NightbugsJuly05

GPBC member capturing a bug on a sheet.

Approximately 40 people came to our 2nd annual Night Bugs! event at Fox Ridge. The weather was perfect for night bugging: warm and humid. Participants captured a wide variety of insects and arachnids at the light traps (see photo above) and these bugs were expertly identified for us by our own Terry Harrison - thanks Terry! Thanks also to Fox Ridge State Park for letting us stay late and Nicole Heath for enthusiastic assistance in organizing this event. Highlights of the night were European hornets (even more impressive when viewed with a microscope), a dobsonfly (unfortunately seen only by those who stayed late), some very nice longhorn beetles and a myriad of pretty moths.

In addition to those bugs pictured below, our identified list (to various degrees of specificity) includes: harvestman ("daddy-longlegs"; we saw many individuals of this interesting arachnid), ichneumonid wasp sp., bald-faced hornet, rove beetle sp., Parandra sp. longhorn beetle, June beetles (multiple spp.), click beetles (multiple spp.), diving beetle sp., shield bug sp. (Pentatomidae), camel cricket sp., small caddisfly sp., large caddisfly sp. (Phryganeidae), leafhopper sp., Olethreutes sp. moth (Tortricidae), rosy maple moth, hickory tussock moth, redbud leafroller moth (Fascista cercerisella), a looper moth (Autographa sp.), a leaf miner moth (Neurobathra strigifinitella), a blastobasid moth (Pigritia sp.), sod webworm moth (Acrolophus popeanella), Marathyssa sp. moth, palmerworm moth (Dichomeris ligulella), a casebearer moth (Coleophora sp.), crambid moths (Crambus agitatellus and Palpita magniferella), a phycitine pyralid moth (Acrobasis sp.), noctuid moths (black-bordered lemon moth, Idia sp., Cucullia sp., and Tripudia quadrifera), and some gelechiid moths (Filatima pseudacaciella, Chionodes mediofuscella, Chionodes thoraceochrella, and Pseudotelphusa sp.).

All photos copyright P.V. Switzer. No use without permission.

Night bug participants checking out some cool bugs.	Many of the insects were stunning when viewed under a microscope.
Eastern blood-sucking conenose Triatoma sanguisuga The blood-sucking conenose feeds on the blood of mammals; in some parts of its range has been found to transmit diseases. In contrast to the conenose, its relatives (the assassin bugs) are beneficial insects; they feed on a variety of other insects, including insect pests.	Burying beetle (Nicrophorus sp.) Male burying beetles find dead animals and attract females to the carcass with a pheromone. The pair buries the carcass together and then, after mating with the male, the female lays eggs on it.
Dobsonfly sp. Dobsonflies are large (this one was about 4" long), fearsome-looking (but harmless unless you get your fingers near their jaws) insects that have aquatic larvae called hellgrammites. Hellgrammite presence in a stream can be used as an indicator that a stream is "healthy".	A close-up look at the same dobsonfly. Watch your fingers!
Dogday cicada These large insects, mistakenly called "locusts" by many people (true locusts are grasshoppers), take three years to develop from an egg to adult and are responsible for the loud droning heard from trees during warm summer afternoons and evenings.	European hornet (Vespa crabro) European hornets are an introduced species, first seen in the U.S.A. around 1840. Unlike the black and white, native bald-faced hornets which build the large, paper nests in trees, European hornets build their nests in the openings of cavities.
Forked fungus beetle (Bolitoherus cornutus) During the day, this interesting beetle is found hiding in hard shelf fungi.	Longhorn beetle sp. Several of these large, impressive beetles came in to our lights.
One of several June beetle species (Scarabaeidae) that came in to our lights.	Wood roach sp. Wood roaches were found feeding on rotten fruit bait that had been put on the base of some trees. These roaches are not the kind that will invade your houses and cause trouble!
Grammia tiger moth	Painted lichen moth

Grape leaf roller

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