While summer is not technically here yet, it’s certainly starting to feel like it. This week marks our first dragonfly sighting, which for us, feels like a quintessential summertime bug. Next week is gearing up to be a warm one, which means the bugs will be busy (and we will be too!)
Header Photo: Damsel Bug (Nabis sp.) Kristi DuBois, May 31st, 2024. Missoula, MT.
Meadow Fly
Chrysotoxum sp.
At first glance, this Meadow Fly could be mistaken for a yellowjacket. Despite its wasp-like markings, there are characteristics that give it away: short antennae, large, forward-facing “fly eyes,” and a thick “waist” where the thorax connects to the abdomen. In contrast, a yellowjacket has long antennae, a narrow “waist,” and their compound eyes are at the side of the head (among other differences).
Kristi DuBois, May 31st, 2024. Missoula, MT.
Broad-nosed Weevil
Subfamily Entiminae
The broad-nosed weevils are usually easily recognized by, unsurprisingly, their broad snouts (scientifically called rostrums).Their chewing mouthparts are located at the tip, which they use to dine on a variety of plants. Larvae are also vegetarians but generally live in soil and feed on roots. Many species within this family are parthenogenetic, with eggs that develop without fertilization.
Klara Briknarova, June 5th, 2024. Barmeyer Trail, Missoula, MT.
Skimmers
Family Libellulidae
These newly-emerged dragonflies are difficult to ID since their color hasn’t quite “set” yet. Skimmers sit on a perch and wait for insect prey to fly past. Once spotted, they sally out in pursuit, often returning to the same perch. Look for these effective predators along muddy-bottomed streams, ponds, and lakes all summer long. If your summer travel plans take you to one of the other contiguous states, south to Mexico, or north to a handful of Canadian provinces, you might see them there too!
Alan Boren, June 2nd, 2024. Upsata Lake, Ovando, MT.
Edith’s Checkerspot
Euphydryas editha
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 and low. They are on the wing in our area from mid June to mid July in a wide variety of habitats, from woodland openings to sagebrush. The males are territorial perchers, often seen in paths or on rocks, and both sexes may be seen feeding on flower nectar, mud, dung, and ash.
Klara Briknarova, June 5th, 2024. Barmeyer Trail, Missoula, MT.
Silvery Blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus
The Silvery Blue is on the wing from May to mid-June and has prominent rows of black spots circled in white on each wing. It can potentially be confused for the Boisduval’s Blue, but the Silvery’s spots tend to be “neater” than those on the Boisduval’s, and they usually lack additional spots toward the inside of the wings (close to the body). The Silvery Blue ranges from central Alaska to southern California in the west. In the east, it can be found from Nova Scotia to Georgia.
Klara Briknarova, June 5th, 2024. Barmeyer Trail, Missoula, MT.
Ranchman’s Tiger Moth
Arctia virginalis
Like other tiger moth caterpillars, the Ranchman’s is densely hairy …and downright adorable. They are not picky eaters, feeding on foliage of various herbaceous plants. We’ll start seeing the boldly marked, day-flying adults in meadows in early summer. They range across western North America and into southern British Columbia. This species was member of the genus Platyprepia, but was moved to Arctia.
Stephanie McIntosh, May 21st, 2024. Smith River, MT.
Great Basin Bumblebee
Bombus centralis
Like most bumblebee species, Bombus centralis queens hibernate through the winter to emerge in the spring to start their colonies. This relatively small bumble prefers to inhabit abandoned rodent nests, usually in river valleys and prairies.
Kelly Dix, June 2nd, 2024. Lolo, MT.
Flower Chafer
Dichelonyx sp.
These minuscule flower chafers belong to the same family as the larger, more noticeable June beetles. The adults are nocturnal, foliage feeders, while the larvae, known as white grubs, feed on roots of grasses and other herbs underground.
Madeline Kleeman, May 28, 2024. Blodgett Creek, Hamilton, MT.
Cimbicid Sawfly
Abia americana
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 sawlike ovipositor that they use to cut into plant tissue before laying an egg.
Matt, June 1st, 2024. Continental Divide Trail, Roger Pass, MT.
Nevada Tiger Moth
Apantesis nevadensis
There is only one generation per year of these striking tiger moths, with the flashy adults taking wing in late summer. The larvae overwinter as early instars and begin emerging on warm sunny spring days (like those we’ve seen lately). When thy pupate, they wrap themselves in silken cocoons, sometimes adorned with gravel, dirt, twigs and even their own bristly hairs.
Klara Briknarova, June 5th, 2024. Barmeyer Trail, Missoula, MT.
