Category Archives: bugs

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 →

  Dragonflies are grouped into seven families, each of which contains many members. Skimmers, one of the biggest of the families, prefer marshy areas and so are not often seen around the well drained portions of the Kootenay Lake shoreline. … Continue reading →

  It is amazing what one can see around here by taking the time to look. Or as Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) observed: “The world is full of obvious things which nobody ever observes.” Consider the cicada. When compared … Continue reading →

  The crab spider (Misumena vatia) lives by deception. On a yellow flower, it turns yellow; on a white flower, it turns white. In this way, it is camouflaged as it awaits pollinators. So, how will it present itself when on a … Continue reading →

  Common is a part of the name of many species: Common Carp (fish), Common Loon (bird), Common Pika (mammal), Common Whitetail (insect), Common Harebell (plant), Common Orange Lichen (lichen). Vastly more examples could be offered. There are perils in … Continue reading →

  I enjoy polysemes—words with plural meanings. One might think that my title, butterfly symposium, must refer to a seminar of lepidopterists. It doesn’t. The root meaning of symposium is drinking party (sym: together; posium: to drink). Certainly, it is clear how … Continue reading →