Back in the fall I began using a black light to attract insects in my back yard as detailed in this diary. I had grand plans of keeping a regular record of species seen but life kept getting in the way.
Last night I put the light and the sheet out for the first time in 2 months and saw a bunch of really cool critters which I describe below.
The most obvious insects were these June Beetles (genus Phyllophaga) which are familiar to almost everyone for their clumsy behavior and emergence in large numbers in late spring, or if you live in Florida, early spring. One is illustrated above the squiggle. They were crashing into me continuously as I was taking pictures.
June beetles are members of the large beetle family Scarabeidae. The 'Scarab Beetles' include some more 'exotic' (in the non-biological sense) beetles such as dung beetles, rhinoceros beetles, Hercules beetles,and the beautiful but 'pesky' flower beetles. One characteristic that they share are lammelate antennae. As you can see below, the final segments of the antennae are expanded and they can be spread out in a fan like fashion.
I was struck by three things as soon as I went out.
1) The large number of individual insects, more than in my October samples which quite frankly surprised me. Here is a photo of part of the sheet.
2) There was also a great diversity of species present. You should be able to see that from the photo above as well.
3) The types of insect present were different from the fall. In the fall the light attracted large numbers of moths, caddisflies, and small flies (midges) with a smattering of other insects as well. Last night was the night of the beetle with many different species in several different families. Caddisflies were also present in large numbers while moths and midges were present but not as abundant as in the fall. There were also small numbers of other insects as well.
This is a click beetle, family Elateridae. The name comes from a a defensive mechanism in which they flex their body causing a toothlike structure to produce an audible click. I didn't actually notice this guy at the time but cropped him out of a larger picture today.
This is a rove beetle, family Staphylinidae, one of the largest families of insects in North America. Like other beetles they have hardened, protective front wings called elytra. Unlike most beetles the elytra of rove beetles are extremely short. Most rove beetles are scavengers, often occurring around decaying organic matter. I'm sure our compost heap is generating most of the ones that end up on the sheet.
We'll see a few other beetle families in the group portraits below. Not everything is identifiable. I'm not sure what family this beetle is in. Probably another scarab but I'm not sure. Note the small insects on and next to it. We'll get back to those later.
Another really abundant group were the caddisflies, order Trichoptera. Here are three different species.
These insects have aquatic larvae that look like caterpillars and build cases to live in. The adults are moth-like but have very long antennae and the enlarged mouthparts you can see clearly on the one on the right. The two larger species to the right were both very common on the sheet.
The following pictures are cropped areas of the sheet with high diversity.
Above are eight species in close proximity. There are 2 caddisfly species diagonally across the center. Above them is a large midge or some sort (out of focus). Below are 4 different beetles and tiny wasp of some sort. The lower left beetle is probably a ground beetle, family Carabidae. These are a very diverse group of (mostly) black beetles usually found under objects. They are very common in eastern North America. On the upper right is a small rove beetle. I'm not sure of the family of the middle beetle but I'll work on it. The tiny box like object off to the lower right is a tiny beetle that is probably unidentifiable from this picture.
This picture has nine specimens of seven species. There are three caddisflies of two different species. There are two very blurry mosquitoes or midges that appear to be the same species. On the left is an orange parasitic wasp in either the family Ichneumonidae or Braconidae. These are large families that are very ecologically and economically important as they attack many insect species. In the middle is what is probably another ground beetle. In the lower left is a solider beetle, family Cantharidae, and a small rove beetle again on the left side.
This photo features a mere five species with a true bug (order Hemiptera, probably family Miridae) in the upper part, another caddis fly in the lower left next to a small rove beetle and an unknown beetle. Another ground beetle is on the right.
A number of other insects were also visible although in smaller numbers.
Asssasin Bug (family Reduviidae)
This is the broad-tipped conehead (Neoconocephalus trips), a type of katydid. It is the only member of its genus that is present as adults at this time of year and is probably responsible for the loud insect calling I have been hearing a night. Like a number of other katydids this one comes in different color morphs - both brown and green. Overwintering males are mostly brown which makes sense from a camouflage point of view. Note again the small insect on the katydid.
Black-winged Dahana, Dahana atripennis, a moth that is sort of wasp like
I believe this moth is a member of the family Arctiidae. It seems like it should have been easy to find but has eluded me so far. Nonetheless it is wild-looking.
A large ichneumonid wasp. Most parasitoid wasps are really small. This one, about the size of a paper wasp, is a giant.
Any interesting fly - not sure of the family. **Update: This is Pyrgota maculipennis in the family Pyrgotidae*
And to finish off - my two mysteries of the evening.
This amazing insect is a fly. The white structures behind the wings are halteres, the reduced second pair of wings that true flies (order Diptera) use as gyroscopes. It looks like a wasp and is about the size of a smallish paper wasp or yellow jacket. But clearly a fly (also has flylike antennae). I spent some time this AM trying to figure out what family it is in. Patterned wings like this are found in several fly families but I haven't been able to find pics the look like this yet. There were two of them up at the top of the sheet - they were very active.
*Update: This fly is Pyrgota undata in the same genus as the fly above. They are both parasitoids of June beetles.**
And finally, I noticed that many of the larger insects had small insects walking on them. This was particularly true of small June beetles. In many cases I'm sure the larger insects were just convenient perches. But in the case of the June beetles in particular the insects crawled active over them and acted as if they were searching.
Initially I though they were parasitoids looking to lay eggs on hosts. However the most common insect on the beetles was this.
A species of March fly (family Bibionidae) in the genus Dilophus. Essentially a miniature lovebug, which they closely resemble. These are not parasites and I am not sure what their interest in these beetles is. It is clearly not just random as you can see from this photo in which a beetle has 4 insects on it.