Michigan’s Carnivorous Butterfly

Posted on September 27, 2014 by admin

Harvester larvae with Woolly Alder Aphids

The larva of the Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius) is North American’s only carnivorous butterfly. It feeds on a variety of aphid species. In Michigan, it feeds on the Alder Woolly Aphid (Prociphilus tesselatus). This diet is high in protein, allowing the larva to grow quickly from hatching to the pupa stage. It takes as little as eight days for the larva to mature.

L-Larger Harvester larva with prey R-Mature Harvester larva heading toward pupating spot

The larva is less than 20mm (3/4 of an inch) long. Larva, pupa, and adults are sometimes found by searching near Woolly Aphid colonies. Alder Woolly Aphids allow the Harvester larva to feed on them and do not attempt to flee. Often a covering of aphids or parts of aphids obscures the larva.

Harvester Chrysalis

We have watched Harvester larvae near Grayling, Michigan for the last five years. The last weekend in August, we found larvae, pupas, and adults. All the Harvester chrysalises we found were on the surface of Speckled Alder (Alnus incana subsp. rugosa) leaves. All these leaves were on branches with Woolly Aphid colonies. We watched several larvae leave the group of aphids they were feeding on and crawl to a leaf at the end of the branch. They attach themselves to the leaf with silk and split open their skin, which hardens into the outside of the chrysalis. We found one chrysalis that was darker than the rest and appeared to be close to hatching. It did hatch late in the morning the next day and gave us a chance to photograph the adult. The following weekend we could not find any signs of the Harvester except for a few shells from hatched chrysalises.

Harvester Chrysalis ready to hatch

Adult Harvesters have a distinctive water spot pattern on their lower wings. They do not typically feed on nectar, the adult photographed on the milkweed flower was only perched not feeding. They do feed on honeydew produced by aphids, dung, and tree sap.

Adult Harvester Butterflies

This was the first time I found a chrysalis. They are said to resemble a monkey’s face. However, they reminded me of an ancient Greek mask or a snake’s head. Small, only 10mm [3/8 inch] long, they are easy to pass by thinking they are a leaf gall.

The chrysalises were present only for about a week. Perhaps my timing has been wrong in other years. Maybe now that I have seen them I will be able to find them again. Many times, I have looked without success for years for a plant or insect but once I found it, I began to see it many places. Dr. Warren H. Wagner referred to this as having the correct “search image.” Once this image is in your mind, you can find the organism easier. Harvester butterflies are uncommon but occur over a wide range. Get out, look, and form your own “search image.”
Copyright 2014 by Donald Drife

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Spring Insects in Central Michigan

Posted on June 8, 2014 by admin

I recently (May 24) found four species of insects that I had never identified before. I came upon them in an area a little east of Grayling, Michigan in Oscoda County. This area that we call Diane’s Bog is a favorite place of mine to photograph nature.

Eastern Pine Elfin

The first species is a butterfly, the little Eastern Pine Elfin (Callophrys niphon or Incisalia niphon by those who split the genus). Its wingspan is about 2.5cm (1 inch). It is similar to the Western Pine Elfin, which is darker and lacks the gray stripe on the hindwing. The larva are found on White Pine (Pinus strobus) and Jack Pine (P. banksiana).

Northern Spring Azure

The next species is Northern Spring Azure (Celastrina lucia). It is another small butterfly and is similar to the Spring Azure. The Northern Spring Azure has gray inside of the blue stripe on the hindwing.

Columbine Duskywing

Our third butterfly is the Columbine Duskywing (Erynnis lucilius). Its wingspan is 3.5cm (1.5 inches). The larva feeds only on columbine (Aquilegia sp.). It is a brown butterfly with tiny semi-transparent windows in its wings.

European Ground Beetle

Our final insect is a large black beetle, the European Ground Beetle (Carabus nemoralis). I was in what I thought was a fairly undisturbed section of the county and was surprised when I learned that this was an imported beetle. Its antenna are segmented, it has a series of dimples on the wing covers and iridescent purple corners on its pronotum. The pronotum is the covering of the thorax, which is the section behind the head. It is 3.5cm (1.5 inches) long. I found the tracks of this beetle interesting. Thanks to the gang at bugguide.net for the identification.

European Ground Beetle Tracks and Pronotum

I found four insects that I had not identified previously in two hours. I have been to this site many times but there is always something new to see and notice.
Copyright 2014 by Donald Drife

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Spring Sap Feeding Insects

Posted on April 20, 2014 by admin

Green Bottle Fly

Last December we had a thirty-year old Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) cut down. Norway Maples are an invasive alien species and should no longer be planted in Michigan. It is a brittle tree. One of the reasons we removed the tree was that the top had fallen through our garage roof.

Beginning in spring, the stump began ooze sap. Mourning Cloak and Red Admiral butterflies came to feed on the sweet sap. As the weather warmed, the sap became bitter but the insects still came. They were interested in the liquid, not just the sugar content.

Cluster Fly

Several species of flies began to feed. Green Bottle Flies (Lucilia sp.) with their iridescent green body feed on the sap. This is one of the Blow Flies. Cluster Flies (Pollenia sp.) appeared by the hundreds. Their wings overlap when they are resting. Parasitic Flies in the genus Ptilodexia also came. Most species in this group have a gray and black thorax.

Parasitic fly Ptilodexia sp.

A lone Digger Bee (Melissodes sp.) showed up. They are also called Long-horned Bees because of their long segmented antennae. Their body and legs are hairy.

Digger or Long-horned Bee

I have spent a few fun weeks looking at the insects visiting my stump. I come home from work, step around the corner of my garage, and see who is feeding. It is a nice diversion. Nature surrounds us. We just need to look for it.

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Evergreen Bagworm

Posted on February 22, 2014 by admin

Evergreen Bagworm on planted Juniper

The Evergreen Bagworm (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) is an interesting larva. It lives in a silken bag that it carries around. In the summer, you can see its head peeking out as it feeds. It overwinters as eggs in one of these silk bags, attached to a twig. Red-cedar (Juniperus sp.) and Arbor Vitae (Thuja occidentalis) are its favorite food but it will eat Pines (Pinus sp.), Spruce (Picea sp.), Willow (Salix sp.), Maple (Acer sp.), Cherry (Prunus sp.) and other woody plants. Bits of leaf and twig from the host plant decorate its bag.

Bagworm cases on Juniper with surface close-up

Only the male moth leaves the safety of his bag to fly in search of females in their bags. Wingless and legless, the female lays approximately 1000 eggs in her bag then leaves it, falling to the ground to die. Overwintering as eggs, the larva hatch in late spring and begin to build their own bag homes. In late summer they pupate, emerging 4 weeks later as adult moths.

Bagworm cases on ornamental cherry with surface close-up

I opened two bags this winter expecting to find eggs. I found a dead female moth in one and a pupa in the other. According to every book and website I consulted, they overwinter as eggs. Both of my stations are on ornamental plantings and might have been sprayed. I need to find a natural colony to observe.

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Wasp Mantidfly

Posted on February 8, 2014 by admin

Wasp Mantid Fly

The Wasp Mantidfly (Climaciella brunnea) is an insect that looks like a cross between a Praying Mantis and a Polistes Wasp. It is not related to either but is in the order Neuroptera along with the Common Lacewing and the Antlion.

Wasp Mantid fly profile

Like the Praying Mantis it uses its front legs to catch other insects. I found it on a Common Milkweed hunting insects visiting the flowers. It is reported to feed on nectar.

The adults last only about a month. They lay several thousand short stalked eggs that hang under plant leaves looking like pins with heads. After hatching, the larva drops onto a passing spider and waits for it to lay its eggs. The larva enters the spiders egg mass and feeds on the eggs. This particular species of Mantidfly develops on Wolf Spider eggs.

I have only found one Mantidfly. It was near Grayling, Michigan along my favorite mile of road. They are widespread in Michigan but short lived. This is a species that I will look for in the future.
Copyright 2014 by Donald Drife

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Viburnum Leafhopper (Enchenopa viburni)

Posted on December 19, 2013 by admin

Viburnum Leafhopper adult

I found this thorn mimic leafhopper last September on my Korean Spice Viburnum (Viburnum carlesii). To my eye, it did not blend in at all on this thornless shrub. The white masses are its eggs. This species was first named as a scale insect from a mistaken idea that these were insects and not eggs. After the mistake was noticed, the name was transferred to this genus.

When I found the eggs last September they were white and sticky. It is now December and the eggs are still white and sticky even on days when it is 10 degrees F. Perhaps this stickiness discourages birds from eating the eggs. I have seen Black-capped Chickadees in this shrub and they don’t seem to bother the eggs. The egg masses now have pieces of leaves and other dirt adhering to their surface but the egg masses themselves are still white and easy to notice. I expected them to darken with age so they would blend into the viburnum twigs better.

Enchenopa viburni eggs L-September R-December

Viburnum Leafhopper eggs L-September R-December

I know as a gardener I should destroy the egg masses, but I have never observed this species before and the egg masses are few in number. I want to study and photograph the nymph stage. I will monitor the insects in the spring to insure they are not serious garden pests.
Copyright 2013 by Donald Drife

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Prickly-ash and the Giant Swallowtail

Posted on September 19, 2013 by admin

For the last forty years (on and off), I have searched for the larva of the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) which feed on Prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum americanum.) Prickly-ash occurs in Tenhave Woods, Oakland County and I have seen adult Giant Swallowtails in the woods for many years. I was helping identify and measure trees in the swamp forest when I found three larvae, the first that I have seen. They resemble bird droppings. A few days later, I found another group of Giant Swallowtail larvae at a highway rest area in Genesee County. This seems to happen to me often, that once I find an insect or plant for the first time I will start finding it at other places.

Giant Swallowtail Larva

Prickly-ash is not an ash but a member of the Rue family (Rutaceae) that includes the citrus. The odor of the flowers and fruit is similar to that of lime and the unripe fruit looks like a tiny lime. The plant is armed with prickles and a stand is painful to walk while doing fieldwork. The twigs and the main leaf stalk have prickles. Prickly-ash grows mainly in the Lower Peninsula but recently a few stations in the Upper Peninsula have been discovered.

Prickly-ash flowers and fruit

The adult Giant Swallowtails have an impressive six-inch (15 cm) wingspan. When it alights on a flower it must continue to flap its wings or the flower stem bends under the butterfly’s weight. This makes the butterfly easy to identify and difficult to photograph. The Giant Swallowtail ranges north to Saginaw. Go out and look for it in southern Michigan.

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Planthoppers

Posted on September 3, 2013 by admin

Flatormenis proximais and Acanalonia bivittata

Northern Flatid & Two-striped Planthoppers

Recently I observed two Planthoppers in a local woods. I mistakenly thought they were the same species and just different sexes or different growth stages. On further study, they were found to be not only different species but also species in different families.

Northern Flatid Planthopper Flatormenis proximais

The first one is in the Flatidae family and is a Northern Flatid Planthopper (Flatormenis proximais). It has a greenish tint under its waxy secretions. It is 1 cm (3/8 inches) long and feeds on a large number of plant species. This one was on Goldenrod. The Citrus Planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa) is similar but with a grayish-blue to purple tint and a bright yellow or orange eye.

Two-striped Planthopper Acanalonia bivittata

The other species was in a different family, the Acanaloniidae. It is a Two-striped Planthopper (Acanalonia bivittata). This species hides by mimicking a leaf. It is also 1 cm (3/8 inches) long. Although it feeds on plant juices this species occurs in small numbers so it is not considered an insect pest.

Candy-striped Leafhopper Graphocephala complex

The Harlequin or Candy-striped Leafhopper, in the genus Graphocephala, is a colorful little leafhopper. The species in this genus are difficult to tell apart, requiring accurate measurements and the correct determination of their sex. I am content knowing only an insect’s genus, especially when collecting and dissecting it is required for identification. I think this is part of the G. coccinea complex. The family is Cicadellidae and its members have a row of spines along the leg (the tibia to be exact, which is the second segment from the unattached end of the leg). This group also has short antennae located between their eyes.

Candy-striped Leafhopper closeup Graphocephala closeup

The Planthoppers and Leafhoppers are fun to find. Many more species occur in Michigan, some are drab and others are colorful. The casual observer normally does not discover them. I had not noticed the planthoppers before; however, after seeing one I have now found them other places. Get out and look for them. Late summer and early autumn is the time to find them right after the nymphs have metamorphosed.

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Identifying a Banded Net-winged Beetle

Posted on August 27, 2013 by admin

Banded Net-winged Beetle

I found a group of three insects, whose species I did not know, on a Bracken Fern near Grayling, Michigan. After returning home, I consulted Insects of the North Woods by Jeffery Hahn and saw a photo of a yellow Net-winged Beetle that shared its shape with my mystery beetle. So I searched the Internet for “brown net-wing beetle” and found a photo that looked like my beetle, a banded net-winged beetle named Calopteron discrepans. I searched bugguide.net (a great insect website) for Calopteron discrepans and discovered a similar species Calopteron reticulatum. I consulted the Peterson Field Guide to the Beetles and it said, “C. discrepans, 9.5-15mm, is similar to C. reticulatum” but did not explain how the two species are differentiated.

Banded Net-winged Beetle

Several websites explained that the black band closest to the head is uniform in width on C. discrepans and wider in the middle on C. reticulatum. This means my beetle is C. reticulatum. The two species have the same common name Banded Net-winged Beetle and might not even be distinct species but only subspecies. This species is also called Reticulated Net-winged Beetle.

Banded Net-winged Beetle

The beetle does possess an interesting shape. This is one of the moth mimics. Supposedly, the moth tastes bad and birds do not want to eat you if they think you are that moth. It also proves that even after thirty-years of fieldwork in the Grayling area there are still new things to find.
Copyright 2013 by Donald Drife

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Michigan’s Praying Mantis Species

Posted on July 8, 2013 by admin

European (L) & Chinese (R) Praying Mantis

Michigan has two species of Praying Mantis: The European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) and the Chinese Praying Mantis (Tenodera aridifolia). As the common names imply, neither one is a native species.

European Praying Mantis

The European Praying Mantis has a black spot, often with white “bull’s-eye,” on its upper front legs. The color of the forewings is uniform.

Chinese Praying Mantis

The Chinese Praying Mantis lacks the spot on the front leg. The forewings are tan with a green front edge. This species is longer on the average than the European Mantis but the sizes overlap.
Praying Mantises were introduced by gardeners because they eat insects. Hopefully they consume more harmful insects than good insects. I have often seen a Praying Mantis eating a bee or other beneficial pollinator.

Mantis Eggcase and hatchlings

The egg masses overwinter on an exposed stem. In Michigan, the hatching time is late May or early June. The nymphs are tiny versions of the adults without wings. They hatch by the hundreds and quickly disperse because they are cannibals. It takes six to eight molts for them to reach the adult stage. Mating and egg laying take place in September or early October. Contrary to popular belief the female does not always eat the male after mating with him. This rumor started when laboratory raised mantis were mated. The females had not been properly fed. If the female is hungry then she will try to make a meal out of her mate. It is estimated that 30% of the matings in nature end with the male being consumed.
I always enjoy finding a Praying Mantis. Autumn is when I find most of them; as they grow, they become easier to find. They are also out looking for mates and a practiced eye can spot them. Get out and look for them. I often find them in my yard.

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The Michigan Nature Guy’s Blog

To get people looking at, enjoying, and understanding the natural world around them.

Category Archives: Michigan Insects

Michigan’s Carnivorous Butterfly

Spring Insects in Central Michigan

Spring Sap Feeding Insects

Evergreen Bagworm

Wasp Mantidfly

Viburnum Leafhopper (Enchenopa viburni)

Prickly-ash and the Giant Swallowtail

Planthoppers

Identifying a Banded Net-winged Beetle

Michigan’s Praying Mantis Species