Category Archives: bugs

  Odonata is the order of insects that includes damselflies and dragonflies. Odonata, which as adults live only one to two months, indulge in perhaps the most conspicuous copulation of any insect. September is the time when a casual walk … Continue reading →

  “Look daddy, a butterfly” was all I overheard as a little girl and her father cycled by. She had, indeed, seen a butterfly—a mourning cloak. There are quite a few mourning cloaks around now that August is over. These … Continue reading →

  Darner dragonflies fly rapidly and tirelessly over local lakes, ponds and woodlands as they hunt for other insects to eat. Seemingly always in the air, they are most likely to be photographed in flight. Yet, they do land long … Continue reading →

  I clearly don’t spend enough time in the woods. Otherwise, my first encounter with a stump stabber would not have taken place inside my home. This western giant ichneumon wasp (Megarhyssa nortoni) was looking for some grubs deep inside … Continue reading →

Finn’s second guest posting Finn is my seven-year-old grandson. I played consultant, but Finn took and edited his own pictures using his own equipment and did the writing. I helped post them. Alistair   Crab spiders can change colour from white … Continue reading →

  First, a dragonfly larva—it’s called a nymph—climbs out of the water. Second, the dragonfly adult climbs out of its the larval exoskeleton—it’s called an exuvia. Doing this is quite a trick, for once it emerges, the adult will become … Continue reading →

  When a moth is named for a mythical giant, one has to suspect that it will be large. Indeed, the Polyphemus Moth is the largest moth in British Columbia, and one of our largest insects of any kind. Polyphemus, … Continue reading →

  I watched a (female) Bee-mimic Beetle (Trichiotinus assimilis) forage for pollen on purple yarrow. I was not the only watcher. As you can see in the pictures below, a male Bee-mimic Beetle also spotted her. A female Bee-mimic Beetle is collecting pollen … Continue reading →