Laugh and Learn
Comics by Bernie and Nature!
Vermont single-panel comics. Captions by Bernie, images by nature. Sponsored by the Insect Alliance, Solidarity for All Life, and our highly valued Local Pollinators with special thanks to iNaturalist and all the volunteers who help with the ID of postings. Let's recognize our bond with all living species in nature.
Vermont single-panel comics. Captions by Bernie, images by nature. Sponsored by the Insect Alliance, Solidarity for All Life, and our highly valued Local Pollinators with special thanks to iNaturalist and all the volunteers who help with the ID of postings. Let's recognize our bond with all living species in nature.
Are you not spending enough time in nature, taking a hike with family or friends, spending a day with your romantic partner, and not worrying about anything else? Why not get out there and find happiness by being in and observing nature?
Now for Sunday or any other day that you find a need for a tickle, with coffee and comics. My favorites are Comics #2, #6, and #11. Which is yours?
Nature Comic #33 Sept 28, 2022 Look into my 30,000 eyes
Are you not spending enough time in nature, taking a hike with family or friends, spending a day with your romantic partner, and not worrying about anything else? Why not get out there and find happiness by being in and observing nature?
Now for Sunday or any other day that you find a need for a tickle, with coffee and comics. My favorites are Comics #2, #6, and #11. Which is yours?
If only humans could talk, then we could see eye to eye.
Dragonfly's eyes are like balls, allowing them to see most of what is happening on all sides of their bodies. They can see up to three hundred separate images per second and interpret every one of them. For comparison, note that when humans see more than twenty images per second they see a flowing movement, a film. - Extraordinary Insects, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
It has been observed that dragonflies can move in a forward motion about 100 times their own body length every second (between 18 and 30 mph depending on species). - Forest Wildlife
But are they fast at everything? I wanted to ask this Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonfly about #1 and #2 given that they have such a long (thorax) body. I do tend to be a bit unconventional. Still, my recent observation of a dragonfly pooping was, to me exceptionally exciting. The 'crap' shot out like a rocket (and landed beyond the leaf in the photo). That was so unexpected. Good thing I was focusing on the end of the thorax which I usually try to get a detailed close-up photo of to help with the ID and sex of the individual. Now I know that a dragonfly is also a fast pooper and a rocket-propelled one at that.
POSTSCRIPT (edited for brevity) from Donald H. Miller, Vt. State Colleges, Prof. Emeritus, Dept. of Science, Lyndon State College, Lyndonville, VT.
From a scientific aspect, I thought what you reported was worthy of explanation as to its proximate and ultimate causations, the two diametrically opposite issues often raised about such matters. These two different explanations are often confused, even among biologists. Their difference was clarified by a famous British ornithologist who was writing about the question of what determines the size of a bird's clutch. His name was David Lack. I think I may have mentioned his name to you before, but my memory fails me at that point.
The proximate explanation addresses the how-to question; the ultimate explanation addresses the evolutionarily why question.
Proximately, I wonder if the velocity of fecal discharge may be enhanced by perhaps the same musculature that allows the nymphal stage to propel itself in the water, by forcing out water from its anus, thus, causing one's fecal discharge to be jettisoned at high speed and well away from the body to the ejector,. This might have several evolutionary advantages. I won't belabor that issue here but can easily speculate on what a couple of those might be. Just for starters, one could be anti-predaceous? On the other hand, it may have absolutely no ultimate function at all; it may be that because the posterior musculature of the terminal segments is programmed to provide a jet propulsion effect for the nymph (assuming that indeed does exist), it has no function per se in the adult stage. The musculature is already there and when the adult defecates, it is what it is. Absolutely, no evolutionary advantage.
Sometimes, the above type of scenario is included in some examples as pre-adaptation in the ontogeny of a species (I don't think that obtains here but am not sure).
Speaking to the former point I've made above, it makes me wonder if any other insects eject fecal material (frass, pellets, etc.) at the relatively high velocity of odonates, and in fact, it begs the question of whether other or all adult odonates do (much less the issue of aquatic nymphs).
As I'm sure you are aware, some insects in fact do just the opposite with respect to their defecation of waste material. They actually use it as a defensive material (hiding in their own
frass).
If you could talk to a dragonfly what would you ask them?
Nature Comic #34 Sept 28, 2022
Rub my belly, won't you please. This Virginia Ctenucha Moth (Ctenucha virginica) captured my attention simply by showing its belly to me like a dog rolling over to have its belly rubbed. The little pinkish legs and feet as well as the adorable white and yellow hairs sure did tickle me. There are four life stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths: egg, larva or caterpillar, pupa (chrysalis in butterflies), and adult (moth or butterfly). The photo below is of an adult Virginia Ctenuch Moth. 
Nature Comic #32 Sept 23, 2022
Flies: Pest or Benefactors? Flies get a bad rap. Sometimes for a good reason, while other times they are heroes. First thing in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and a fly swatter for this week's Sunday Comics and decide to either swat or applaud.
Fly
by Night
Low light levels can be photo problematic, however, sometimes the unintended results add emphasis beyond what the naked eye might see. This (likely) Syrphini (member of typical Hover Flies - ID not yet confirmed) appears alien-ish. Indeed if you stare between the yellow lines too long, removing your gaze may be next to impossible.
Nature Comic #31 Sept 23, 2022
Adventures of the FLY Jason Troy can change into his heroic alter-ego (The FLY) at will. He fights flying thieves, mechanical spiders, and the occasional crime lord and defeats them all. The Fly has superhuman strength and insect-like wings that allow him to fly. The wings have also been shown to have a vibrational effect should he be restrained. He can stick to (and climb) any surface, such as walls, ceilings, etc. The Fly's 'costume' acts as exoskeletal body armor, though it is not completely invulnerable. It is knife-proof and offers some protection against bullets, and even small amounts of radiation. The large goggles in the mask allow him 270-degree vision, meaning he can see anything that happens except what is directly behind him. In his superhero form, he can remove the suit and mask, but his eyes appear to be compound eyes. - DC Comics fictional character biography. - Wikipedia Compost Fly (Ptecticus trivittatus) keeps your compost pile safe from villains.
You Can Bet Your Aster on these, local single-panel comics. Bernie is the cartoonist, and Nature is the illustrator.
Nature Comic #30 Sept 16, 2022
DOES SHE... OR DOESN'T SHE?" So natural, only her hairdresser knows for sure!
A Clairol hair dye campaign (in the late 1950s - 1960s) dared the audience to guess whether the woman in the Ad has dyed her hair. They declared her dyed hair to be so natural, only her hairdresser knows for sure.
Might you guess if this (Leafcutter, Mortar, and Resin Bees) Genus Megachile bee has dyed hair on its lower abdomen to match the aster flower?
Megachile species have a propensity for snipping pieces of leaves from plants and carting them back to their nests as wallpaper, thus their common name of leafcutter. Some wildflowers, milkweed (Asclepias), for example, have been found to set more seeds when Megachile are around to pollinate them.
Like most bees in N.A. Megachile does not nest in hives (they are solitary bees, not social bees) - each female builds and provisions her own nest. They build nests in a variety of places, most of them nest above the ground, often in dead plant stalks, in decomposing wood, between rocks, and in insect burrows.
Almost all Megachile create a cup-shaped envelope out of leaf or petal material, filling it with pollen and nectar, then laying an egg on top, and finally closing the egg and its food resource in more vegetative material. This process takes from an hour and a half to three hours to create one nest cell. - The Bees in Your Backyard. J. Wilson & O. M. Carril
Although Megachile sculpturalis' large appearance may make them intimidating, they are largely harmless. The males are unable to sting, and the females, although able to sting, are not aggressive and usually fly away from humans.
Nature Comic #29 Sept 16, 2022
Who has the biggest arms in the body-building business?
This Aster Mining Bee (Andrena asteris) has monster size "triceps". These [Andrena mining bees] are said to carry pollen "in their armpits," [the bee's underarm scopal hairs] stuffed under the top inner sides of their back legs.
This is a moderately distinctive, fall species most often found on Asters [and sunflowers, goldenrod] from mid-August through September. Several nest aggregations have been found along the margins of dirt driveways. - VT Center for Ecostudies
They seek out areas with exposed soil, excellent drainage, and light shade or dappled sunlight from taller plants. Though mining bees may form tunnels rather close to each other, they are not colony-forming bees and live solitary lives. They are friendly, non-aggressive, and typically do not sting or bite.
This week Sunday Comics by Bernie and Nature brings in amphibian and rock-solid google eyes. Followed by a memorial to the American Bumblebee, once common in the Northeast but no more.
How to blow the biggest bubble-gum bubble might bring back some memories for some of you. Anyone who's ever been a kid should be familiar with Bazooka Joe, the eye-patch-wearing mascot of Bazooka bubble gum from Topps which includes comics with the gum. Not sure my eyes could read that tiny print anymore, but I sure would enjoy chewing some of that gum again, not to mention blowing the bubbles. The downside, having a mustache and beard can be troublesome when the errant gum bubble blows up too big and pops!
So if your eyes won't let you read the tiny Bazooka gum comics, or you just don't have any available, well, just sit back with your Sunday morning coffee and enjoy Comics by Bernie and Nature, #27 and #28.
Nature Comic #28 Sept 5, 2022
How to Blow the Biggest Best Bubble-Gum Bubble.
Long ago I became a fan of Bazooka Bubble Gum (and the accompanying comics) as the best purveyor of my youthful outlook on life. While birdwatching along Madera Canyon in AZ, we kept hearing a sound that sort of sounded like a bird and that seem to follow us no matter how far we walked. I later returned to investigate and found this 2 1/2 inch Canyon Tree Frog bellowing like a bugle reveler. Size is no indication of this bullhorn. I bet the tree frog's bubbles never pop and stick to its face!
Nature Comic #27 Sept 5, 2022
Nature's Google Eyes
While hiking at Underhill, Vermont within Crane Brook Conservation district trails, we entered an area of narrow paths where the trees seemed to be moving in on us, large boulders shouldered our hips as we passed, and we felt like we were being watched. Confirming our suspicion these nature made eyes starred up at us, though not unpleasantly and made us laugh at ourselves. (Kingdom Fungi)
Id confirmation is pending.
Insect Memorial #2 Sept 5, 2022
We honor and perhaps mourn the loss of the Vermont legacies that are no longer with us. Whole species that we can no longer enjoy and benefit from in Vermont.
American Bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus) – Endangered
This was once a common bumblebee in the Northeast, but it is now rare. Once a common species in the Champlain Valley, it has not been found since a UVM student’s unwitting discovery in 2000. It occupies grasslands where it nests on the ground among tufts of long grasses. [VT historical data] suggested a mid-century increase in American Bumblebee relative abundance, followed by a significant population decline beginning by the 1980s. Despite our survey efforts over the last decade, we have not confirmed a population yet, but recent records from New York give us hope. - VT Center for Ecostudies
You can help by protecting and promoting native habitats, and by not using herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides. Also by observing what bee species we still do have in Vermont.
Nature Comic #26 Aug 30, 2022
Golden Goblet of Nectar
Drink from it and I will BEE Forever!
This Metallic Sweat Bee (Subgenus Dialictus) appears to be drinking nectar from the golden goblet. Nectar was called the divine drink of the Olympian gods. It had the magical property to confer immortality on any mortal who had the luck to drink it.
Dragonfly's eyes are like balls, allowing them to see most of what is happening on all sides of their bodies. They can see up to three hundred separate images per second and interpret every one of them. For comparison, note that when humans see more than twenty images per second they see a flowing movement, a film. - Extraordinary Insects, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
It has been observed that dragonflies can move in a forward motion about 100 times their own body length every second (between 18 and 30 mph depending on species). - Forest Wildlife
But are they fast at everything? I wanted to ask this Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonfly about #1 and #2 given that they have such a long (thorax) body. I do tend to be a bit unconventional. Still, my recent observation of a dragonfly pooping was, to me exceptionally exciting. The 'crap' shot out like a rocket (and landed beyond the leaf in the photo). That was so unexpected. Good thing I was focusing on the end of the thorax which I usually try to get a detailed close-up photo of to help with the ID and sex of the individual. Now I know that a dragonfly is also a fast pooper and a rocket-propelled one at that.
POSTSCRIPT (edited for brevity) from Donald H. Miller, Vt. State Colleges, Prof. Emeritus, Dept. of Science, Lyndon State College, Lyndonville, VT.
From a scientific aspect, I thought what you reported was worthy of explanation as to its proximate and ultimate causations, the two diametrically opposite issues often raised about such matters. These two different explanations are often confused, even among biologists. Their difference was clarified by a famous British ornithologist who was writing about the question of what determines the size of a bird's clutch. His name was David Lack. I think I may have mentioned his name to you before, but my memory fails me at that point.
The proximate explanation addresses the how-to question; the ultimate explanation addresses the evolutionarily why question.
Proximately, I wonder if the velocity of fecal discharge may be enhanced by perhaps the same musculature that allows the nymphal stage to propel itself in the water, by forcing out water from its anus, thus, causing one's fecal discharge to be jettisoned at high speed and well away from the body to the ejector,. This might have several evolutionary advantages. I won't belabor that issue here but can easily speculate on what a couple of those might be. Just for starters, one could be anti-predaceous? On the other hand, it may have absolutely no ultimate function at all; it may be that because the posterior musculature of the terminal segments is programmed to provide a jet propulsion effect for the nymph (assuming that indeed does exist), it has no function per se in the adult stage. The musculature is already there and when the adult defecates, it is what it is. Absolutely, no evolutionary advantage.
Sometimes, the above type of scenario is included in some examples as pre-adaptation in the ontogeny of a species (I don't think that obtains here but am not sure).
Speaking to the former point I've made above, it makes me wonder if any other insects eject fecal material (frass, pellets, etc.) at the relatively high velocity of odonates, and in fact, it begs the question of whether other or all adult odonates do (much less the issue of aquatic nymphs).
As I'm sure you are aware, some insects in fact do just the opposite with respect to their defecation of waste material. They actually use it as a defensive material (hiding in their own
frass).
Rub my belly, won't you please. 
Nature Comic #32 Sept 23, 2022
Flies: Pest or Benefactors? Flies get a bad rap. Sometimes for a good reason, while other times they are heroes. First thing in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and a fly swatter for this week's Sunday Comics and decide to either swat or applaud.
Fly
by Night
You Can Bet Your Aster on these, local single-panel comics. Bernie is the cartoonist, and Nature is the illustrator.
Nature Comic #30 Sept 16, 2022
DOES SHE... OR DOESN'T SHE?"A Clairol hair dye campaign (in the late 1950s - 1960s) dared the audience to guess whether the woman in the Ad has dyed her hair. They declared her dyed hair to be so natural, only her hairdresser knows for sure.
Might you guess if this (Leafcutter, Mortar, and Resin Bees) Genus Megachile bee has dyed hair on its lower abdomen to match the aster flower?
Megachile species have a propensity for snipping pieces of leaves from plants and carting them back to their nests as wallpaper, thus their common name of leafcutter. Some wildflowers, milkweed (Asclepias), for example, have been found to set more seeds when Megachile are around to pollinate them.
Like most bees in N.A. Megachile does not nest in hives (they are solitary bees, not social bees) - each female builds and provisions her own nest. They build nests in a variety of places, most of them nest above the ground, often in dead plant stalks, in decomposing wood, between rocks, and in insect burrows.
Almost all Megachile create a cup-shaped envelope out of leaf or petal material, filling it with pollen and nectar, then laying an egg on top, and finally closing the egg and its food resource in more vegetative material. This process takes from an hour and a half to three hours to create one nest cell. - The Bees in Your Backyard. J. Wilson & O. M. Carril
Although Megachile sculpturalis' large appearance may make them intimidating, they are largely harmless. The males are unable to sting, and the females, although able to sting, are not aggressive and usually fly away from humans.
Nature Comic #29 Sept 16, 2022
Who has the biggest arms in the body-building business?This Aster Mining Bee (Andrena asteris) has monster size "triceps". These [Andrena mining bees] are said to carry pollen "in their armpits," [the bee's underarm scopal hairs] stuffed under the top inner sides of their back legs.
This is a moderately distinctive, fall species most often found on Asters [and sunflowers, goldenrod] from mid-August through September. Several nest aggregations have been found along the margins of dirt driveways. - VT Center for Ecostudies
They seek out areas with exposed soil, excellent drainage, and light shade or dappled sunlight from taller plants. Though mining bees may form tunnels rather close to each other, they are not colony-forming bees and live solitary lives. They are friendly, non-aggressive, and typically do not sting or bite.
This week Sunday Comics by Bernie and Nature brings in amphibian and rock-solid google eyes. Followed by a memorial to the American Bumblebee, once common in the Northeast but no more.
How to blow the biggest bubble-gum bubble might bring back some memories for some of you. Anyone who's ever been a kid should be familiar with Bazooka Joe, the eye-patch-wearing mascot of Bazooka bubble gum from Topps which includes comics with the gum. Not sure my eyes could read that tiny print anymore, but I sure would enjoy chewing some of that gum again, not to mention blowing the bubbles. The downside, having a mustache and beard can be troublesome when the errant gum bubble blows up too big and pops!
So if your eyes won't let you read the tiny Bazooka gum comics, or you just don't have any available, well, just sit back with your Sunday morning coffee and enjoy Comics by Bernie and Nature, #27 and #28.
Nature Comic #28 Sept 5, 2022
How to Blow the Biggest Best Bubble-Gum Bubble.
Long ago I became a fan of Bazooka Bubble Gum (and the accompanying comics) as the best purveyor of my youthful outlook on life. While birdwatching along Madera Canyon in AZ, we kept hearing a sound that sort of sounded like a bird and that seem to follow us no matter how far we walked. I later returned to investigate and found this 2 1/2 inch Canyon Tree Frog bellowing like a bugle reveler. Size is no indication of this bullhorn. I bet the tree frog's bubbles never pop and stick to its face!
Nature Comic #27 Sept 5, 2022
Nature's Google Eyes
While hiking at Underhill, Vermont within Crane Brook Conservation district trails, we entered an area of narrow paths where the trees seemed to be moving in on us, large boulders shouldered our hips as we passed, and we felt like we were being watched. Confirming our suspicion these nature made eyes starred up at us, though not unpleasantly and made us laugh at ourselves. (Kingdom Fungi)
Id confirmation is pending.
Insect Memorial #2 Sept 5, 2022
We honor and perhaps mourn the loss of the Vermont legacies that are no longer with us. Whole species that we can no longer enjoy and benefit from in Vermont.
American Bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus) – Endangered
This was once a common bumblebee in the Northeast, but it is now rare. Once a common species in the Champlain Valley, it has not been found since a UVM student’s unwitting discovery in 2000. It occupies grasslands where it nests on the ground among tufts of long grasses. [VT historical data] suggested a mid-century increase in American Bumblebee relative abundance, followed by a significant population decline beginning by the 1980s. Despite our survey efforts over the last decade, we have not confirmed a population yet, but recent records from New York give us hope. - VT Center for Ecostudies
You can help by protecting and promoting native habitats, and by not using herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides. Also by observing what bee species we still do have in Vermont.
Nature Comic #26 Aug 30, 2022
Golden Goblet of Nectar
Drink from it and I will BEE Forever!
This Metallic Sweat Bee (Subgenus Dialictus) appears to be drinking nectar from the golden goblet. Nectar was called the divine drink of the Olympian gods. It had the magical property to confer immortality on any mortal who had the luck to drink it.
Metallic Sweat Bees (Subgenus Dialictus). The Lasioglossum (Dialictus) express a range of social behaviors. Almost all Lasioglossum in the United States and Canada nest in the ground; however a few species nest in rotting wood. The name Lasioglossum means "hairy tongue". There are over 300 species north of Mexico. - The Bees In Your Backyard. Joseph Wison, &. Olivia. Messinger Carril.
Nature Comic #25 Aug 30, 2022
LifelineTrust me the guy said, this stuff is as strong as steel. Though I noticed his leaf was on the ground.This Leaf Beetle seems to be tethered with a safety Lifeline. When observing insects in our backyard I sometimes see one fall off from a leaf, and I think, oh that must have hurt. Yet they always get up (dust themselves off) and then move on with their day. This one has a lifeline of support.
Imported Willow Leaf Beetle (Plagiodera versicolora) (ID verification pending)
New to this week's edition of Nature Comics, is an In Memoriam (Memorial) section. We honor and perhaps mourn the loss of the Vermont legacies that are no longer with us. Whole species that we can no longer enjoy and benefit from in Vermont.
I start this week with a Memorial to the Rusty Patched Bumblebee, once common throughout Vermont, now not seen in Vermont for over twenty years.
You can help by protecting and promoting native habitats, and by not using pesticides. Also by observing what bee species we still do have in Vermont.
I hope your Sunday morning coffee is the best ever and hope this week's Sunday comics give you a tickle and a little more awareness of life and death in nature.
Insect Memorial #1 Aug 31, 2022
Rusty-patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis)
View photos on iNaturalist here
Formerly common throughout eastern North America, but populations crashed in the late 1990s. Apparently extirpated from Vermont since about 1999, but a few populations still exist in the Midwest and Virginia. Federally Endangered.
Historically, Rusty-patched Bumble Bees ranged from Minnesota east to Maine and as far south as Georgia. Recent surveys, however, show an extreme contraction of the species’ range with only isolated patches remaining in the Midwestern and Northeastern states. It was last observed in Vermont in 1999.
Although the exact cause of this crash is uncertain, introduced parasites from imported colonies and pesticide use appear to be two major culprits. During the 1990s, to more successfully pollinate certain commercial crops, greenhouses across the United States began importing species of American bumblebees that had been reared in Europe. Having been exposed to foreign pathogens for which most native species had evolved no resistance, the imported bumble bees escaped the greenhouses and infected bees in surrounding areas. In addition, pesticides used to control other insect species also kill bumble bees. Even small amounts used on lawns and in gardens can negatively impact entire colonies. - Vermont Center for Ecostudies
See photos of the different Bumble Bee species of Vermont here. (There are 17 known Bumble bee species for Vermont.)
"If we're going to prevent further erosion of our natural systems and the extinctions of more wildlife, humanity will have to adopt a new set of values, not unlike a new religion." -Herbert A. Raffaele author of Revoyage of the Mayflower.
Nature Comic #24 Aug 23, 2022
Find out which tickle spot is ticklish and the answer to the age-old daisy flower question, does she love me, does she love me not in this week's comics #23 and 24.
Sunday Comics are on me, BYC (bring your own coffee).
Nature Comic #25 Aug 30, 2022
This Leaf Beetle seems to be tethered with a safety Lifeline. When observing insects in our backyard I sometimes see one fall off from a leaf, and I think, oh that must have hurt. Yet they always get up (dust themselves off) and then move on with their day. This one has a lifeline of support.
Imported Willow Leaf Beetle (Plagiodera versicolora) (ID verification pending)
New to this week's edition of Nature Comics, is an In Memoriam (Memorial) section. We honor and perhaps mourn the loss of the Vermont legacies that are no longer with us. Whole species that we can no longer enjoy and benefit from in Vermont.
I start this week with a Memorial to the Rusty Patched Bumblebee, once common throughout Vermont, now not seen in Vermont for over twenty years.
You can help by protecting and promoting native habitats, and by not using pesticides. Also by observing what bee species we still do have in Vermont.
I hope your Sunday morning coffee is the best ever and hope this week's Sunday comics give you a tickle and a little more awareness of life and death in nature.
Insect Memorial #1 Aug 31, 2022
Rusty-patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis)
View photos on iNaturalist here
Formerly common throughout eastern North America, but populations crashed in the late 1990s. Apparently extirpated from Vermont since about 1999, but a few populations still exist in the Midwest and Virginia. Federally Endangered.
Historically, Rusty-patched Bumble Bees ranged from Minnesota east to Maine and as far south as Georgia. Recent surveys, however, show an extreme contraction of the species’ range with only isolated patches remaining in the Midwestern and Northeastern states. It was last observed in Vermont in 1999.
Although the exact cause of this crash is uncertain, introduced parasites from imported colonies and pesticide use appear to be two major culprits. During the 1990s, to more successfully pollinate certain commercial crops, greenhouses across the United States began importing species of American bumblebees that had been reared in Europe. Having been exposed to foreign pathogens for which most native species had evolved no resistance, the imported bumble bees escaped the greenhouses and infected bees in surrounding areas. In addition, pesticides used to control other insect species also kill bumble bees. Even small amounts used on lawns and in gardens can negatively impact entire colonies. - Vermont Center for Ecostudies
See photos of the different Bumble Bee species of Vermont here. (There are 17 known Bumble bee species for Vermont.)
"If we're going to prevent further erosion of our natural systems and the extinctions of more wildlife, humanity will have to adopt a new set of values, not unlike a new religion." -Herbert A. Raffaele author of Revoyage of the Mayflower.
Nature Comic #24 Aug 23, 2022
Find out which tickle spot is ticklish and the answer to the age-old daisy flower question, does she love me, does she love me not in this week's comics #23 and 24.
Sunday Comics are on me, BYC (bring your own coffee).
She Loves me she loves me not. Is it my densely covered long lemon-yellow hairs, my wider-than-long face, or perhaps my short and pointed tongue? Is she impressed with the 11 segments in my antennae compared to her 10 or that I have 7 abdominal segments compared to her 6? I sure do dig her sideways eyebrows (pale facial foveae) on the edges of her compound eyes.
Hairy-banded Mining Bee (Andrena hirticincta)
This is a common and distinctive fall bee. Most often associated with goldenrod, it is occasionally found on related flowers (and even sometimes plants in the mint family). Vt Center for Ecostudies.
Nature Comic #23 Aug 23, 2022
I think everyone is ticklish. You just gotta find the right spots. -Derek JeterWhich spot is your tickle spot, Mrs. Lady Beetle?
A lady never tells.
The drama of love goes through many twists and turns but what goes on between my spots lays an unspoken code of silence, trust, honor, and respect that exists between me and my loving partner.
Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)
To many, the Asian Lady Beetle is the classic “ladybug”. Its coloration is most often red or orange, and it can have 0-22 black spots. This species is native to Asia, however, it is now found throughout much of North America and in parts of Europe. In the cooler months, Asian Lady Beetles go dormant. You will often find them congregating in warm spots in your house or other buildings. Although ferocious predators of agricultural pests, they have likely played a significant role in the disappearance of many native Lady Beetle species. ~Vt Center for Ecostudies
Fortunately, I have also observed (only) a few native Lady beetles this summer. Here are links to two native species. Polished Lady Beetle, and Three-banded Ladybeetle. Read more about native and non-native Lady beetles at VTEcoStudies.
Nature Comic #22 Aug 16, 2022
Hey mister, where are you headed? That a way says the pilot while pointing both gloved hands west.
Mind if I hitch a ride?
Not at all; what's your name traveler?
I go by P. Horesy1. Say, pilot, are you one of those ‘Stilt Walkers’2 from Mad Max?
I sure do dig her sideways eyebrows (pale facial foveae) on the edges of her compound eyes.
Hairy-banded Mining Bee (Andrena hirticincta)
This is a common and distinctive fall bee. Most often associated with goldenrod, it is occasionally found on related flowers (and even sometimes plants in the mint family). Vt Center for Ecostudies.
Nature Comic #23 Aug 23, 2022
Which spot is your tickle spot, Mrs. Lady Beetle?
A lady never tells.
The drama of love goes through many twists and turns but what goes on between my spots lays an unspoken code of silence, trust, honor, and respect that exists between me and my loving partner.
Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)
To many, the Asian Lady Beetle is the classic “ladybug”. Its coloration is most often red or orange, and it can have 0-22 black spots. This species is native to Asia, however, it is now found throughout much of North America and in parts of Europe. In the cooler months, Asian Lady Beetles go dormant. You will often find them congregating in warm spots in your house or other buildings. Although ferocious predators of agricultural pests, they have likely played a significant role in the disappearance of many native Lady Beetle species. ~Vt Center for Ecostudies
Fortunately, I have also observed (only) a few native Lady beetles this summer. Here are links to two native species. Polished Lady Beetle, and Three-banded Ladybeetle. Read more about native and non-native Lady beetles at VTEcoStudies.
Nature Comic #22 Aug 16, 2022
Hey mister, where are you headed? That a way says the pilot while pointing both gloved hands west.
Mind if I hitch a ride?
Not at all; what's your name traveler?
I go by P. Horesy1. Say, pilot, are you one of those ‘Stilt Walkers’2 from Mad Max?
Ya, but I gave up bog walking when I got my wings.
Rainieria antennaepes is a species of stilt-legged flies in the family Micropezidae found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The name "antennaepes" means "antenna foot". They frequently hold their white-tipped front legs up and wave them around in a manner that makes them appear like the antennae of ichneumonid wasps. They feed on detritus, bird droppings, and similar waste. ~Wikipedia. This individual was so much fun to watch. It kept moving its front legs like on a TV exercise program; stretch your arms way out in front, now to the sides, now one to the left and one to the right. I think those front legs danced in every direction possible, all while the whole creature occasionally turned about as if to face another section of the audience. - Bernie
Chernetid Pseudoscorpions Family Chernetidae
Pseudoscorpions, also known as false scorpions or book scorpions, are arachnids belonging to the order Pseudoscorpiones, also known as Pseudoscorpionida or Chelonethida. Pseudoscorpions are generally beneficial to humans since they prey on clothes moth larvae, carpet beetle larvae, booklice, ants, mites, and small flies. They are tiny and are rarely noticed due to their small size, despite being common in many environments. When people do see pseudoscorpions, especially indoors, they are often mistaken for ticks or small spiders.
1Pseudoscorpions often carry out phoresis [or phoresy], a form of commensalism in which one organism uses another for the purpose of transport. -Wikipedia
2'Stilt Walkers' are a mysterious group of people seen walking across the bog in what eventually turned out to be the abandoned Green Place in the Mad Max Australian post-apocalyptic action film series.
Nature Comic #21 Aug 16, 2022
You are a little too close for a 'safe' Covid hug, aren't you? But thanks anyway. I have been feeling a little blue lately, and sure do miss hugs.
Margined Calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus)
Toxomerus marginatus, also known as the calligrapher fly, is a common species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of North America. The larvae are predators of thrips, aphids, and small caterpillars. Adults feed on a wide range of flowers. Smith & Chaney 2007 finds T. marginatus is the most numerous of the Syrphidae species controlling aphids in lettuce fields on California's Central Coast. -Wikipedia
Hold Me Tight, Don't Let Go
It was Septemberish cool this morning. A perfect segway for one of this week's Insect Comics by Bernie and Nature. Hold - me tight and don't let go was a refrain from many on this chilly morning. Perhaps this edition of Insect Comics (#19 and #20) will provide you with a warm smile, as well as feed your reminiscent hunger.
Nature Comic #20 Aug 9, 2022
Hold me tight, don’t let go. There'll be some love-making, heartbreaking, soul-shaking*, but when I suggested we join the Mile High Club, I expected there would be an airplane under my feet otherwise I would have packed a chute. Hold me tight, don't let go. Bittacomorpha clavipes, known as the phantom crane fly (though this name can also apply to any member of Ptychopteridae), is a species of fly in the family Ptychopteridae. It is found in the eastern United States west to the Rocky Mountains. It flies upright with its legs spread apart. The female lays hundreds of eggs by dipping its abdomen in the water. ~Wikipedia
*Don't Let Go lyrics by Jessee Stone
Nature Comic #19 Aug 8, 2022
Where's the beef?
“Where's the Beef” was a commercial catchphrase for Wendy's that came out in 1984 and was used to question other fast food companies for their lack of meat.
The larvae of the small, uncommon harvester butterfly, (Feniseca tarquinius) are the only strictly carnivorous butterfly caterpillars in the United States.
Wow, it's really HOT and I have twenty-eight hundred more.... and that's not all; everybody I meet is....
Comics by Bernie and Nature for Sunday AM reading or on Saturday if you need a tickle sooner.
Nature Comic #18 Aug 1, 2022
Wow, it is really hot and I have twenty-eight hundred
more flowers to get to today.
And everybody I meet is crabby.
Yellow-banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola) with Goldenrod Crab spider
It was at one time a common species but has declined in numbers since the late 1990s, likely due to urban development and parasite infection. It is a good pollinator of wildflowers and crops such as alfalfa, potatoes, raspberries, and cranberries. ~Wikipedia
Not long ago, the Yellow-banded Bumble Bee was among eastern North America’s most common bumble bees. Although absent from most of its range since 2000, recently Yellow-banded Bumble Bee has been found in northern parts of its range, including Vermont during VCE's statewide survey in 2012 and 2013.
Although the Yellow-banded Bumble Bee was historically distributed throughout the Upper Midwest, Northeast, and Eastern Seaboard, recent range-wide studies have estimated that B. terricola has declined by ~50% (Williams and Osbourne 2009, Colla et al. 2012), and warrants “endangered” status under IUCN protocols (Williams and Osbourne 2009). Vermont Center for EcoStudies
Rainieria antennaepes is a species of stilt-legged flies in the family Micropezidae found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The name "antennaepes" means "antenna foot". They frequently hold their white-tipped front legs up and wave them around in a manner that makes them appear like the antennae of ichneumonid wasps. They feed on detritus, bird droppings, and similar waste. ~Wikipedia. This individual was so much fun to watch. It kept moving its front legs like on a TV exercise program; stretch your arms way out in front, now to the sides, now one to the left and one to the right. I think those front legs danced in every direction possible, all while the whole creature occasionally turned about as if to face another section of the audience. - Bernie
Chernetid Pseudoscorpions Family Chernetidae
Pseudoscorpions, also known as false scorpions or book scorpions, are arachnids belonging to the order Pseudoscorpiones, also known as Pseudoscorpionida or Chelonethida. Pseudoscorpions are generally beneficial to humans since they prey on clothes moth larvae, carpet beetle larvae, booklice, ants, mites, and small flies. They are tiny and are rarely noticed due to their small size, despite being common in many environments. When people do see pseudoscorpions, especially indoors, they are often mistaken for ticks or small spiders.
1Pseudoscorpions often carry out phoresis [or phoresy], a form of commensalism in which one organism uses another for the purpose of transport. -Wikipedia
2'Stilt Walkers' are a mysterious group of people seen walking across the bog in what eventually turned out to be the abandoned Green Place in the Mad Max Australian post-apocalyptic action film series.
Nature Comic #21 Aug 16, 2022
You are a little too close for a 'safe' Covid hug, aren't you? But thanks anyway. I have been feeling a little blue lately, and sure do miss hugs.
Margined Calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus)
Toxomerus marginatus, also known as the calligrapher fly, is a common species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of North America. The larvae are predators of thrips, aphids, and small caterpillars. Adults feed on a wide range of flowers. Smith & Chaney 2007 finds T. marginatus is the most numerous of the Syrphidae species controlling aphids in lettuce fields on California's Central Coast. -Wikipedia
Hold Me Tight, Don't Let Go
It was Septemberish cool this morning. A perfect segway for one of this week's Insect Comics by Bernie and Nature. Hold - me tight and don't let go was a refrain from many on this chilly morning. Perhaps this edition of Insect Comics (#19 and #20) will provide you with a warm smile, as well as feed your reminiscent hunger.
Nature Comic #20 Aug 9, 2022
Hold me tight, don’t let go. There'll be some love-making, heartbreaking, soul-shaking*, but when I suggested we join the Mile High Club, I expected there would be an airplane under my feet otherwise I would have packed a chute. Hold me tight, don't let go. Bittacomorpha clavipes, known as the phantom crane fly (though this name can also apply to any member of Ptychopteridae), is a species of fly in the family Ptychopteridae. It is found in the eastern United States west to the Rocky Mountains. It flies upright with its legs spread apart. The female lays hundreds of eggs by dipping its abdomen in the water. ~Wikipedia
*Don't Let Go lyrics by Jessee Stone
Nature Comic #19 Aug 8, 2022
“Where's the Beef” was a commercial catchphrase for Wendy's that came out in 1984 and was used to question other fast food companies for their lack of meat.
The larvae of the small, uncommon harvester butterfly, (Feniseca tarquinius) are the only strictly carnivorous butterfly caterpillars in the United States.
Wow, it's really HOT and I have twenty-eight hundred more.... and that's not all; everybody I meet is....
Comics by Bernie and Nature for Sunday AM reading or on Saturday if you need a tickle sooner.
Nature Comic #18 Aug 1, 2022
Wow, it is really hot and I have twenty-eight hundred
more flowers to get to today.
And everybody I meet is crabby.
Yellow-banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola) with Goldenrod Crab spider
It was at one time a common species but has declined in numbers since the late 1990s, likely due to urban development and parasite infection. It is a good pollinator of wildflowers and crops such as alfalfa, potatoes, raspberries, and cranberries. ~Wikipedia
Not long ago, the Yellow-banded Bumble Bee was among eastern North America’s most common bumble bees. Although absent from most of its range since 2000, recently Yellow-banded Bumble Bee has been found in northern parts of its range, including Vermont during VCE's statewide survey in 2012 and 2013.
Although the Yellow-banded Bumble Bee was historically distributed throughout the Upper Midwest, Northeast, and Eastern Seaboard, recent range-wide studies have estimated that B. terricola has declined by ~50% (Williams and Osbourne 2009, Colla et al. 2012), and warrants “endangered” status under IUCN protocols (Williams and Osbourne 2009). Vermont Center for EcoStudies
Nature Comic #17 Aug 1, 2022 
If I was limited to fishing with one fly, it would be the Brooks Blonde,
but a redhead is a great backup.
Variable Duskyface Fly (Melanostoma mellinum)
Nature Comic #16 Aug 1, 2022
Sure I look different, but I don't let my Keloids scar define my value, worth, or good looks. In fact, I think I look kinda hot.
Twice-stabbed Stink Bug (Cosmopepla lintneriana)
Nature Comic #15 July 30, 2022
Sunday comics are best served with coffee and eggs over easy!
3 Viceroys fly into a castle with their swords.
Nature Comic #14 July 28, 2022
When it comes to Zucchini, size matters.
Pruinose Squash Bee (Peponapis pruinosa)
If you want zucchini, squash, and pumpkins, don’t squash my house.
The squash bee is a solitary bee that is a specialist pollinator: for their food and their offspring’s food, they only use pollen and nectar from squash plants: pumpkins, summer squash, winter squash, butternut squash, zucchini, really most plants in the genus Cucurbita (with the exception of melons and cucumbers).
Squash bees are ground-nesting solitary bees, meaning that the females mate with males, and then dig tunnels and chambers underground usually 6 to 18 inches below the surface. Squash bees typically dig their nest right under the squash plants that they love, and so the little growing squash bees are in your soil, under your squash plants [until the following summer]. So in terms of garden planning, it would be good to follow a squash bed one year with a no-till vegetable the next year, like kale, rather than carrots or potatoes. - A Wild Garden
Nature Comic #13 July 25, 2022 
National Moth Week, wear your Tussocks with pride.
White-marked Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma)
Nature Comic #12 July 24, 2022
My nose isn't big. I just happen to have a very small head. ~Jimmy Durante
Pruinose Squash Bee (Peponapis pruinosa)
An important and original pollinator of squash and gourds is the squash bee, (Peponapis pruinosa). It is a ground-nesting, solitary native bee that exclusively gathers pollen from plants in the squash family (genus Cucurbita), including pumpkin and gourds.
Nature Comic #11 July 24, 2022
Some days the whole world is out to get you.
(Non-Native) Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Native bees and other native pollinators also are under attack. Native bees and other insect pollinators are beset by the same environmental challenges as other species, including habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation; non-native species and diseases; pollution, including pesticides; and climate change.
Nature Comic #10 July 23, 2022
Who is the Dodo that put harmful chemicals in my food and in the soil?
Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) are now on the endangered list in N.A.
LOSS OF HABITAT
What is hurting the monarch on our end of its epic migration? Same old, same old: loss of habitat, pesticides, and death by an auto collision. By loss of habitat, I mean the loss of the milkweed species, the only plants on which monarch caterpillars can develop, and the loss of fall-blooming plants such as asters and goldenrods that provide the nectar fuel needed by migrating monarchs as they fly from Canada to just north of Mexico City. ~Homegrown National Park.
WHAT TO DO TO HELP MONARCHS
1.) Plant native milkweed patches.
2.) Encourage towns to reduce mowing along roadsides except for one mower width. (Avoid doing this on major-high speed highways as under these conditions insect mortality rate is high.)
3.) Farmers allow milkweed and pollinator strips.
Nature Comic #9 July 21, 2022
HEAT RELIEF
Nature Comic #8 July 20, 2022
Why do we stick out our tongues when we are concentrating?
Pruinose Squash Bee (Peponapis pruinosa)
Nature Comic #7 July 18, 2022 
Nature Comic #6 July 16, 2022
Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar)
It is not uncommon for folks to study moths at night near artificial lights. I myself prefer to observe them during the day with the artificial light turned off. This Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar) perhaps was attracted to the light bulb, albeit non-luminous at the time. Jericho, VT on 7/27/2021
Nature Comic #5
I don't get no respect.
I am a “true bug” not just an insect.
True bugs have a stylet (a mouth shaped like a straw) that they use to suck juices from plants. Bugs are a type of insect, which belong to the class Insecta, and they are characterized by three-part bodies, usually two pairs of wings, and three pairs of legs, (e.g., bees and mosquitoes). For example, although a bee is an insect, it is not a bug.
Nature Comic #4
Arachnida, by special invite to Insect Comics.
Both spiders and insects are invertebrates, but spiders are not insects.
Spiders are arachnids, along with scorpions, mites, harvesters, and ticks. All arachnids have eight legs and two main body parts (a cephalothorax (head and thorax) and an abdomen). No antennae.
That's one small step for Spider, one giant leap for spiderkind.
In contrast, insects have six legs and three main body parts (a head, a thorax, and an abdomen). Similar to insects, spiders have an open circulatory system (not closed veins like humans or mammals) and a breathing tube, called the trachea, that supplies the body with oxygen.
They also have eyes, antennae, and mouthparts. The entire body is protected by a tough outer covering called an exoskeleton. The group to which they belong is called the Insecta." (From Bug Squad and USA Spiders)
Nature Comic #3
Olympics Standing High Jump Bronze Medalist
Bronze Jumping Spider (Eris militaris)
Whose idea was it to get a fifth-story apartment without an elevator or stairs?
Announcing my new Insect Comics by Bernie & Nature an online bug-fest. Recognizing our bond with all living things - and finding funny & much to learn, in all life forms.
The late-rising worm (caterpillar) gets removed from the gene pool.
"Comics by Bernie and Nature reflects what Carl Sagan wrote in Broca's Brain, "...the world is connected, through similar sense organs and brains and experiences that may not reflect the external realities with absolute fidelity."
View what insect neighbors I am observing on our 1.3-acre yard in Jericho at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&user_id=bugeyedbernie&verifiable=any
Watch naturalists, Sean, Monica, Kerry, and Vermont Master Naturalist, Alicia explore life in a Vermont vernal pool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgjtv-OvDPs&t=378s
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