Tag Archives: insect

Photo of the Week – September 3, 2015

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Recently, we’ve been seeing some very pretty sunrises and sunsets (and moon rises, for that matter) because of a thin veil of smoke in the sky from the western U.S. wildfires.  That diffused light makes pretty good opportunities for photos, and I’ve been trying to take advantage of those when I can.

Last Saturday, I drove to a nearby town to do some shopping, but took my camera along.  I ended up stopping briefly at a restored prairie on both the way there and back because the light was so nice – even at around noon – and the wind was barely blowing.  Here is a selection of photos from the day.

Sphinx moth. Deep Well Wildlife Management Area.

A sphinx moth feeds on nectar from a tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum). Thistles were abundant in this prairie, as were bumblebees, other bees, butterflies, moths, and many other insects feeding on pollen and nectar from them.  Deep Well Wildlife Management Area, near Phillips, Nebraska.

Rough white lettuce (Prenanthes aspera) Deep Well Wildlife Management Area.

Rough white lettuce (Prenanthes aspera).  This is not a common species in this area, so it was nice to see a healthy population growing in a cropfield-converted-to-prairie.  The site was restored by Prairie Plains Resource Institute and owned/managed by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

Katydid. Deep Well Wildlife Management Area.

This is a very attractive little katydid (a female because of the ovipositor – the egg-laying tube coming out the back).  However, I couldn’t ever manage to photograph an even more attractive katydid that was colored both bright green and purple.  Gorgeous, but skittish.

Indiangrass. Deep Well Wildlife Management Area.

Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) was reaching the tail end of its blooming period.   These anthers have lost their bright yellow color and will probably fall soon.

Butterflies. Deep Well Wildlife Management Area.

These eastern-tailed blue butterflies let me get close enough for a photo before flying off (still attached) to a more private location.

Damselfly on monarda. Deep Well Wildlife Management Area.

I had fun watching this damselfly but am still not sure what it was doing.  It was flying up to plants and bumping its “nose” against them repeatedly while moving up and down the stems.  I wonder if it was looking for insects to eat but I’ve never noticed this kind of behavior before.  It would bump plants for 15 or 20 seconds and then find a perch to sit on for a while before starting out again.

Rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium) Deep Well Wildlife Management Area.

Entire-leaf rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium) was done blooming and well into its senescence last weekend.  Summer must be nearly over…  That was quick.

Photo of the Week – August 13, 2015

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Nebraska has 108 species of grasshoppers.  They come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, and generally speaking, the further west you go in the state, the more species you can find.  While on a short trip to the Nebraska Sandhills last week, I was fortunate to see two of the most beautiful of Nebraska’s grasshopper species.

Lubber grasshopper. Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska.

Plains lubber grasshopper (Brachystola magna). Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska.

I saw several plains lubber grasshoppers (aka homesteaders) in the prairie.  These huge flightless grasshoppers are about the size of mice (more than two inches long, and very thick).  They feed primarily on wildflowers, including sunflowers and hoary vervain (Verbena stricta).  According to Grasshoppers of Nebraska, they are not crop pests but in years when their population soars, they can present a hazard to drivers because their bodies can make roads slick.  Think of that!

Lubber grasshopper. Cherry county ranch of Jim VanWinkle, Nebraska.

Here is a plains lubber on its favorite (according to some sources) food – an annual sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris).  Cherry County, Nebraska.

I also enjoyed the chance to see a painted grasshopper (Dactylotum bicolor), a species I first noticed last year on a trip to western Kansas.  This gorgeous creature might be the easiest grasshopper in Nebraska to identify – as far as I know, there isn’t anything else in the state that looks remotely like it.  Like the lubber, the painted grasshopper eats primarily wildflowers, particularly false boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides).  It likes habitat with lots of exposed soil, which is convenient for those of us trying to find and photograph them.

Painted grasshopper at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. Nebraska.

A painted grasshopper at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. Nebraska.  The colors and patterns on this species make it impossible to confuse with others.

Grasshoppers, and katydids, which look like grasshoppers but have much longer antennae, are a fascinating group of insects.  They have interesting and complex communication strategies and each species has its own set of dietary preferences – some are specialists on just a few plant species and others are generalists.  Only a very few are considered to be pest species, and most of those are simply native species that have adapted well to the abundant food humans provide in the form of monoculture row crops.

Perhaps most of all, the sheer abundance and biomass of grasshoppers make them ecologically important in grasslands.  If you collected all the grasshoppers from a prairie, their biomass would equal that of the bison or cattle in the same prairie.  As such, they are a major food source for many other species, including many birds, and major herbivores that influence plant communities in complex ways.

Grasshoppers are also very visually appealing if you take the time to look closely at them.  The plains lubber and painted grasshopper are particularly pretty, but every grasshopper species has its own beautiful combination of colors and patterns.  Go out and find your favorite today!