Category Archives: bugs

  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 →

  Villa is a genus in the bee-fly family (Bombyliidae). Like its bee-fly kin, adult Villa feed on nectar and pollen, so are pollinators. Unlike many of its bee-fly kin, the Villa species are characterized by having clear wings. This one (possibly … Continue reading →

  Yesterday’s posting about an Orgy in Nelson speculated that the participants were mayflies, and that, owing to their short lives, it was a one-night event. The pictures from the next evening showed I was wrong on the second point, and … Continue reading →

  I suspect that Saturday’s orgy in Nelson is an annual event. The participants are almost certainly mayflies. In the comments to a subsequent posting, Orgy swarm redux, it was finally settled that these insects are caddisflies. Mayflies live as … Continue reading →

  This is the first Twelve-spotted Skimmer I have ever seen. However, I did not diligently seek it out; rather, it came to me—right through an open door into my house. The southern interior of British Columbia is at the … Continue reading →

  Around here, up to one percent of the daisies play host to a crab spider (Misumena vatia). These spiders will hunt from other flowers, but daisies seem to be a local favourite. Camouflaged to the colour of the petals, they … Continue reading →