This is a Cecropia moth caterpillar. Do you want to see one in person? Meet this guy, and lots of other bugs on Saturday at our Bug Walks event in Vernon. Bug Walks in Vernon (24 Hyde Avenue) – Saturday, July 29th 10 AM – 1 PM Find out all about insects and where to look […]
Bugs
Syrphid Flies
Donna Ellis, UConn, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, 2017. Syrphid flies are also known as hover flies or flower flies. These tiny beneficial insects are members of the insect order Diptera, which includes flies, mosquitoes, and gnats. They adults vary in size, but the common ones we often see in our area are […]
Spittlebug: A Unique Little Insect
Spittlebug: A Unique Little Insect By Joan Allen Spittlebugs are common and easily recognized by the white foamy ‘spittle’ produced by the nymph or immature stage of the insects as they feed. Adults are less commonly seen but are commonly known as froghoppers (close relatives of leafhoppers, etc). Depending on the reference, there are anywhere […]
Lacewings
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
The Oriental Beetle
Photo and article by Joan Allen Last week, an adult Oriental beetle was spotted on some lettuce in our vegetable garden. This in itself is not really a big deal because, unlike Japanese and Asiatic garden beetles, these adults are not voracious feeders and don’t typically require control. It can be important for a couple of […]
The Untimely Death of a Worm
By Catherine Hallisey, Connecticut FoodCorps As I was kneeling by a raised garden bed, planting snap peas with a couple of students, I heard a third grader scream “NOOOOOO!” from the other side of the garden. An array of thoughts immediately sped through my mind in the split second it took me to get over to […]