, both populations […]

These beautiful and seemingly elusive insects get their name from the long “neck” of the adults (part of their thorax). Snakeflies in this genus can be found in SW Canada […]

This massive moth was ensnared in a spider web at the University of Montana campus …probably more than the spider bargained for. Brady gently freed it. They can be found from British Columbia […]

Western sheepmoth caterpillars (also called the elegant sheepmoth) feed on trees and shrubs that include rose, hawthorn, cherry, willow, aspen, and birch. In their younger stages they prefer to dine […]