A large mayfly rests next to its freshly cast skin. Mayflies are the only insects that experience a subimago, or sub adult, life stage in…
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Also known as River Bugs, caddisflies periodically emerge en masse from the Fox River and its tributaries. Their larvae live underwater for up to a…
Hummingbirds! Part 2
Mother Nature makes it best: A ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) samples the nectar at a butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) also known as butterflyweed.
Hummingbirds!
Teasel
Two species of teasel occur in Illinois, Dipsacus fullonum and D. laciniatus, and both are equally invasive. The plants were bought to the United States…
Diurnal Fireflies
Not flashy but fascinating just the same, diurnal fireflies fly during the daytime and inhabit moist fields and woodlands throughout our area.
Fireflies
At night male fireflies take to the air while females watch from prominent posts, but during the daytime both sexes rest amid foliage.
Gray Catbird
Bobbi the Bee
‘Bobbi,’ an Andrena, or mining, bee took the long way home (another great road trip song!) the other day while out foraging for pollen and…
Two-eyed Click Beetle
Measuring up to 1 3/4 in. and marked with prominent ‘eyes,’ the eyed click beetle can be found in mature oak woodlands throughout our area.…