October is a strange month. Everything about it reeks of Hallowe'en or pumpkin flavoring or the last dregs of summer slowly fading into the bright fall colors and fresh breezes that we all wait for in the waning month of August. But there is something else just as noticeable as fall arrives and settles in and those are the abundant insects and other invertebrates that seem more visible than ever.
While they are not a group that many are willing to actively look out for, they certainly are common enough to warrant a second look. This is the time of year when the crickets are in full song and the fuzziest caterpillars are migrating over the lawns and fields looking for a safe place to hole up for the winter months. It is also the time for the last butterflies flitting through the sunshine and for spiders to build their webs in wide open spaces to capture their abundant and unsuspecting prey.
It has been over the past few weeks that several new and familiar invertebrates have caught my eye and have allowed me a view into their little worlds. I hope to share a little about what I've found and what I've managed to learn about them.
We start with the smallest creatures that twitch and wiggle when disturbed on a beech branch. These funny-looking insects resemble the invasive Woolly Adelgid (
Adelges tsugae) that has wreaked havoc on the hemlock forests of North America and worried my colleagues and I when we first found them on the property. Fortunately, we eventually learned that they were called Beech Blight Aphids (
Grylloprociphilus imbricator), a member of the true bug or
Hemiptera family and feed on the sap of American Beech (
Fagus grandifolia). While they have the potential to cause some damage, they can usually be removed by spraying affected branches with water or aphid insecticides. Since beech trees don't offer me much in the way of resources (other than watching squirrels scamper up and down whilst arguing with each other), I'm happy to point them out to people whenever we're outside rather than try to eradicate them.
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| Beech Blight Aphids |
While those bugs might wiggle and jive, there are some that are slow and methodical in their movements. The many caterpillars seen at this time of year fall into two categories: fuzzy and "fluffy". The fuzzy ones are usually tussock moth caterpillars which are identified by their tufts of poisonous pubescence that cover their entire bodies. The familiar "fluffy" (by Gabriel Iglesias' standards) ones are usually found on rotting tomato plants as the growing season for warm weather crops comes to an end. These include the gardener's nemesis that is the Tomato Hornworm (
Manduca quinquemaculata), the Giant Leopard Moth (
Hypercompe scribonia), and the Polyphemus Moth (
Antheraea polyphemus). While the hornworms are almost exclusive to tomato plants, the other two can be found almost anywhere at this time of year but are noticed most often on trails, garden paths, and driveways. If you encounter one (especially the poisonous fuzzy ones), gently guide them out of the way of the heavier traffic areas and into the nearby brush. While their poison isn't necessarily dangerous, it can cause a severe skin reaction to those with sensitive skin and even numbness for several hours or days afterwards.
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| Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillar (Halysidota harrisii) |
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| Datana spp.? |
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| Polyphemus Moth caterpillar |
The last two species are from two completely different families but are the main insects I think of in the fall. They are they Common True Katydid (
Pterophylla camellifolia) and meadowhawk dragonflies (
Sympetrum spp.). Down here in Pennsylvania, the katydids have been hanging on for quite a while and are usually singing every single night during the warm weather. As the month wears on though, it will be interesting to see for how long, but for now their maraca-like song grinds away the evening hours. Their song gives the insect its name and is an old moral tale about telling the truth and the consequences of not doing so. As Kay Fairweather tells it in her book,
Who's Who in the Natural World, "...a girl called Katy told a lie. When caught, she refused to admit the lie and was struck dead. The bugs now commemorate her sin by debating whether she did or didn't do the deed."
The one we found was lurking near the turkey's enclosure when we had a group in this week. The kids call them "leafbugs" and are quite adamant that they were called that. To be fair, they are shaped like a leaf and as a result are difficult, if not impossible to spot while they are calling in the trees above. It's only when they are knocked to the ground after stormy weather or due to their haphazard way of flying (the main consequence of looking like a leaf is that, for the most part, you fly like one), do people get to see these interesting looking insects up close.
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| "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch me soar." |
And finally if you've visited any ponds or marshes in the past few weeks, you will have seen the meadowhawks darting over and through the long rushes and sparkling blue water. Easily recognized by their bright red bodies, warm glowing wings, and darting flight, they might not be as impressive as the skimmers or as massive as the Green Darners (
Anax junius), but their simple design and presence on a sunny day in the fall is a joy to behold. When I went home to Massachusetts for my anniversary with Alison (6 years!), we visited Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge and were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes interacting with a pair of meadowhawks. As you can see below, they took a shine to the notebook I was using to list the birds we were seeing. In moments like these, we are often told to treasure these meaningful interactions with the wild around us, and we are right to do so. While our connections with these individual creatures are often brief, the time we spend with them shows us not only the variety of life we share the planet with, but also how close we often are to creatures we rarely give a second thought to.
This is especially true of insects which cause people to have a wide range of reactions towards them. While the most active is often open disgust, the passive element of ignorance often plays just as big a role. One doesn't need to be loving or even liking of all of insects to learn more about them. Learning a little more about one particular creature might open up new opportunities to learn about other insects and arthropods. Or in the case of wolf spiders, give you nightmares, but I digress. Get out there and find some bugs today! Whether you're a beginner and just wading in or are a seasoned bug catcher and are raring for more, there is certainly plenty to go around.
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