Sightings – Bugs
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 11/11/21
Observation Time: 2:10 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Rd. (my back yard)
Common Name: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (adult)
Scientific Name: Halyomorpha Halys
Comments: Stink bugs molt several times before reaching maturity. Each phase is referred to as an instar.
More Information: Featured Creatures
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/30/23
Observation Time: 10:15 a.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Rd. (appeared on the desk in my living room!)
Common Name: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (adult)
Scientific Name: Halyomorpha Halys
Comments: Stink bugs molt several times before reaching maturity. Each phase is referred to as an instar.
More Information: Featured Creatures
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 8/31/18
Observation Time: 4:10 p.m.
Observation Location: Borderland State Park
Common Name: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (4th instar)
Scientific Name: Halyomorpha Halys
Comments: Stink bugs molt several times before reaching maturity. Each phase is referred to as an instar.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Josh Simons
Observation Date: 8/13/2016
Observation TIme: 3:00 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill area
Common Name: Cicada (a.k.a. Dogday Cicada)
Scientific Name: Neotibicen canicularis
Comments: One genus, the periodical cicadas, spend most of their lives as underground nymphs, emerging only after 13 or 17 years. The unusual duration and timing of their emergence may reduce the number of cicadas lost to predation, both by making them a less reliably available prey (so that any predator who evolved to depend on cicadas for sustenance might starve waiting for their emergence), and by emerging in such huge numbers that they will satiate any remaining predators before losing enough of their number to threaten their survival as a species.
The annual cicadas are species that emerge every year. Though these cicadas have lifecycles that can vary from one to nine or more years as underground larvae, their emergence above ground as adults is not synchronized, so some members of each species appear every year.
Cicadas have been featured in literature since the time of Homer’s Iliad, and as motifs in art from the Chinese Shang dynasty. They have also been used in myth and folklore as symbols of carefree living and immortality. The cicada is also mentioned in Hesiod’s Shield (ll.393–394), its voice sings when millet first ripens. Cicadas are eaten by human beings in various countries, including China, where the nymphs are served deep-fried in Shandong cuisine.
More Information: bugguide.net and Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/16/11
Observation Time: 2:30 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond dam
Common Name: Green Stink Bug nymph
Scientific Name: Acrosternum hilare
Comments: This striking green stink bug nymph caught my eye as it sat on a rosa rugosa leaf by the pond. The adults are solid green.
I spotted the green stink bug nymph because of its bold, contrasty coloration. Perhaps the reason for the green stink bug nymph’s ostentatious display is to warn potential predators of its stink – the same reason skunks have such bold, visible markings.
More Information: BugGuide
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 8/11/13
Observation Time: 4:50 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam
Common Name: Jagged Ambush Bug
Scientific Name: Phymata americana
Comments: This small insect (1/2″ in length) turns out to be predatory. It waits in flowers to ambush prey that are sometimes larger than itself. This one was found among goldenrod blossoms.
More Information: aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu or NatureSearch
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 4/28/12
Observation Time: 2:00 p.m.
Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road
Common Name: Leaf-footed bug
Scientific Name: Acanthocephala terminalis
Comments: The leaf-shaped hind legs give this bug its name.
More Information: See:
http://www.cirrusimage.com/bugs_leaf_footed_Acanthocephala.htm
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 8/7/15
Observation Time: 5:10 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond area
Common Name: Northern Walkingstick
Scientific Name: Diapheromera femorata
Comments: This harmless insect uses its bizarre body shape to blend in to the foliage and avoid detection by potential predators.
More Information: Bugguide
Observer: Kathy Farrell
Observation Date: January 11, 2017
Observation Time: N/A
Observation Location: my back yard
Common Name: Snow Flea
Scientific Name: Hypogastrura harveyi or Hypogastrura nivicol
Comments: At close examination, perhaps in melting snow around the base of a tree, tiny black flecks might be found sprinkled in the snow. They probably look like bits of dirt at first glance, but they are actually tiny soil animals known as snow fleas. Officially, they are called springtails and are not actually fleas.
On any given summer day, hundreds of thousands of springtails can populate one cubic meter of top soil; at 1-2 mm, they largely go unnoticed by people. In the winter, however, two species of dark blue springtails— Hypogastrura harveyi and Hypogastrura nivicol—can be easily spotted against the white backdrop of snow. These hexapods may have acquired the nickname of snow fleas due to their ability to jump great distances, a feat fleas boast as well. Whereas fleas use enlarged hind legs, springtails have a tail-like appendage called a furcula that unfolds to launch the hexapods great distances.
But unlike fleas, springtails are not parasites; they feed on decaying organic matter in the soil (such as leaf litter) and, therefore, play an important part in natural decomposition. Snow fleas in particular are able to withstand the bitter temperatures of winter thanks to a “glycine-rich antifreeze protein,” as reported in a study published in Biophysical Journal.
More Information: http://www.esa.org/esablog/research/snow-fleas-helpful-winter-critters-2/
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/4/13
Observation Time: 8:45 a.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam
Common Name: Spined Soldier Bug (nymph)
Scientific Name: Podisus maculiventris
Comments: Spined soldier bugs are small predatory stink bugs. They molt several times before reaching maturity. Each phase is referred to as an instar. This one was in the third “instar”.
More Information: University of Florida
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/9/20
Observation Time: 1:50 p.m.
Observation Location: beside soccer parking area on Gavins Pond Rd
Common Name: Spittlebug
Scientific Name: Philaenus spumarius
Comments: Spittlebugs are known for the frothy spittle mass they produce while feeding on plants.
More Information: University of Minnesota Extension
