Natural Science Forum / Biology / Entomology / May 2004

Hi,
I was at a friends house here in New Hampshire,
and we noticed an odd flying insect gathering nectar from their
Rhododendron.

I've just discovered a small butterfly on my desk, grey white wings
with a small brown spot mid wing and a black leading edge and face.
The insect is 10 - 12 mm long wings are folded, but I'd guess wingspan
about 20 - 25 mm.  It looks jst like a small triangular piece of wood

Hi there, I live in Holland and we a lot of trouwbles keeping innocent flies
out of our house. They are just everywhere.
We tried a special light to catch them but it's not enough.
Who has any tips for us to keep them outside where they belong or to kill

Everyone,
I have just finished updating my website with the complete database of
Tortricid types located at the USNM.  Early last year I visited the USNM
with John Brown's type catalogue and photographed all of the types (I am

Does any anyone know if there is an insect equivalent to 'Botanical
Latin' (a rather useful book that explains what names mean!).  I am
looking mainly for Lepidoptera ones at the moment.
Thanks if anyone can help!

I live in Hamilton Ontario Canada and we have had much rain these past two
months. In the past week, I have noticed "Spider Nests" acyually quite large
and a brown silk over the nests with hundreds of small red spiders. Is this
the beginning of an infestation of spiders this summer ...

Please help to ID this beetle.
Was flying around on a heath in the Netherlands.
About 1 - 1.5 cm
See http://www.xs4all.nl/~bfriso/index.html

I have no idear what this caterpillar will become - if anyone
recognizes what it is / will be, could you please e-mail me at
nickdangr@myexcel.com or post a reply here?
http://users.myexcel.com/ben.adler/images/graphics/scans/UglyPillar.jpg

I took a couple of close-up photos of some cicadas and noticed two
oval shaped indentations on the back near the wings.  I was wondering
if anyone knows what these are for, the bottom photo has the best view
of them:

Is there an online map or database I can consult that shows what counties in
my state (Tennessee) are experiencing the current irruption of cicadas?
                                                                 Thanks a lot.

There is now a new book in the USDA Forest Service, Forest Health
Technology Enterprise Team (FHTET) series.  "Lepidoptera of the
Pacific Northwest: Caterpillars and Adults" is the third, and likely
the last, book from Jeff Miller and Paul Hammond on PNW leps.  There

Hopefully somebody can help me identify the insect that I found
flapping around my light shade last night.
It was approximately 5-6 cm long and sported antenna about 1cm long
with orange fronds at the end (this is the feature I am sure I have

I was hoping to learn whether the large (2 inches across, including
legs) mosquito-shaped insects I see around my house are a species of
mosquito or are something else entirely.  These insects have very
long, thin legs, thin bodies, small wings (relative to other insects),

I will be the first to admit I know nothing about
bugs, we just moved into a new home in East
Lansing Michigan and we have these small (maybe 2
grains of rice sized) carmel brown backed bugs

I was having a coffee with an individual from work whom I suspect of greatly exaggerating various things at various times. Anyway, the subject of mosquitos came up and he tells me that right here in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada) we have mosquitos that can fly upwards of 20 MPH. I ...