bugs

The roaches are messy eaters, leaving bits of foo on their heads. The mites are like a tiny cleaning crew that eats any scraps of food left on the roach’s face.

Ouch, that really hurts! But in comparison to the sting of other insects, how much does it really hurt?

Male cicadas use their blaring sounds to communicate with other cicadas. Their songs are used as alarm calls, territorial calls, or ballads to woo the ladies.

Introducing, the Harvester Butterfly …the only species of butterfly in North America where the caterpillars eat meat. More specifically, Woolly aphids are on their limited menu.

Lemon Ants prefer to build their homes in the stems of the tree species that survive in Devil’s Gardens. As it turns out, this is not a coincidence. In the eyes of a Lemon Ant, other trees not suitable for housing their kin just get in the way and take up valuable real estate. To make their surroundings more suitable for the continued existence and growth of their colony, it’s the Lemon Ants that rub out any rival vegetation.

When choosing a mate, the females within a rather unique family of flies make their decision depending on whether the eyes have it or not.

Here in Montana, we generally see our first Orchard Mason Bees of the season by mid-April. Resembling a large fly, the males of these bluish-green native bees emerge first, waiting patiently for the females to emerge in a week or so to mate.

If you haven’t heard of the Asian Giant Hornet before, you might be more familiar with their other, more sinister, name …the Murder Hornet. As the world’s largest species of hornet, Asian Giant Hornets are fierce predators with a preference for honeybees.

With a body length of about 3 inches, these sizeable dragonflies can travel up to 900 miles. One migrating species that flies below most people’s radar is the Common Green Darner.

While some silk slingers make large, elaborate webs, there’s one species that might at first appear a bit lazy in the web-building department. But what it seemingly lacks in motivation is more than made up for with style.