Uncommon Insects of Vermont: Backyard Discoveries Documented on iNaturalist

Discover rare and uncommon insect species in Vermont. Explore backyard biodiversity, first state records, and iNaturalist observations from Jericho and beyond.

Uncommon Insect Species: Discoveries Close to Home

by Bernie Paquette (bugeyedbernie on iNaturalist)

Uncommon: out of the ordinary, unusual, or remarkably rare.
In 2012, a Polystoechotes punctata—the giant lacewing—turned up at a Walmart in Arkansas, marking the first record in eastern North America in more than 50 years. Moments like this are reminders that astonishing discoveries can appear in the most ordinary places.

Vermont, too, has its share of uncommon insect finds. And thankfully, none of us need travel to Arkansas—or even leave our towns—to encounter something extraordinary.

Take the perseverance of naturalist Bryan Pfeiffer, who searched for two decades before finding Vermont’s first Bog Elfin butterfly in 2023. Most of us will never see a bog elfin, and many will never see a bog. Yet uncommon discoveries are possible much closer to home—sometimes right in our own backyards.

As the lists below show, the next rare or unusual insect in Vermont might be living in your yard, perched on yourflowers, or resting on your windowsill.

"You need to go nowhere to see wonders."
—Jack Gedney, The Private Lives of Public Birds

The following species represent a selection of uncommon insect observations—many from our own backyard in Jericho, Vermont, and others from nearby towns—each documented on iNaturalist.
For this post, “uncommon” is defined as ten or fewer Vermont observations on iNaturalist at the time of my sighting. (Some may have additional records on GBIF.)

Several of these are first records for Vermont on iNaturalist. Disclaimer: These are iNaturalist records and they don't necessarily indicate a first VT record for anything other than iNaturalist, and or even whether something is rare or not. Some species are impossible to ID by photo alone. 

This is only a partial glimpse—a tiny cross-section—of what millennia of evolution and a rapidly changing habitat have brought to a single acre:

One town. One yard. One acre.
A landscape alive with countless organisms—many common, some uncommon, and a few perhaps still unknown.

All insect names below link to their iNaturalist posts.
Thank you in advance for any help confirming IDs not yet at Research Grade.

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Uncommon Insects Observed 

*R.G. indicates Research Grade on iNaturalist; Yellow shading in the RG column indicates very few observations of that species posted on iNaturalist, as of Nov 2025.

Date of observation	RG	Uncommon Insects observed by Bernie	1st, 2nd, … observation in VT	All VT observations by all observers
9/22/2025		Myrmosa unicolor (1 ID)	3rd	MU
9/7/2025		Psila angustata (1 ID)	3rd	PA
7/28/2025	RG	Arge coccinea	3rd	AC
7/22/2025	RG	Collaria meilleurii	4th	CM
7/12/2025	RG	Carmenta pyralidiformis Boneset Borer Moth	4th	CP
7/11/2025	RG	Allantus cinctus  Curled Rose Sawfly	1st	AC
7/4/2025	RG	Nephrotoma punctum	5th	NP
6/3/2025		Tachinus fimbriatus (1 ID)	4th	TF
10/3/2024		Cuterebra buccata (1 ID needs ID)	7th	CB
10/3/2024		Lasioglossum acuminatum Pointed Sweat Bee. (1 ID)  My 110th bee species observation.	3rd	LA
9/12/2024		Lygus vanduzeei (1 ID)	3rd	LV
9/10/2024	RG	Dolichoderus pustulatus Bog Odorous Ant	1st	DP
8/10/2024		Stratiomys norma (1 ID Needs ID)	5th	SN
7/13/2024	RG	Copestylum vesicularium Iridescent Bromeliad Fly	1st	CV
7/12/2024	RG	Chrysis cessata	4th	CC
7/11/2024		Nemopoda nitidula (Needs ID)	1st	NN
7/9/2024	RG	Argogorytes nigrifrons	2nd	AN
7/4/2024		Parancistrocerus perennis Perennial Mason Wasp (1 ID)	2nd	PP
6/28/2024		Anasimyia chrysostoma Lump-legged Swamp Fly (Needs ID)	1st	AC
6/27/2024	RG	Condylostylus comatus	2nd	CC
6/24/2024	RG	Chrysopilus pilosus	2nd	CP
6/24/2024		Rhagio lineola (1 ID)	1st	RL
6/16/2024		Alosterna capitata Flower Longhorn Beetle. (1 ID)	3rd	AC
6/15/2024		Dolichopus versutus (1 ID Needs ID)	5th	DV
6/15/2024		Lasioglossum zephyrus (1 ID) (My 111 bee species) (Difficult to id by photo)	2nd	LZ
6/9/2024	RG	Dolichopus brevimanus	1st	DB
6/9/2024	RG	Synanthedon tipuliformis	1st	ST
6/7/2024	RG	Rhaphium melampus	1st	RM
5/19/2024	RG	Blera analis Orange-tailed Wood Fly	4th	BA
5/19/2024		Chrysomela mainensis (Maine Leaf Beetle) (2 IDs)	5th	CM
5/15/2024	RG	Nomada obliterata Obliterated Nomad	4th	NO
5/6/2024		Criorhina nigriventris Bare-cheeked Bumble Fly (1 ID)	3rd	CN
5/1/2024		Parandrena (Subgenus) (1 ID) Possibly one dubious, old A. nida record is the only (other) representation of the subgenus in the state.	1st	P
10/25/2023		Schroederella luteoala (1 ID)	3rd	SL
10/25/2023	RG	Hymetta balteata	1st	HB
10/25/2023		Scaphytopius acutus (needs ID)	2nd	SA
10/18/2023		Populicerus duzeei (1 ID) 1st observation in the U.S.	1st	PD
9/15/2023	RG	Messatoporus discoidalis	7th	MD
9/15/2023		Symmorphus cristatus (1 ID)	2nd	SC
9/1/2023	RG	Crossocerus nitidiventris	4th	CN
9/1/2023	RG	Drosophila immigrans Immigrant Fruit Fly	1st	DI
8/22/2023	RG	Chrysis cessata	4th	CC
8/20/2023		Hoplocryptus notatus (1 ID)	1st	HN
8/12/2023		Isodontia philadelphica (needs ID)	4th	IP
7/5/2023	RG	Tomoxia inclusa	1st	TI
7/1/2023	RG	Muesebeckidium (Genus)	2nd	M
6/25/2023	RG	Pleolophus indistinctus	1st	PI
6/23/2023		Pristerognatha agilana (1 ID)	1st	PA
6/1/2023	RG	Omalus (Genus) (2 IDs)	4th	O
5/27/2023		Nomada denticulata Denticulate Nomad (1 ID)	1st	ND
5/13/2023	RG	Xylophagus reflectens	2nd	XR
5/4/2023	RG	Crematogaster cerasi Cherry Acrobat Ant	1st	CC
9/7/2022	RG	Anacampsis nonstrigella	1st	AN
9/7/2022	RG	Linycus exhortator ssp. thoracicus	2nd	LE
9/6/2022	RG	Plutella porrectella	8th	PP
8/7/2022	RG	Acrossus rubripennis	3rd	AR
7/29/2022		Agenioideus cinctellus (1 ID)	2nd	AC
7/29/2022	RG	Amoebaleria helvola	2nd	AH
7/21/2022		Tenthredo verticalis (1 ID)	5th	TV
7/16/2022	RG	Xanthogramma flavipes American Harlequin	4th	XF
7/6/2022	RG	Dialysis elongata	5th	DE
6/28/2022	RG	Physoconops obscuripennis	4th	PO
6/27/2022	RG	Abia fasciata Blotch-winged Honeysuckle Sawfly	2nd	AF
6/21/2022		Cryptomyzus ribis (1 ID)	1st	CR
6/20/2022	RG	Menesta tortriciformella	1st	MT
6/11/2022	RG	Synanthedon acerrubri Maple Clearwing Moth	2nd	SS
6/4/2022		Hoplistoscelis pallescens (1 ID)	7th	HP
6/4/2022	RG	Perillus exaptus	2nd	PE
5/31/2022	RG	Ectopimorpha wilsoni	1st	EW
5/16/2022	RG	Dolichopus laticornis	1st	DL
5/9/2022	RG	Onthophagus hecate Scooped Scarab	3rd	OH
5/5/2022	RG	Anasimyia bilinearis Two-lined Swamp Fly	2nd	AB
4/15/2022	RG	Sphyracephala brevicornis. There doesn't appear to be any digital records for this species in GBIF either, so for now, first state record.	1st	SB
10/6/2021		Phymata fasciata (Needs ID)	1st	PF
8/21/2021	RG	Parancistrocerus pensylvanicus Pennsylvania Mason Wasp	3rd	PP
7/1/2021	RG	Anasa repetita	2nd	AR
6/19/2021	RG	Spilopteron formosum	2nd	SF
6/16/2021	RG	Enchrysa dissectella	2nd	ED
6/15/2021	RG	Chelostoma philadelphi Mock-orange Scissor Bee.	1st	CP
5/9/2021	RG	Nemopoda nitidula	1st	NN
4/18/2021	RG	Gonia sagax	1st	GS
8/5/2020	RG	Parancistrocerus pedestris	1st	PD
7/8/2020	RG	Dichrorampha simulana	1st	DS

Reflections on Wonder, Place, and Paying Attention

"The greatest human discoveries in the future will be the discovery of human intimacy with all those other modes of being that live with us on this planet…"
—Thomas Berry, The Great Work

"If you want to feel new, alive, full of fresh hope, and in love with the world, the place to visit may be your backyard."
—paraphrased from Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness

And from a somewhat unexpected source:

"If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with."
—Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

The message is the same across science, spirituality, and story:
Look closely. Look often. Look where you stand.
You might discover something uncommon.

Populicerus duzeei @iNaturalist user bugeyedbernie