Comics by Bernie and Nature!
Laugh and Learn
De-bugging insects
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. These comics introduced the term "Inverting," which means invertebrate watching, as birding is to bird watching.
Inverting is being outside, observing, and experiencing
the multitude, the diversity, and the daily goings-on of LIFE.
No bones about it, I am an 'inverter'!
Let's recognize our bond with all living species.Bug-inspired comic #185 June 14, 2025Beware of the FAUX-KING
Our real king is the MonarchButterflyNo Fauxking Monarch here!
Bug-inspired comic #184 June 7, 2025Who is this bugyedbernie?
And why is he looking for my insects? Seven Days reports, "Bernie Paquette Shares the Joy of Observing Wild Bees." The Jericho Center citizen naturalist has photographed 114 of Vermont's 350 wild bee species, including 104 in his own backyard. And he's just getting started. "Seeking insects is like treasure hunting, and observing their behavior is like going on a wild safari," he said. Don't worry, Mr. Toad, Bernie is not 'eating' your insects.
Bug-inspired comic #183 May 31, 2025Mama said, "If you don't stop eating, you will EXPLODE".
Did you know that aphids can explode themselves to save the colony? It’s called autothysis, and it’s a form of self-sacrifice in which aphids of the species Nipponaphis monzeni essentially burst, releasing a sticky substance that repairs their gall nests from further damage caused by predators. - Erika Bueno, Ph.D., postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis.
Bug-inspired comic #182 May 24, 2025"To see takes time" - Georgia O'Keefe
"If the eye attempts to follow the flight of a gaudy butterfly,
it is arrested by some strange tree or fruit”. - Charles Darwin
Bug-inspired comic #181 May 17, 2025Thank Goodness Winter is Over.
But the Road Salt is still killing me.
Frogs, in general, are sensitive to salt levels in water, and most freshwater frog species cannot tolerate high salinity.
Bug-inspired comic #180 May 10, 2025What's a Mother to do?
On Mother's Day, (May 11)Nothing.Sit back RelaxIt is probably the only day in the yearyou'll have the opportunity.Happy Mother's Day
Bug-inspired comic #179 May 3, 2025Ceti eel from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"
Not really, that was my cousin.I am a Spring Tree-Top Flasher larva, Pyractomena borealisWhen I grow up I will have a flashy butt. 
I will be a firefly after I metamorphose.
Bug-inspired comic #178 April 26, 2025Is it safe?
Is it safe to come outside?Last time I peeked Snow fell on my head.
Bug-inspired comic #177 April 19, 2025
Seven Days reports, "Bernie Paquette Shares the Joy of Observing Wild Bees." The Jericho Center citizen naturalist has photographed 114 of Vermont's 350 wild bee species, including 104 in his own backyard. And he's just getting started. "Seeking insects is like treasure hunting, and observing their behavior is like going on a wild safari," he said. Don't worry, Mr. Toad, Bernie is not 'eating' your insects.
"If the eye attempts to follow the flight of a gaudy butterfly,
it is arrested by some strange tree or fruit”. - Charles Darwin
Happy Easter
Did you find any Easter Eggs? I like Cadbury Chocolate Eggs.No Chocolate bunnies for me!
Bug-inspired comic #176 April 12, 2025April is Sweet
The sweet taste of early spring
yellow honey on willow catkins
pink cherry blossoms
purple and yellow crocus
I can hardly keep
my tongue
in my mouth!
Bug-inspired comic #175 April 5, 2025Tuft Times
This is no owl festThis is a Protest.FREEthe detained Tufts University doctoral student.Freedom and UnityVermont.Defend democracy and constitutional rights."Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was taken by immigration officials as she walked along a street in the Boston suburb of Somerville on March 25. After being taken to New Hampshire and then Vermont, she was put on a plane the next day and moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, Louisiana.
She was one of four students who wrote an op-ed in the campus newspaper, The Tufts Daily, last year, criticizing the university’s response to student activists demanding that Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,” disclose its investments, and divest from companies with ties to Israel." - HOLLY RAMER April 4, 2025.
The sweet taste of early spring
yellow honey on willow catkins
pink cherry blossoms
purple and yellow crocus
I can hardly keep
my tongue
in my mouth!
"Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was taken by immigration officials as she walked along a street in the Boston suburb of Somerville on March 25. After being taken to New Hampshire and then Vermont, she was put on a plane the next day and moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, Louisiana.
She was one of four students who wrote an op-ed in the campus newspaper, The Tufts Daily, last year, criticizing the university’s response to student activists demanding that Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,” disclose its investments, and divest from companies with ties to Israel." - HOLLY RAMER April 4, 2025.
Bug-inspired comic #174 March 29, 2025Where did all the bugs go?Don't they know it is spring?
We took our cue from you (and the snow); we are playing [O]possum. - Bugs
Bug-inspired comic #173 March 22, 2025In Mourning
L. Hugh Newman likened the butterfly's pattern to a girl who, disliking having to be in mourning, defiantly let a few inches of a bright dress show below her mourning dress.
See more photos at Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Read about the butterfly here.
Bug-inspired comic #172 March 15, 2025Beware the Ides of March
Beware of Birds who eat caterpillars, especially those walking on snow and thin ice -no place to hide!
Virginia Ctenucha Moth (Ctenucha virginica)The wingspan ranges from 40–50 millimeters (1.6–2.0 in). The wing color varies from black to olive-brown. The body is a metallic blue-green. The head is yellow-orange, with feathery antennae. The caterpillar (about 20–25 mm) has multiple tufts of white and yellow hair. It undergoes metamorphosis in May-August. - Cotinis (12 July 2020). "Species Ctenucha virginica - Virginia Ctenucha - Hodges#8262". BugGuide. Retrieved November 10, 2020. ^ Patch, Edith (1921). A Meadow Caterpillar. University of Maine.
Bug-inspired comic #171 Mar 08, 2025How do you manage Spring Forward?
Try waking up an hour earlier, then You Will See blue skies and bluebirds.Bluebirdslooking at menothing but Bluebirdsis what I see.
Bug-inspired comic #170 Mar 01, 2025The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
Yes, opossums play dead as a survival strategy when threatened. Thanatosis, also known as death feigning or tonic immobility, is a defensive behavior in which animals appear to be dead.
Bug-inspired comic #169 Feb 22, 2025Winter Eye Exam
Doc, I think those dilating drops you used for my eye exam had a psychedelic effect. They changed and enhanced my sensory perceptions, thought processes, and energy levels - a real winter boost - I am seeing color again!
Bug-inspired comic #169Feb 14 Special EditionDressed in my prettiest pink
Will you Bee Mine?My Valentine!View more Spring Beauty Miner (Andrena erigeniae). This is a common bee associated with a common woodland flower. Though a diversity of spring bees visit Spring Beauties, females of this specialist are the most likely to be carrying large quantities of pink pollen.
Bug-inspired comic #168 Feb 8, 2025Genetics of Tongue Folding & Rolling
L. Hugh Newman likened the butterfly's pattern to a girl who, disliking having to be in mourning, defiantly let a few inches of a bright dress show below her mourning dress.
See more photos at Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Read about the butterfly here.
Virginia Ctenucha Moth (Ctenucha virginica)
The wingspan ranges from 40–50 millimeters (1.6–2.0 in). The wing color varies from black to olive-brown. The body is a metallic blue-green. The head is yellow-orange, with feathery antennae. The caterpillar (about 20–25 mm) has multiple tufts of white and yellow hair. It undergoes metamorphosis in May-August. - Cotinis (12 July 2020). "Species Ctenucha virginica - Virginia Ctenucha - Hodges#8262". BugGuide. Retrieved November 10, 2020. ^ Patch, Edith (1921). A Meadow Caterpillar. University of Maine.
The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
This is a common bee associated with a common woodland flower. Though a diversity of spring bees visit Spring Beauties, females of this specialist are the most likely to be carrying large quantities of pink pollen.
The term tongue twisting comprises rolling, folding, rotating, adjusting, and turning of the tongue. Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) roll their tongue with apparent ease. TRY THIS AT HOME - IT'S FUN! Let us know when you can mimic a Clearwing. View more Snowberry Clearwing moths.
Wood frogs and spring peepers are highly susceptible (low tolerance) to salt (Chloride concentrations). NaC1 (salt) can cause mortality for the most susceptible species in worst-case scenarios. Population-specific members of a species have different tolerances due to the locations where they reside and long-term genetics. Sub-lethal concentrations of salt can increase the susceptibility to other stressors (parasites, predators, diseases). The toxicity of NaC1 is also influenced by shifts in water chemistry which can be impacted by such things as invasive plants and salt. Listen to more at Winter Salt Week 2025: Dilution is not the Solution.
Salt can significantly hurt frogs because it disrupts their delicate electrolyte balance through their permeable skin, leading to dehydration, organ damage, and potential death if exposed to high concentrations; essentially, salt draws water out of their bodies, causing harm.
View more spring peeper photos at Spring Peeper Pseudacris crucifer.
Asleep at the Wheel
Mice eat worms, snails, slugs, beetles, centipedes, grasshoppers, cockroaches, scorpions, and moth and butterfly larvae; not much of these about when it is 2 below 0 degrees.
Today (at -2) mice must risk coming out of their dens and your warm houses to search for birdseed.
The scout mouse calls out to the rest "It's safe, just be really quiet so you don't wake up the owl!"
Bug-inspired comic #165 Jan 18, 2025
Mice eat worms, snails, slugs, beetles, centipedes, grasshoppers, cockroaches, scorpions, and moth and butterfly larvae; not much of these about when it is 2 below 0 degrees.
Today (at -2) mice must risk coming out of their dens and your warm houses to search for birdseed.
The scout mouse calls out to the rest "It's safe, just be really quiet so you don't wake up the owl!"
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
This town ain't big enough for the two of us.Your epitaph will readlong on legsshort on thedraw!
Bug-inspired comic #164 Jan 11, 2025
Pantry running low
Mama told me not to stick my tongue out
Mama told me not to stick my tongue out
unless I was reaching into a flower.
Now that it is freezing outside
with not a flower or mama in sight
thought I would give it a try
didn't get caught
it froze in place
mama mia!
Pure Green Sweat Bee (Augochlora pura)
Whatever you will become,
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you!
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, "What will I be?
Will I be pretty, will I be rich?"
Here's what she said to me
"Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be"
When I was young, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart, "What lies ahead?
Will we have rainbows, day after day?"
Here's what my sweetheart said
"Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be"
Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, "What will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich?"
I tell them tenderly.
"Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be"
Songwriters: Raymond B. Evans / Jay Livingston. Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera) lyrics © Jay Livingston Music, St. Angelo Music, Crc Jianian Publishing, St Angelo Music.
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