On the 12th day of Christmas, we found in our pear tree:
White-Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar and Adult Female
Rosie found this caterpillar crawling on the side off our house on August 23, 2017.
It’s a White-Marked Tussock Moth caterpillar, Orgyia leucostigma, one of the more colorful caterpillars we have around here.
So, on August 15, 2017, I was pushing my bicycle along the sidewalk in downtown Houghton when I spotted this moth resting on the sidewalk. It had iridescent green patches on the back of its wings,
and when viewed from a slightly different angle, they were distinctly less prominent.
August 28, 2017. The day the Earth Burst Open, and Ants Vomited Forth!
Of course, this happens every year in late August/early September. Back in 2013, they came out on September 6. I think these are in the genus Lasius, which are well-known for being fairly nondescript and spending most of their time underground until mating season rolls around.
Sam found this beetle larva crawling across our carpet on September 24, 2017.
This is most definitely a lady beetle larva. Most likely the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis, which judging from the BugGuide pictures has exactly this color scheme (along with that particular pattern of spiky growths on the abdomen).
On September 20, 2017, I was sitting on a bench in front of the Houghton County courthouse[1] waiting for Sandy to join me for lunch, when this rather brightly colored caterpillar came charging right for me across the sidewalk. The only camera I had handy was my cell phone, but like they say, “a cheap camera that you have with you beats an expensive camera at home sitting on the table”, so here we go. When I picked it up, it immediately curled up in the palm of my hand, giving a fairly good view of its sides:
Here’s a very unique wasp that I found on the sidewalk on campus on August 28, 2017. It was very thin, really long (about the same length as my forefinger), and very, very black.
Sorry about the quality of the pictures, but “jet black” is a remarkably difficult color to photograph (plus, I only had my “pocket camera”, which isn’t quite as capable as my big DSLR).
Rosie spotted this big sphinx moth on the wall of the local McDonalds on July 9, 2017. I didn’t have either of my dedicated cameras with me at the time, but for a moth this large (its body was nearly the length of my thumb), my phone camera was pretty sufficient.
Our lawn is heavily populated[1] by Yellow Hawkweed, Hieracium caespitosum, which has bright yellow flowers that bloom in June and July (these photos are from July 2, 2016).
I photographed these trees on July 30, 2016. They were growing alongside a small stream that cuts across the expanse of stamp-sand about two miles southwest of Eagle Harbor.
From a distance, they look like any one of several types of conifer trees, but closer up we can see that their needles grow in tufts that don’t look much like what you see in pine, spruce, or fir trees.