During the COVID shutdown this spring, I had more time to observe and photograph insects in my backyard. Here’s a small selection, from fast-flying long-legged and hover flies to slow-crawling caterpillars. See captions for details.
May 16, 2020. Fast reflexes. A long-legged fly jumping to the flash of the camera.
Long-legged flies are predators of small insects and themselves can fall prey to jumping spiders.
In order to be effective in catching prey and escaping predators, long-legged flies have adapted very quick startle reflexes.
The quick startle reflexes of long-legged flies make them jump when photos are taken, so it is very hard to take a picture of a fly just sitting on a leaf surface.
May 15. The first gulf fritillary larva of this year in the yard.
Larvae of gulf fritillary are well-defended by their spines.
They are orange and black, which makes them memorable to birds.
Larvae can eat several large leaves a day at their final stage.
The head is also equipped with spiny horns.
May 6-10, 2020. Stroke of good luck: Finding a chrysalis of a black swallowtail.
Black swallowtail, male, freshly emerged from the pupa.
Black swallowtail, male, freshly emerged from the pupa.
Eyespots are meant to scare predators and deflect attacks by birds from the head to the wing.
The pupa was found in a ditch in NW Gainesville on Queen Anne’s Lace.
The caterpillar makes a silk girdle that holds the pupa in place on the stem.
When hatching from the chrysalis, the butterfly suspends itself for about one hour during which time its wings expand and harden.
The black swallowtail mimics another Florida butterfly that is toxic – the pipevine swallowtail.
May 5, 2020. I spot an eyespot: eastern eyed click beetles in the yard.
Eyed click beetle. These beetles are among the largest in their family, over 2 inches long.
This female eastern eyed click beetle was laying eggs into still-living but rotting laurel oak tree. The eyespots are meant to scare away predators by creating an illusion.
Another female was at the same time laying eggs in a stump nearby.
May 5, 2020. Disturbing ant colony makes local anoles happy
Disturbing an ants’ nest produced excitement in the local population of anole lizards.
This green anole captured a carpenter ant and is manipulating it before swallowing.
There are two species of anoles in Gainesville: Brown (introduced from the West Indies) and Green (native). Green can change its color to brown depending on the circumstances.
April 23-May 3, 2020. Visited by underwing moths – three species in one week
Catocala micronympha – little nymph underwing moth. This species can be incredibly variable to match different backgrounds.
Catocala micronympha. On the underside all underwing moths have a striped pattern.
The eyes of Catocala are well-adapted to seeing in the dark but also during the day.
Catocala ilia, one of the more common species of underwing moths in Gainesville.
Catocala ilia. It is uncommon to see the hind wings unless the moth just landed or is about to take off.
Catocala epione has hindwings that are black with a white border.
Catocala epione. These moths are nocturnal, but sometimes they can be observed flying from one dark area of the backyard to another even during the day.
Catocala epione – Closeup of the forewing shows an intricate pattern made of tiny scales.
The forewing patterns of Catocala evolved to fit a variety of bark/lichen backgrounds. Patterns are species-specific yet extremely variable.
April 25, 2020. The smiley face of a spiny orb-weaver.
Only half an inch in size, the spiny orbweaver can mostly be observed during the colder months.
The spiny orbweaver makes a web that has tufts of silk, which makes the web slightly more conspicuous to birds.
The web may have up to 30 loops, spaced every quarter-inch or so.
The ventral side of the spider is much less conspicuous.
April 22, 2020. Hover fly on tropical sage flower.
Hover flies, like this Ocyptamus, are beneficial insects in your garden.
They are pollinators as adults and predators on small insects, such as aphids, as larvae.
This one is visiting a flower of tropical sage – a great pollinator-attracting plant.
April 22, 2020. For this Earth Day
I invite you to walk with me through a Florida backyard looking at seemingly ordinary life forms through the macro lens.
April 20, 2020. Zebra longwing caterpillar factory.
Eggs are laid singly on the tips of new leaves and tendrils of passion vine. The same female may return numerous times, so caterpillars of the zebra longwing often feed in groups.
Eggs are highly sculptured. They take about 4 days to hatch.
Small caterpillars can feed only on very young leaves, tendrils and shoots.
Planting passion vines in the yard created a steady and healthy population of zebra longwings. This year, these butterflies continuously reproduced throughout the winter.
Caterpillars are conspicuous. They are defended by spines and the chemicals they derive from their hostplant.
Caterpillars are conspicuous. They are defended by spines and the chemicals they derive from their hostplant.
The passion vine can become completely defoliated by caterpillars but grows back quickly.
The passion vine can become completely defoliated by caterpillars but grows back quickly.
Before forming a chrysalis, the caterpillar hangs itself upside down and goes into the prepupal stage.
Together with a variety of nectar plants, an abundance of passion vines in the backyard translates into a healthy population of adult zebra longwing butterflies.
March 26, 2020. Mating under the chair – zebra longwings.
Mating in zebra longwings occurs while the female is still inside the chrysalis. When she emerges and spreads her wings, she is still attached to the male.
During mating, males transfer anti-aphrodisiacs compounds to females to make them less attractive to other males.
March 14, 2020. A flying jewel – the black-winged damselfly.
An iconic Florida insect, the black-winged damselfly or ebony jewelwing has settled in my backyard.
This male is helping to keep mosquitoes in check while waiting for a female.
The body is an iridescent dark green. Depending on the light, may appear blue, green, or black.
Larvae of this species live in streams and lakes.
Both immature and adult black-winged damselflies are predators of small insects, such as mosquitoes and their larvae.