I thought ants had nothing to do with spit-bubbles on plants. Yet today I watched a group of ants who seemed awfully interested in these bubbles. What’s up with that, do you think?
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects No Responses yet
You’ve seen those moss-draped branches in the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve. Well, today we were ducking under one of those when we spotted a tiny red speck. And then the speck moved! Turns out that it is this wee bug, which is less than half a centimeter long. I think it’s probably a spider mite.
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects 3 Comments so far
From physorg.com: Honey bees study finds that insects have personality too. A new study in Science suggests that thrill-seeking is not limited to humans and other vertebrates. Some honey bees, too, are more likely than others to seek adventure. The brains of these novelty-seeking bees exhibit distinct patterns of gene activity in molecular pathways known [...]
Filed in insects Comments Off
Next time your friend walks face-first into a spiderweb, you can (instead of pointing and laughing) say Did you know…? and then trot out this tidbit from Science Daily: Fancy Footwork and Non-Stick Leg Coating Helps Spiders Not Stick to Their Own Webs. Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and University of Costa Rica [...]
Filed in insects 2 Comments so far
I know you can’t resist a story that includes painting dots on bees. For science! From Smithsonian Magazine: The Secret Life of Bees.
Filed in insects 2 Comments so far
If there’s an earthquake, should bugs be part of Gabriola’s search and rescue team? The Telegraph reports on camera carrying insects: Minute cameras and microphones mounted on the backs of beetles will help emergency services find victims trapped or buried underneath rubble. Researchers aim to power a tiny backpack of sensors by scavenging energy from [...]
Filed in insects Comments Off
Those of you who’ve yearned for a mosquito-free Gabriola might be interested in this NYT article: Researchers on Sunday reported initial signs of success from the first release into the environment of mosquitoes engineered to pass a lethal gene to their offspring, killing them before they reach adulthood. [continue] All very strange. Is this a [...]
Filed in insects One Response so far
You know how sometimes on this blog we get into discussions about identifying various fauna and flora, often something Gabriolan has discovered on jaunts through the woods, or something from the garden? Well, if that ‘something’ happens to be a plant pest, here’s a neat website resource that I just found out about. ID Source [...]
Here’s what’s up in the Gabriola woods today. Wasps here. I wondered about a wasp nest fragment a while ago. Now I’ve found the rest of that nest, and can see that it fell out of a tree when a branch came down. So glad I wasn’t underneath when it fell! Wasps there. Last month [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects Comments Off
A couple of years ago I found a whole bunch of Cinnabar moth caterpillars on Gabriola. They were eating the tansy ragwort, and I noticed them in several locations. This year I haven’t seen any of these caterpillars. Have you?
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects,invasive plants 6 Comments so far
This handsome creature was lurking on a nasturtium this evening. You wouldn’t happen to know what it is, would you? One of these days maybe I’ll learn to identify all the butterflies and moths on Gabriola.
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects 2 Comments so far
We saw this nest fragment in the Gabriola forest today. Who do you think made it? Wasps? Bees? Hornets? And how’d it wind up in the middle of the trail when the rest of the nest is nowhere near?
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects 2 Comments so far
An article at The Atlantic talks about a study showing that grazing lands provide critical habitats for wild bees and other pollinators. The research was led by Berkeley environmental sciences professor Dr. Claire Kremen, among the world’s foremost pollinator authorities. The team evaluated the role of wild pollinators, concluding that they are essential to our [...]
Filed in food,Gabriola Island,insects Comments Off
The problem Gabriola gardeners have with deer eating up garden produce could be worse, I suppose. In Kenya elephants raid crops, and how do you argue with an elephant? Turns out that elephants are afraid of bees, so farmers are using beehive fences to protect crops. Do you suppose deer are afraid of bees, too?
Filed in Gabriola Island,gardening,insects,wildlife Comments Off
I imagine the spiders who built this web are less than pleased with what’s happened.
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects 2 Comments so far
The other day in the Gabriola woods, we came across a few tent caterpillars. We said some words – being surprised and all, having almost walked into them – and they did this: this back-and-forth stuff that looks as if they are roaring like lions in their tiny little brains. pericat has had a similar [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects 2 Comments so far
Tonight while many of you were watching the hockey game, I was watching zillions of these little bugs on Gabriola’s native roses. You wouldn’t happen to know what these particular bugs are, would you? Is there an entomologist in the house?
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects,native plants One Response so far
Remember Gabriola’s strangest spiderweb? Maybe the spiders who created that have moved on to trampoline webs, like this one.
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects Comments Off
