2026Ěý– When the BugLady wrote this episode in February of 2013, she kicked it off by griping about the weather – a favorite, February, indoor sport.ĚýThis year, we’ve had many days of below average, below freezing, and below zero temperatures.ĚýHow cold is it?ĚýThree weeks ago, one of her water pipes froze and burst, and when she tossed the sodden beach towels out the door into the yard, they froze instantly.ĚýThey’re still stuck solidly to the ground.

This rerun contains a few new words (because who can look at a 13-year-old manuscript and not tweak it?), but all new pictures, because the Eastern Amberwing is a wondrous creature to photograph, even when it’s hovering just out of range.

2013Ěý– The weatherman keeps saying “Mixed precipitation” and it’s making the BugLady plenty crabby, so she’s going to think about dragonflies, instead. Here’s a little bit of sunshine on the wing.

Several BugFans have asked the BugLady how she selects the stars of BOTW.ĚýFirst, she needs a decent picture to spin the tale around, and Eastern Amberwings have posed prettily (some of them). This tiny dragonfly has some interesting stories to tell.

At a hair under an inch in length, the Eastern Amberwing (PerithemisĚýtenera) is the second smallest dragonfly in Wisconsin (the very-uncommon Elfin Skimmer is a bit smaller and is not yellow).ĚýSome damselflies, like this Spreadwing , are longer than Amberwings, but damselflies are slim and dragonflies are bulky.ĚýTheir flashy wings make them look bigger than an inch to the BugLady.ĚýThe male EA’s wings are pure gold; the female’s wings are brown-spotted on a sometimes-amber background (she resembles a tiny Halloween Pennant, of previous BOTW fame).ĚýMales and females have yellowish legs and have rings around the segments of their abdomens.ĚýThe abdomens of both are thick (the female’s looks especially swollen).Ěý

Because of their coloring, their rapid, erratic flight, and the way they twitch their wings and abdomens when at rest, EAs are considered wasp mimics.ĚýTheir wasp “disguise” may save them from aerial and terrestrial predators, but the BugLady found a website instructing fly fishermen on how to tie an EA fly, so apparently fish are willing to take a chance.

Where do you find them?ĚýOver most of the US, east of the Great Plains and south into Mexico.ĚýHere in God’s Country, they fly in mid-summer, but they grace the landscape year-round in the southernmost parts of their range.ĚýLook for them near quiet orĚýveryĚýslowly-moving waters (the BugLady often sees them in the bays and inlets along the shore of the Milwaukee River).ĚýLook for them, too, far from water, hunting at grass-top-height over weedy fields or perched on vegetation at a woodland’s edge.Ěý

Where do you find them, entomologically speaking?ĚýIn the order Odonata (the dragonflies and damselflies) and in the family Libellulidae (the Skimmers).ĚýPerithemisĚýapparently is a reference to Themis, a figure in Greek mythology, and a number of other Skimmer genera incorporate Themis’s name.ĚýAccording to Berger and Hanson inĚýDragonflies,ĚýteneraĚýis Latin for “tender,” “delicate,” or “soft” and implies youth (a dragonfly is called aĚýteneralĚýduring the first few days of adult life).

They are “perchers,” and unlike most dragonflies, may be seen sitting on flowers (they areĚýnotĚýconsidered pollinators, despite the picture caption in one photo site).ĚýOn hot, summer days, they may lower their wings to shade their thorax and point their abdomens skyward to reduce direct contact by the sun’s rays. Eastern Amberwings find food by patrolling or by perching and watching; they catch insects in flight, but they generally perch to eat them.ĚýFemales often raise their abdomens while in flight.Ěý

The aquatic young (naiads) eat tiny fellow-aquatic invertebrates, and unlike the more specialized naiads of other dragonflies, they use all parts of their habitat, hunting at any depth in their pond’s water column.ĚýFor their carnivorous ways, Eastern Amberwings and other dragonflies are given a thumbs-up by a Florida pest control service, which says, “From the tinyĚýEastern Amberwing, to the flamboyantĚýHalloween Pennant, dragonflies are some of the most important and charismatic beneficial bugs. They’re indiscriminate predators of many pest insects, including mosquitoes, flies, ants and wasps…… Next time you see one zip across your yard, consider saying thanks to the dragonfly for helping to control the pest population.”Ěý

Eastern Amberwings sure know how to court a gal.ĚýA male flies low over the water, patrolling a territory of choice egg-laying turf (weedy aquatic sites) about 20 feet wide and defending it vigorously – darting out at intruders and displaying with those spectacular wings.ĚýWhen a female approaches, he follows and courts her, swaying back and forth, abdomen raised. If she’s agreeable, she follows him home.ĚýHe hovers over his territory while she evaluates it, and if she likes it, she gets him along with it.ĚýAfter mating, she lays eggs – usually alone, but sometimes under his watchful eye. The blob that she releases from the tip of her abdomen explodes as it enters the water, releasing as many as 150 eggs over the water’s surface.ĚýIn his zeal to protect his “investment,” the male sometimes grabs an intruding male and flies in tandem with him, keeping him away from the female.Ěý

It’s not surprising that a critter that’s as flashy, as unmistakable, as widely distributed, and that has so many interesting behaviors has attracted the scientific community.ĚýA number of different studies have demonstrated, at least, that Eastern Amberwings have attitude. Here are some of the things that have been discovered about them:

• Site fidelityĚý– Once a male finds what he thinks is a high-quality spot to lay eggs (an oviposition site), he protects it by day (he leaves at night to roost in a tree).ĚýHe will defend it for days, especially if he has mated there.ĚýIf he deliberately changes territories, he “moves up” to a higher quality site.ĚýHe can be evicted from his territory by a feistier male.Ěý

• Heterospecific pursuitĚý– Besides chasing each other, male Eastern Amberwings chase after any flying insect that could be mistaken for another Eastern Amberwing (that’s heterospecific pursuit).Ěý They’ve been observed pursuing large horse flies and small skipper butterflies, but they ignore larger dragonflies.Ěý Researchers concluded that following a horsefly was simply a case of mistaken identity of a similar-sized insect, but there may be something about the skipper’s coloration that pushed the Eastern Amberwings’ buttons. Ěý

• The cost of doing businessĚý– Defending a territory is “expensive,” and the more “close neighbors” an Eastern Amberwing has, the costlier it is for him.ĚýHaving more neighbors results in more intrusions.ĚýMore intrusions mean more energy spent chasing intruders or simply darting around being territorial.ĚýExpensive? Yes, but non-territorial males rarely get to pass on their genetic material.Ěý

• Home field advantageĚý– Unlike those of some other Skimmers, Eastern Amberwing’s territorial disputes may escalate, but they are non-contact sports.ĚýIf the aggression does not build, the territory-holder tends to win, but if the conflict escalates, victory often goes to the younger Eastern Amberwing.ĚýMales who had fewer interactions overall tended to have more energy and win low-key conflicts. The territory-holder may win other face-offs because he psyches out the competition or because the intruder decides he doesn’t like the territory enough to fight for it.Ěý

• Spatial learningĚý– Dragonflies can remember the locations within their habitat where they find food, breed, and roost, and they know the routes between those places.ĚýA male will be more faithful to a territory where he has mated and less interested in a territory where he’s been beaten by a rival.

The BugLady

The post Eastern Amberwing Redux appeared first on Field Station.

Greetings, BugFans,

The BugLady has been scouring the landscape and aiming her camera at anything that will sit still (and some that won’t). And without going too overboard on dragonflies and damselflies, here are some of her bug adventures.  

Leafcutter Bee

Ah, the one that got away.  The BugLady saw a lump on a boardwalk in front of her and automatically aimed her camera at it (a long lens is a good substitute for a pair of binoculars). The lump – a leafcutter bee – flew off after one, out-of-focus shot. The bee had paused while she was cutting and collecting pieces of vegetation to line the tunnel and chambers where she’ll lay her eggs.   

Japanese Beetle

Lots of the vegetation that the BugLady sees these days is pockmarked with small holes — evidence of feeding by Japanese beetles. (Of course, she’s also been seeing conspicuous, beetle mĂ©nages a trois on the tops of those leaves, too.) Japanese beetles made their North American debut in New Jersey in 1916, and their menu now includes more than 350 plant species. But, they are a handsome beetle!   

Water Striders

They create art wherever they go.  

Appalachian Brown Butterfly (probably)

The part of the hindwing that has the squiggly line that helps distinguish the Eyed Brown from the Appalachian Brown is gone. Life in the wild isn’t all beer and skittles. The chunks missing from this butterfly’s wings suggest that a bird chased it and that most of the butterfly got away.

Powdered Dancer

In an episode a month ago, the BugLady lamented that the river was so high and fast that Powdered Dancers couldn’t find any aquatic vegetation to oviposit in.Ěý A dry spell revealed some weed patches, and the dancers hopped right onboard.Ěý

Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly

This male Eastern Pondhawk was hugging the cattail stalk, a posture that’s not characteristic of this usually-horizontal species. Turns out that it had captured a Violet/Variable Dancer damselfly and was holding it closely between its body and the cattail.  

Crab Spider

What would a summer summary be without one of the BugLady’s favorite spiders, the Crab spider? Where’s Waldo? Bonus points if you know the name of the plant.  

Honey Bee with Aphids

It’s not surprising to see yellowjackets browsing among herds of water lily aphids. Adult yellowjackets are (mostly) vegetarians, but they collect, masticate, and regurgitate small insects for their larvae. Honey bees are hard-core vegans, so what’s going on here?  

Aphids overeat — they have to. The plant sap they suck in has very low concentrations of sugars and proteins, so they need to process a lot of it in order to get enough calories. Sap comes out of the plant under pressure, which forces the sap through the aphid smartly, and the extra liquids (in the form of a sweet substance called honeydew), exit to the rear of the aphid (or it would explode). Honeydew drops onto the surrounding leaves and attracts other insects that harvest it. The bee is no threat to the aphids, she’s just collecting honeydew.  

Fun Fact: According to Master beekeeper Rusty Burlew, writing in her blog “Honey Bee Suite,” The bees treat the substance like nectar so it is often mixed together with the nectar from flowers. As such, it is not really noticeable in the finished honey. Honey made almost exclusively from honeydew is known as honeydew honey, forest honey, bug honey, flea honey, or tree honey. Sometimes it is named after its primary component, such as pine honey, fir honey, oak honey, etc. It is generally dark, strongly flavored, less acidic, and less sweet than floral honey.

Eastern Amberwing

At barely an inch long, this improbably-colored dragonfly is one of our flashiest. 

Mosquitoes

Mosquito Control 101: “Get rid of standing water in your yard!” Check. But, the BugLady has a bird bath (her “vintage” childhood saucer sled) that she washes out and refills at least once a week… or so she thought. She was surprised the other day to see a whole mess of mosquito “wigglers” (larvae) in the water.  Worse, they probably were the small-but-mighty Floodwater mosquitoes that can make August miserable because they emerge in Biblical numbers and because they seem to be biting with one end even before the other end has fully landed. They develop at warp speed — a week from egg to wiggler, and another week from wiggler to adult. Get rid of standing water in your yard. Check. 

Scorpionflies

These are odd-looking insects from a whole order of odd-looking insects (Mecoptera). This guy is in the Common scorpionfly family Panorpidae and in the genus Panorpa â€” a corruption of the Greek word for locust. The appendage at the end of the male’s abdomen explains its name, but these are harmless insects, fore and aft. One site mentioned they are wary and hard to photograph. Amen! 

Panorpa uses chewing mouthparts at the tip of its elongated rostrum/snout to eat dead and dying insects, and it may liberate insects from spider webs (and sometimes the spider, too). It is also said to eat some nectar and rotting fruits. 

He courts by releasing pheromones to attract her, quivering his wings when she comes near, and then offering a gift — a dead insect, or maybe some gelatinous goo manufactured in his salivary gland. He shares bodily fluids with her as she eats.

Carolina Locust

What a lovely, chunky little nymph!  

Autumn Meadowhawk

The dragonfly scene changes after mid-summer, with the early clubtails, emeralds, corporals, whitefaces, and skimmers being replaced by darners, saddlebags, and a handful of meadowhawk species. This newly-minted (teneral) Autumn Meadowhawk has just left its watery nursery on its way to becoming — for the next six weeks or so — a creature of the air.  

Katydid Nymph

The BugLady was photographing leafcutter bees that were visiting birdsfoot trefoil flowers. (Birdsfoot trefoil is a non-native member of the pea family that was introduced for animal fodder and erosion control and that can become invasive in grasslands. There’s probably some blooming along a road edge near you). She noticed that when the bees approached one particular flower, they reversed course and didn’t land, and when she checked, she found the tiniest katydid nymph she has ever seen. This one will grow up considerably to be a 1½” to 2” long Fork-tailed bush katydid… .  How do you find bush katydids? The “Listening to Insects” website advises us to “Watch for a leaf that moves on its own, or a leaf with antennae.” They are a favorite of Great golden digger wasps, which collect and cache them for their eventual larvae, and another website said “This is what bird food looks like.”&˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;&˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;

The BugLady found a recording of their call. They don’t say “Katy-did, Katy-didn’t” they say “tsp” or “pffft,” and they don’t say it very loudly. Bush Katydids are busiest at night, when their long, highly sensory antennae help them to find their way around. Although adult females are equipped with a wicked-looking ovipositor, they don’t sting, but they do nip if you handle them wrong. Memorably, it’s said.   

Go outside, look at bugs!

The BugLady

The post Summer Sights appeared first on Field Station.