Biodiversity Observations July 2024 Report: Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Bolton, Vermont

Enjoy the benefits of connection with nature. 

Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Bolton, (VT) Inverting Club Biodiversity monthly report.

JURBIC BIODIVERSITY REPORT

JURBIC  iNaturalist Numbers

Also view my backyard report, 1,000 Insect Species Found in One Acre of Jericho, VT Yard

View Photos

View Jericho insect observations in June here.

View Underhill insect observations in July here.

View Richmond insect observations in July here.

View Bolton insect observations in July here.

My Favorites https://www.inaturalist.org/faves/bugeyedbernie

Click to Compare to the other municipalities (towns, cities, gores) in Vermont 

Click to Read about the "Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Bolton, Inverting Club" 

 Will you report your observations on iNaturalist?
Links below are short videos on how to upload observations to iNaturalist. Tutorial from North Branch Nature Center. 
iNaturalist: uploading observations using desktops and laptops
iNaturalist: uploading observations with mobile devices

View the latest observations posted on iNaturalist at Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, and Bolton.

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View PLANTS observed growing in Jericho here, in Underhill here, in Richmond here, in Bolton here.

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Observing the behavior and the life cycle of insects is like getting to know someone as an individual vs. knowing them by name and infrequent contact only.

 - Bernie

View the 2023 iNaturalist observation numbers at Discovering Life in Jericho - 2023 by the Numbers

The Eight Major Orders of Insects

There are 26 orders of insects, but the vast majority belong to only these eight. Below is a short guide to the identification of the eight major orders.

        Beetles Coleoptera (“sheath wings”)

• -  largest order of living things with over 290,000 species known worldwide
• -  two pairs of wings, but the outer pair is hardened covering the top of the body and meeting in a straight line down the back.
• -  have “chewing jaws”
• -  metamorphosis is complete
  
  
  Moths, Butterflies Lepidoptera (“scaly wings”)
• -  second largest order of insects (beetles are #1) - mostly moths
• -  two pairs of wings covered with small scales that rub off easily
• -  only insects with sucking mouth parts in the form of a coiled tube.
• -  in the larval stage, most butterfly and moth species feed on leaves, often of a particular plant or related group of plants
• -  metamorphosis is complete
  
  
  Bees, Wasps, Ants Hymenoptera (“membrane-winged”)
• -  third largest order.
• -  have 2 pairs of thin, clear, membraneous wings.
• -  females have a well-developed egg-laying organ and/or stinger at the end of their abdomen
• -  ants have wings only at certain stages of life, some have stingers, too
• -  considered the most highly evolved order of insects.
• -  Most wasps are parasites; their young hatch and develop inside the bodies of other insects or spiders. These parasites are our chief ally in the control of many pest insects.
• -  Bees and wasps are important pollinators of food crops and other plants.
• -  metamorphosis is complete
  
  
  Flies, Mosquitoes, Gnats Diptera (“two wings”)
• -  fourth largest order (third in North America)
• -  if an insect has just one pair of wings, it is a fly of some kind.
• -  all adult flies have sucking mouth parts
• -  metamorphosis is complete
  
  
  Crickets, Grasshoppers, Locusts Orthoptera (“straight wings”)
• -  thin, leathery forewings that cover larger hind wings that are folded like a fan when at rest.
• -  important food for birds and other insect eaters.
• -  metamorphosis is gradual

Dragonflies, Damselflies Odonata (“tooth”)

• -  2 pairs of long, narrow, membranous wings that are roughly equal in size.
• -  they also have large eyes and extremely long, narrow abdomens.
• -  at rest, dragonflies hold wings out flat, while damselflies hold wings together above
  their bodies.
• -  adults feed on other insects (gnats, mosquitoes)
• -  metamorphosis is gradual
  
  
  Aphids, Cicadas, Leafhoppers Homoptera (“same wings”)
• -  2 pairs of membranous wings held in a tent-like or rooftop position over the body when at rest.
• -  adults (except Cicadas) feed on plant sap
• -  metamorphosis is gradual
  
  
  Bugs, Backswimmers, Water Striders Hemiptera (“half-wings”)
• -  identified by a triangle on the back just behind the head. This is formed by the way the insects fold their forewings when at rest.
• -  2 pairs of wings; hind wings are membranous, while the basal half of the forewings is hardened.
• -  metamorphosis is gradual
  
  
  OTHER INSECTS OF IMPORTANCE 

Termites: small, soft-bodied, pale with short, straight antennae. Flying forms have 2 pairs of wings. Do not have constricted waist like ants. Have sophisticated societies - the queen may live 10 years. Most of the 41 species live in the SE. Eat cellulose of the wood fibers making them bad for buildings but valuable for breaking down dead wood in the forests.

Springtails: tiny, wingless with prominent antennae. The forked structure allows them to “spring” into the air. Among the most abundant creatures on earth, are millions per acre. Immensely beneficial in breaking down leaf litter and fungi into soil components. Include “snow fleas.”

Bristletails: wingless, crawling, terrestrial with long segmented antennae and 3 long “tails”. Include silverfish and firebrats. Eat decaying plants outdoors and starchy substances including books, wallpaper, and clothing indoors. Among the most primitive of insects.

Reference: Peterson First Guides / Insects by Christopher Leahy Observing Insect Lives by Donald Stokes, 1983

Traditional research on pollinators has focussed on specific bee groups, such as honeybees and bumblebees (Kremen et al., 2002; Klatt et al., 2014; Lemanski et al., 2022). However, recent studies have demonstrated the equally critical roles played by other insect groups, including ants, beetles, bugs, butterflies, flies, and wasps (Rader et al., 2016; Rader et al., 2020; Requier et al., 2023).  - Masari Date, Yuya Fukano, Sayed Ibrahim Farkhary, Kei Uchida, Masashi Soga, (April 2024).

Saturdays The Insect Cartoon Issue

 From the archives: #6 Bug-inspired single-panel comic 

                               Can't find the darn switch to turn the light on!

VT Bug Eyed Bug-inspired single-panel comics use photos and captions as touchpoints - the invertebrate society reaching out to the human society. Images from Nature. Captions and (their) story by Bernie Paquette.

A cartoon is a single drawing which communicates a moment in time, such as touchpoints on a customer journey, where empathy is important. Cartoons can tell you how people [or insects] are feeling. A cartoon adds emotional content. There’s a point of view represented — it could be yours, the artist’s or that of a real or created character. [The word "panel" may also refer to a cartoon consisting of a single drawing; the usage is a shortened form of "single-panel comic".]

Comics, cartoons, and illustrations can be an excellent way to deliver a message. They help people look at things (including themselves) differently.

From David Blumenstein (a service designer and cartoonist) at https://davidblumenstein.medium.com/illustrations-vs-cartoons-vs-comics-9babcc09f999

Vermont Cartoonist heads to his 1.3-acre yard to explore ties between cartoons and insects. 

Observing invertebrates, especially insects - I call it inverting. The inverting movement is people seeing connections between all invertebrate life and ourselves. Tools such as iNaturalist, Seek, and bug-inspired comics help raise our awareness and empathy and most importantly encourage us to look closely at the life going on all around us - as close as in our backyards.

Watching insects eating, mating, pooping, cleaning themselves, warming up in the early morning, falling down then getting right back up, behaving as predators or prey, as meat eaters or vegetarians, seeking host plants or other animals to raise a family, defending their families, and all the unique ways each of the species goes about these aspects of life - gives us a perspective on how we go about the details of our daily lives.

And sometimes, how insects look or behave is beautiful, sometimes it is funny, sometimes it evokes an "OMG did you see that?".  

What's so funny about insects?

Each Saturday VT Bug Eyed bug-inspired single-panel comics bring the Vermont insects, some of whom may live in your yard, to the forefront. The single-panel comics shoot for a laugh but also aim to inform, encourage your own observations in your yard, and entice thinking big about small life forms. The captions are the monologue of an insect with complex miniaturized bodily functions and life behaviors resulting in an oversized positive effect on the world as we know it today. It is about blowing up the insect image and breaking down the enormous diverse life of the planet's most underappreciated animals. 

Each one tells a different story or provides a message or information about the taxa (genus or species).

Was there an amphibious monster sighted in Richmond? See comic number 113 for evidence. 

As comic number 132 (Darth Vader) states, "This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of many insects.  Without flies, bees, and other pollinators, flowers will be no more. Unless mankind changes its ways!". 

Number 129 speaks to the wisdom of the fly. 

Number 126 Circus Act, tells of a spider's pride. 

Number 118 Muck on the Menu fills us in on the taste of waste - we are lucky some insects eat our crap. 

Start your Saturday with a morning beverage and VT Bug Eyed Insect-inspired comic, then get outside for inverting fun. 

Did you enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks? View them nightly in your yard - they are called fireflies or lightning bugs of which there are about 150 species in the United States. 

Ever heard of honey bees? They are not native to North America. What do you know about the approximately 350 species of bees native to Vermont? Did you know most of them are solitary bees and live most of their life underground, unlike honeybees who live year-round in hives?

It is easy to get to know your yard neighbors. Go outside and take a closer look, nature will entertain, fascinate, and entice you to find out more about the vast species of insects that live as close as your yard. 

View a new comic every Saturday at Vtbugeyed.blogspot.com. 

Bugs voted the cartoon "The Oldest in Vermont" as their favorite from the Seven Days Cartoon issue, (What's So Funny? Coloring Outside the Lines in the Cartoon Issue, July 10,2024). Nature not only deserves a closer look but also rewards those who look closely and attentively at animals and plants.

Which VT Bug Eyed Bug-inspired comic is your favorite?

My sister gets all the laughs!

Mama said, "Honey do you want people to laugh at your jokes like they do with your sister the cartoonist, or do you want folks to admire your beauty?"

Lead us to Nature

we will never again

be lost. 

    - Bernie

Annual Butterfly and Bug Walk at Birds of Vermont Museum in Huntington, VT.

 

Thank You VT Entomological Society, particularly Michael Sabourin, and Birds of Vermont Museum for hosting the annual Butterfly and Bug Walk on July 7, 2024. View photos of the event below and check out more of the insects we viewed and posted on iNaturalist.  

Our Birds of Vermont Museum host, Kirsten Talmage. 

Vermont Entomological Society President and co-host for the event, Michael Sabourin. 

This gentleman and guest at today's event, recently posted a Florida Fern Moth moth (Calliopistria floridensis) observation from Essex, Vt onto iNaturalist that is very rare for Vermont. Perhaps it brought some Florida weather to Vermont (or maybe the weather brought it to Vermont)!

PS Kai had the first confirmed record for Callopistria floridensis, there was an unconfirmed record from Chittenden Co. last year.

 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/223237387

Here are just a few of the observations of the day at the Birds of Vermont Museum Trails.

The outlook calls for smooth sailing all day.

This butterfly put out its Fourth of July Flags!

This moth brought along its own jar.

Is it lunchtime already? Time flies when you are inverting. 

Some insects like to show off their colors, even the 'undersides".

I can relate to this wasp having pollen on its face. 

When I eat, food gets all over my mustache!

This mint moth looks more like Orange Marmalade to me.

Feather dusters do not work well when wet. We rescued this moth from the pond's surface.

Beautiful water lilies. But what lurks beneath them?

View more of the photos on the iNaturalist site. Open the link above, then open any of the posts. Once a post is open, click on the individual insect's name at the top of the iNaturalist post. This will bring you to a screen with information about that taxa. 

Below are photos from Jim Talbot from the same walk. 

Dragonfly Naiad; Anisoptera (naiad); can eat minnows, tadpoles, small shrimp, anything small.

Damselfly naiad; Zygoptera (naiad); eat what they can catch.

Brown water scorpion; Ranatra sp. (Nepidae); havre snorkel-like tubes on their hindquarters for breathing underwater; another voracious predator.

Anchor stink bug (Pentatomidae): Stiretrus sp.; females guard eggs and first-star nymphs. These are carnivorous.

Viceroy caterpillar (Nymphalidae); Limenitis sp.

Spittlebugs

What causes spittlebugs to use this frothy mass?

Life Cycle

After the nymph molts for the final time, the resulting adult insect leaves the mass of "spittle" and moves about actively. The "spittle" is derived from a fluid voided from the anus and from a mucilaginous substance excreted by epidermal glands. Nymphs wander away from their spittle masses, and either start new ones, or enter those of other nymphs. Aphrophora nymphs hold the record, of one spittle mass over a foot long containing about 100 individuals! --A.K.G. Hamilton

Identification

one or two stout spines on the hind tibiae, and a circlet of spines at the apex

How to identify spittlebugs

The presence of 'spittle' is an easy way to identify spittlebugs. These spittle masses can be up to 3/4 inch in size.

Nymphs

The nymphs are inside the spittle masses.

They have soft, elongated bodies up to 1/4 inch long.

They change from orange to yellow to green as they grow.

Nymphs have large red eyes on the sides of their heads.

Adults

Adult meadow spittlebugs are 1/4 inch long but are not usually seen.

They start out green and then turn brown or grey.

Adult spittlebugs, also called froghoppers, have enlarged hind legs for jumping.

They are similar to leafhoppers but are fatter.

Thank You Jim for sharing your photos and information about the taxa.

Also, check out these wonderful institutions.

 The Vermont Entomological Society is the state's premier organization dedicated to studying, appreciating, and conservating invertebrates (website and quarterly newsletters). Open to all. 

Birds of Vermont Museum - where natural history meets art. Check out the website, the museum, and the trails. In the museum view a panorama of raptors, and immerse yourself in aisles of exquisitely and life-like carved birds that nest in Vermont’s forests and fields.

University of Vermont Natural History Museum. The invertebrate collection holds 131,000 insects. The vertebrate collection holds 6,000 mammal specimens (skins). Also, 1,200 birds and 2,600 reptiles and amphibians form the basis for the Vermont State Herpetology Atlas. 4,000 bird eggs representing 273 species and 57 families. Stuffed birds and mammals as old as the 1850s are on display in the lobby of Benedict Auditorium, including an extinct passenger pigeon, a muskox born and raised in Vermont, and a polar bear killed during a sting that toppled an international poaching ring.

And this new book by Declan McCabe, "Turning Stones" Discovering the Life of Water (Down East Books). 

 

Lead us to Nature

we will never again

be lost. 

- Bernie