Tootfinder

stuff at lake today. too hot to hang around for long tho:
a) common blue damselflies pairing
b) common darter [male]
c) 😱
#damselfly #dragonfly #insects

We also need bird organizations to come out against bug zappers. Because when billions of insects are electrocuted there's less food available. And you could use an illustration of begging chicks in a nest near a glowing bug zapper surrounded by moths (make the parent birds emaciated and worried). That graphic would go viral. #birds #insects #birding

"Butterflies around the world are changing habitats – and experts say it’s ‘signalling a warning’"
#Butterflies #Insects #Climate

Butterflies around the world are changing habitats – and experts say it’s ‘signalling a warning’
New research shows early-warning species is on the move, expanding or contracting geographic range and changing altitude

Some good news: I think I've succeeded in shutting down Pest Proof, a company selling a scam mosquito trap filled with yeast, sugar, baking soda, and citric acid. Its e-commerce site started displaying, "Site Inactive", today, at least. Over the past several weeks I've sent complaints to all 50 states, the EPA, the FTC, and to regulatory authorities in Canada and the UK where it was also being marketed. Someone listened, it seems. Traps like this kill innocent insects, not mosquitoes. #mosquitoes #insects

A very vividly colored #lichen #moth, #Hypoprepia miniata or fucosa, right where its name suggests it should be.
#insects

Top reasons to NOT buy a bug zapper.
1. Kills a minuscule number of mosquitoes
2. Fries pounds of innocent insects per week (and thus starves local birds)
3. Confuses lightning bugs (probably)
4. Wastes electricity
5. Generates light pollution
6. Generates sound pollution
7. Creates germ risk when insects explode (if near table w/ food)
8. Can catch fire and burn your house down
#mosquitoes #insects #nature

"Social media images lead to first recording of parasitoid wasp species in Japan"
#Japan #Animals #Insects #SocialMedia

Social media images lead to first recording of parasitoid wasp species in Japan
Photos of a striking, iridescent wasp posted on social media by wasp enthusiasts in Japan have led to an unexpected discovery: The images are the first record of the species in Japan. The footage also helped scientists describe a male of the species for the first time. The images and a video of the wasps […]

Sadly, the invasive Spotted Lanternfly is now firmly ensconced in Virginia. Here, hundreds of nymphs are feeding on this Tree of Heaven, also an invasive species.
I was shocked to see every possible surface of bark covered and had to take a picture to convey the scale of the invasion.
#Insects #invasivespecies

Friends, I managed to come up with a full ten (10) reasons why you shouldn't buy bug zappers. At the top of the list, of course, is that they barely kill any mosquitoes. But they also create noise pollution and can burn your house down, among other problems. #mosquitoes #insects #nature https://colinpurrington.com/2026/06/10-reasons-why-you-shouldnt-buy-a-bug-zapper/

Review of bug zappers that concludes, like all other reviews of bug zappers, that they are completely ineffective and kill tens of thousands of innocent insects. #mosquitoes #insects #nature https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/do-bug-zappers-work/

"Don’t reach for the bug spray: scientists find insects may feel pain after crickets nurse sore antennae"
#Bugs #Insects
ht…

Ban glyphosate. Period.
#poison #honeybees #insects
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260804034638.htm

My wife says that thing that looks like a hummingbird is actually a hummingbird moth!
#photo #photography #insects #moth

"Roadside milkweed is giving monarchs a new migration highway"
#Butterflies #Insects
https:…

Roadside milkweed is giving monarchs a new migration highway | The Optimist Daily
A University of Florida project is planting 15,000 milkweed plants along highways to create migration corridors for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

"Little free libraries are turning into 'Little Bee Libraries' to give pollinators a cozy place to rest"
#Bees #Libraries #Insects

'Little Bee Libraries' turn book boxes into adorable pollinator sanctuaries
In addition to neighborhood plant swaps, trinket exchanges, dioramas, and more, Rachael Harms Mahlandt proposed a new craft idea that helps pollinators thrive.

In the "Serves Them Right" category, mosquitoes can be drained of their ill-gotten meals by Culicoides anophelis, a ceratopogonid midge ("no-see-ums") that can stay attached for days. I hope the puncture sites itch like crazy. #mosquitoes #midges #ceratopogonidae #insects #diptera #flies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I66VySLTwW0

some #aphids from the other day. not sure what the plant is tho, or what aphids they are.
#insects #nature

"Protecting pollinating insects could improve diets and livelihoods worldwide – new study"
#Insects #Animals

Protecting pollinating insects could improve diets and livelihoods worldwide – new study
Pollinators support our nutritional health and are critical for crops of fruit, vegetables and beans.

We need more articles in nature and conservation magazines about the evils of bug zappers. Americans still think they work and seem to be OK with the billions of innocent insects that are killed each year. Moth people, I'm looking at you. #BugZappers #moths #lepidoptera #insects #mothing #entomology

"Scientists discover some bees have tiny magnetic, internal compasses helping them navigate the world"
#Bees #Insects #Animals

New study: Some bees have tiny magnetic, internal compasses to help them navigate
Some animals are able to use iron-based magnetic compounds to detect and navigate via the Earth’s magnetic field, a sense called magnetoreception. Some bee species are among them.

I think this #firefly is looking at me. #insects #nature #bugstodon

"Honeybees make specialised ‘baby food’ to give larvae balanced diet, study says"
#Bees #Insects #Animals

Looking for insects inside inflorescences of yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Turns out there's a fly or a wasp inside almost every single fruit. #wasps #flies #microscope #yarrow #insects

"Research reveals honeybees use the same face-reading strategy as humans"
#Bees #Insects #Animals

Research reveals honeybees use the same face-reading strategy as humans | The Optimist Daily
Honeybees with brains of roughly one million neurons can learn and remember individual human faces with up to 90 percent accuracy.

Did you know that bug zappers can be defanged and used to attract moths? I don't know how to do it safely but perhaps somebody can chime in. Proof of concept is on this webpage about a moth night event in Vermont. #MothNight #mothing #blacklight #blacklighting #moths #UV #insects #lepidoptera #inaturalist https://val.vtecostudies.org/newsfeed/val-updating-the-checklist-of-vermont-moths/

"Eastern Monarch Butterfly’s Comeback Shows 64% Population Increase in Mexico"
#Mexico #Butterflies #Insects

Eastern Monarch Butterfly's Comeback Shows 64% Population Increase in Mexico | Happy Eco News
The eastern monarch butterfly's comeback, with populations increasing by 64% in Mexico, offers cautious hope for the species.

Sharing my solution to squash vine borers (Eichlinia cucurbitae), the larvae of which burrow into the roots and eventually kill the plant: inject Thuricide Bt into stem wherever you see frass accumulating. This is easier to do if you train your plant vertically so that lower parts are visible. I also regularly police for eggs. #garden #gardening #squash #zucchini #vegetables #allotment #insects #lepidoptera #moths

"Big bees have the most to lose as global CO₂ levels rise: new research"
#Bees #Insects
https:…

Big bees have the most to lose as global CO₂ levels rise: new research
Human-made carbon dioxide emissions threaten the very survival of our larger pollinators.

"Pollinators in peril: scientists reveal the hidden human health costs of the world’s disappearing bees"
#Insects #Bees #Animals

sort of busy at the lake today....
#dragonfly #damselflies #nature #insects

I think this is Pyropyga decipiens, a tiny firefly in one of the lineages in which adults have evolutionarily lost the ability to flash. The larvae are still bioluminescent. #insects #beetles #fireflies #lightningbugs #lampyridae #nature

Asiatic oak weevil (Cyrtepistomus castaneus) from a nearby park. No males have ever been found, even in its native range. Parthenogenesis is apparently common among broad-nosed weevils (Entiminae). #ploidy #parthenogenesis #weevils #beetles #insects #nature #oaks #coleoptera #curculionidae

When I have small insects that move too quickly for photographs, I like to dump them onto a white platform that sits on ice, to slow them down a bit. If you zoom and squint you can some wasps that I discovered loitering on my yarrow plants. I'm still editing the close-ups but will share soon. A eulophid, I think. #macro #macrophotography #photography #wasps #insects #wasps

"Heatwaves are destroying the sex lives of bees – new research"
#Bees #Insects #Heatwave #Climate

Heatwaves are destroying the sex lives of bees – new research
Sperm activity in bees dropped after being exposed to heatwave conditions.

I'm chilling some sprigs of yarrow (Achillea millefolium) to slow down some tiny wasps I'd like to photograph. I'd wager there were 2-3 individuals on each inflorescence, and seemingly all the same kind. The flowers were too dry to offer any kind of nectar reward so I'm assuming the wasps are there to parasitize something developing inside yarrow fruits. #wasps #yarrow #insects #achillea

Sweat bee collecting pollen from a corn tassel in my garden. The word on the street is that it's not particularly nutritious and spoils faster than pollen from insect-pollinated plants. #corn #maize #anthers #garden #bee #hymenoptera #insects #nature

If you spray your yard with garlic to repel mosquitoes you might be inadvertently inhibiting the reproduction of other insects. I.e., garlic-based whole-yard sprays are not as "eco-friendly" as pesticide companies claim. That's my take-away from this lab study showing effects on mosquitoes, fruit flies, and wasps. #mosquitoes #garlic #insects #pesticides https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092867426003387

Taeniaptera trivittata (Micropezidae) waving its white-tipped foreleg around like an ichneumonid wasp's banded antennae. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. #insects #mimicry #flies #diptera #nature #entomology

In case anyone needs to know, if you jostle an inflorescence of yarrow over a piece of white paper, very small (1 mm) wasps fall out. Most tend to hop around instead of flying away. Extremely hard to photograph, disappearing and reappearing like miniature Nightcrawlers from the X-Men universe. Am going to chill some plants to slow them down, so stay tuned if you're interested. You're interested, right?? #wasps #yarrow #achillea #insects #hymenoptera

One of my favorite mosquito facts is that there's a spider in Africa, the vampire jumping spider (Evarcha culicivora), that specializes on mosquitoes plump from a recent blood meal. It was described in 2003. #inaturalist #mosquitoes #spiders #blood #salticidae #insects #africa https://youtu.be/dA6sCQlHPEs?t=78

Video of a mosquito entering a DIY trap containing stagnant water and a Mosquito Dunk. Gravid females enter through an opening on the top (a black pot with bottom removed to make a funnel) but can't escape because they are attracted to light coming through the clear plastic sides (acrylic mixing bowl with bottom removed). Base is a black floral pot that I got for free at Trader Joe's. There's a sticky card hanging inside via a magnet and a paper clip but I don't think it's even needed. Better than standard mosquito buckets which only kill larvae. I'll post design tips on my blog but if you can't wait: I used a Dremel tool to hack off the plastic parts, then a glue gun to attach everything together. #diy #mosquitoes #insects #trailcam

Patiently waiting for insects to show up at my puddling station. #bees #wasps #mud #clay #soil #water #insects

PSA: Wood boxes with slits that are marketed as "butterfly houses" are purely decorative. Multiple studies have confirmed that butterflies never use them. But paper wasps (Polistes) do, which is not great for butterfly populations because these wasps hunt caterpillars. Plus they sting, so not great for humans walking by. #butterflies #scam #insects #nature #garden #lepidoptera #wasps

Small (~1.25mm) wasp that I've been finding in large numbers on yarrow growing in my yard. I'll probably never be sure, but my guess is that it's Aprostocetus anodaphus (Eulophidae), an endoparasite of Ozirhincus millefolii (Cecidomyiidae), which I've found on the same inflorescences in equally large numbers. As far as I know it has never been reported in North America. Please go out and check for them if you have yarrow and a macro lens. #wasps #hymenoptera #yarrow #achillea #flies #parasite #nature #insects #macrophotography

"Britain’s favourite butterfly revealed – and it’s a familiar backyard beauty"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Butterflies #Insects

The neighbors had their yard fogged yesterday. Every 2 to 3 weeks it will happen again. Drives me absolutely insane. #pesticides #mosquitoes #insects #nature

Mexican pygmy grasshopper (Clypeotettix mexicanus) on the banks of the Mississippi River. Like many species in the Tetrigidae it grazes on stranded river algae, so that's why it was there. In related news they are fairly good swimmers compared to other grasshoppers, in part due to expanded hind tibiae. Apparently not uncommon to find them partly submerged and seemingly pretending to be frogs, complete with fake poison glands. Some species carry extra air below the pronotum so that they can stay submerged. Vacherie, Louisiana. #grasshoppers #algae #riparian #tetrigidae #insects #nature #louisiana #nature #macro

PSA: If you smell an odor when your neighbors are getting their yard fogged for mosquitoes, that means the pyrethroids are drifting onto your yard, too. The chemicals can remain active for weeks and are not specific to mosquitoes. #mosquitoes #pyrethroids #nature #insects #pesticides

If you are grilling or sitting around a campfire and notice small insects flitting around in the smoke, try to get photographs. Could be a smoke fly in the genus Microsania (Platypezidae). Very, very rarely found but likely because people are not looking. Sometimes even attracted to smoke-infused clothing. This pic from Portugal is the only RG observation on iNaturalist. #platypezidae #flies #diptera #smoke #fire #grilling #bbq #smoking #insects https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9396664

Last fall I stuffed several hundred eastern redbud seeds into pharmaceutical gel caps, then waited for parasitic wasps to emerge so that I could take photographs. #blog #wasps #insects #parasites #nature #redbud #beetles #hymenoptera #macro #macrophotography #entomology https://colinpurrington.com/2026/06/wasps-emerging-from-eastern-redbud-seeds/

Newly-ecolosed male chalcid wasp (Eurytoma sp.) using its forelegs to remove the pupal sheath from one of its antennae. The long setae on each flagellomere will fluff up to give the antennae a bottle-brush look. From eastern redbud seeds. #wasp #chalcidoidea #hymenoptera #eurytoma #insects #nature #entomology #macro

Common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) napping in a hollyhock bloom. #bees #insects #bumblebees #flowers #blooms #hollyhocks #alcea #bombus

Raupenfliege am Fenster... 🪰 Manchmal erinnern uns gerade die unscheinbaren oder lästigen Tiere daran, dass die Welt nicht nur für uns gemacht ist. ❤️
#SilentSunday #StillerSonntag
#DietmarSchneider #Fotogalerie #Foto #Photography #Fotografie #Photo #Animals #Fliegen #Fly #Raupenfliegen #TachinidFlies #Tachinidae #Insekten #Insects #Wildlife #Berlin #Makro #Makrofotografie #Macro #Macrophotography #Macro #Schlossparkgezwitscher #Naturephotography #Naturfotografie #Digitour

Me taking photographs of mosquito eggs in the mini-pond. #mosquitoes #camera #macro #trailcam #pond #insects

Two-page PDF about smoke flies in Australia. #co2 #smoke #fire #diptera #microsania #flies #insects #entomology https://www.dbca.wa.gov.au/media/592/download

National Moth Week is July 18-26. Anyone going to a mothing event? Sugaring some trees in your back yard?? Got a blacklight??? #NationalMothWeek #MothWeek #moths #mothing #inaturalist #insects #lepidoptera #nature

Was hoping this article in the New York Times would be about bats eating mosquitoes but I was wrong. Headline and a single sentence in the article were there to make bats seem like friends (they are, but not because of how many mosquitoes they eat, which is very few). Digital version [follow gift link] has a different headline. #bats #chiroptera #mosquitoes #nyc #newyork #insects #nature #biology #journalism #nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/nyregion/bats-nyc-highline-prospect-park.html?unlocked_article_code=1.zFA.CO8C.VYStaJ_P2guq&smid=url-share

Here's the first bee to visit my mud pan. Possibly a Lasioglossum based on the relatively sparse hairs on abdominal tergites. It's interesting that she took a water break during foraging. #bees #lasioglossum #halictidae #hymenoptera #insects #nature #inaturalist #macro #pollen #pollination https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/363160234

Allantus viennensis (Tenthredinidae) foraging for nectar on a peony flower bud. This is one of several sawfly species that spends its larval days defoliating my roses. They also eat Rubus so I'll be watching my blackberries and raspberries carefully. Originally from Europe. #sawflies #hymenoptera #insects #nature #wasps #macrophotography #roses #rosa #symphyta #rubus

FINALLY, something new has popped out of the eastern redbud seeds that I've been monitoring for months. It's metallic green and small enough to be a hyperparasitoid, I think. Will share better pic after I can get some sort of rough ID from BugGuide. #wasps #hymenoptera #parasitoid #redbud #entomology #nature #insects

Tiny pteromalid, possibly Dinarmus basilis, that emerged from my collection of eastern redbud seeds. The species is a known parasitoid of the bruchid that eats these seeds. #wasps #dinarmus #insects #chalcidoidea #redbud #bruchidae #beetles #entomology #nature #biology

I tested the Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech, the Aion Mosquito Barrier, and the Tougher Than Tom Mosquito TNT in my Pennsylvania yard. tl/dr: they don't kill mosquitoes but plenty of Americans are still buying them. #mosquitoes #grifting #pesticides #nature #biology #insects #diptera #carbondioxide #co2 https://colinpurrington.com/2020/08/yeast-based-mosquito-control-devices/?nocache=1

If you have an opportunity to visit a freshly-burned forest, look for pyrophilic beetles (e.g., certain species in Sericoda, Melanophila, Monochamus) and flies (Microsania). Some have specialized antennae for detecting smoke, others use infrared-sensing areas on abdomen or thorax to locate hot spots. #fire #smoke #weather #canada #beetles #coleoptera #insects #flies #trees #forests

Fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria). If you have a moment to enlarge the image, check out the reduced 3rd proleg on the left-hand side of the loop, toward the bottom. Most lineages of the Geometridae have lost this A5 proleg completely, so this is very useful for identification. Fast-moving, arboreal caterpillars tend to have reduced numbers of prolegs. The standard in Lepidoptera is 5 pairs. #caterpillar #geometridae #inchworm #moth #lepidoptera #insects #nature #prolegs #evolution #nature

If you have a bee hotel and want to get rid of Houdini flies, go buy a bottle of malbec and make this trap. #BeeHotel #InsectHotel #MasonBees #HoudiniFlies #osmia #bees #insects #malbec #wine #nature #pollinators https://colinpurrington.com/2026/05/red-wine-trap-for-controlling-houdini-flies-at-bee-hotels/