In a recent post I wrote about a female praying mantis, probably of the species Stagmomantis limbata, that spent last summer stalking other insects from her camouflage perch on a balloon plant milkweed. In late summer, when she was about four inches long, this formidable apex predator among insects produced an ootheca, an egg case… Continue reading Praying Mantis: The Nymphs Hatch
Woolly-Pod Milkweed: A Mantis, Monarchs, Flies and Honey Bees
The Praying Mantis Princess The first time I saw the Bordered mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, she was no more than half of an inch in length. She was resting on a fuzzy Asclepias eriocarpa leaf, common name woolly-pod milkweed. If the milkweed’s leaves were not a few shades of green darker than the mantis, I would not… Continue reading Woolly-Pod Milkweed: A Mantis, Monarchs, Flies and Honey Bees
The Petition
The Petition Come evening a keening sound in the wilderness, A call for the divine sloth to end her sad deliberation. So many stout branches await her grasp. Dusk it is then, for the Anthropocene and its apex predator, For the brain that wrote itself an infinite loop and Conjured up a deity in its… Continue reading The Petition
Bumble Bees Will Not Attend Your Picnic
Bumble Bees will not attend your picnic. Yellow jackets (Vespula pensylvanica) on the other hand, will crash your picnic, particularly in late summer. Yellow jackets. Who likes them? They do not rank on my top ten list of favorite insects, but I have learned that they play an important role in maintaining balance in the… Continue reading Bumble Bees Will Not Attend Your Picnic