Category Archives: bugs

  Dragonflies are predators that voraciously consume other bugs. Their hunting strategies are similar to those used by predator birds: Some watch for prey from a perch; Some hunt on the wing. Below is an example of each. This is … Continue reading →

  Spinners are a small version of mayflies, or at least the adult stage thereof. Depending upon the species, spinners may emerge and swarm at different times in the summer or fall. These insects are short lived—a day or two—so … Continue reading →

  Around here, if one uses the term, baldface, the assumed referent is the Baldface Lodge and ski resort high in the Selkirk Mountains just north of Nelson. Yet, this picture shows a baldfaced lodge and it certainly has the … Continue reading →

  Normally when a bumble bee is flying, its tongue, protected by a horny sheath, is folded under its head and body. Certainly, the tongue is extended when the bee is sipping nectar from a flower, but leaving it extended during … Continue reading →

  The buzzing was incessant as I sat still on a rock in the middle of a patch of mud. Around me flew hundreds of insects spread over dozens of species of wasps, bees, flies and butterflies. Although I watched … Continue reading →

  High on the list of a forest walker’s unwelcome animals is the wood tick. An encounter with mosquitoes is a nuisance, a black bear on the path is merely fun (it is a bashful beast), but a tick—that’s bad. … Continue reading →

  Wherever aquatic plants broke the surface of the water, male damselflies (Tule Bluets?) were congregating. The centre of all this activity was a lone egg-laying female. Guarding her was her mate: he was there protecting his investment. Were he … Continue reading →