By: Donna Ellis, UConn, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, 2016. Lacewings are beneficial insects that love to eat aphids, thrips, beetles, small caterpillars, and soft scales. They play an integral role in agricultural pest control, from small backyard gardens to extensive farms. Lacewings are part of the insect order Neuroptera. All immature insects […]
Bug Week 2016 – Fun for the Whole Family
UConn Extension’s Bug Week is right around the corner, and we have programs for the whole family. Bugs are the unsung heroes of our ecosystem, providing services such as pollination and natural pest control. However, bugs don’t stop at environmental benefits. They have also impacted our culture through the manufacturing of silk, sources of dyes, wax […]
Wild and Wonderful Insects of New England
Article and photos by Pamm Cooper Toward the end of spring and the beginning of summer, I find that the most interesting insects are to be found. While spring offers some really good forester caterpillars and their attractive moths, among other things, nature seems to me to save the best for last, it seems to […]
Bug Week 2016
Photo Contest Winners
Congratulations to our photo contest winners: 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place
The Monarch Butterfly
By: Ana Legrand, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, 2015. The monarch butterfly holds the record for the longest regularly repeated migration. A delicate butterfly that is able to travel between 1,200 and 2,980 miles to journey between three countries – Mexico, United States and Canada. But more on these amazing travels later. Monarchs […]
Acorn Weevil
Acorn weevil (Curculio sp.) By: Joan Allen, UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, 2015 The acorn weevil is not often seen but is impressive to look at because of its long snout. The chewing mouthparts are at the end of the snout, so this long ‘beak’ does not make it difficult to feed […]
Aphids
By: Joan Allen, UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, 2015 Aphids are tiny, soft-bodies insects with pear-shaped bodies. They have long legs and a pair of tube-like cornicles on the back of their abdomen. They have incomplete metamorphosis which means the newly hatched young gradually molt through several nymph stages until they become […]
Lady Beetle
By: Donna Ellis, UConn, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, 2015. Lady beetles, also known as ladybird beetles or ladybugs, are members of the insect order Coleoptera, which are insects with sheathed or covered wings. The adults range in length from 1 to 10 mm, typically have round or oval bodies often brightly colored […]
Mantids
By Donna Ellis, UConn, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, 2015. The insect that we commonly refer to as a praying mantis is also known as a mantid. Praying mantids earned their nickname because they hold their forelegs bent and raised as if in prayer. These large, beautiful predators belong to the insect order Mantodea. […]