While it’s not officially fall yet, recent days have certainly been a stark reminder that it’s just around the corner. We may have some hot days in the immediate future, but soon our opportunities for buggin’ will be over for the year. Soak up these last couple weeks of summer while you still can!
Submit your bug pictures to bugid@missoulabutterflyhouse.org (and remember to include your name, the date, and the location where you took the photo)!
Header Photo: Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides). Judy Halm, August 10th, 2024. Rogers Pass, MT.
Strawberry Crown Moth
Synanthedon bibionipennis
This striking clearwing moth is found throughout the West from April to August. Clearwing moths belong to the family Sesiidae and share several similar characteristics, the most obvious being the lack of scales on their wings. Often, these moths mimic wasps and bees and exhibit bright yellow and black banding. Their larvae bore into the roots, stems, trunks, and branches of a variety of plants; the Strawberry Crown moth larvae prefer those in the rose family.
Rustin Bielski, August 23rd, 2024. Mission Valley, MT.
Small Wood Nymph
Cercyonis oetus
Unlike the common wood-nymph (Cercyonis pegala), who has two eyespots on the forewing about the same size (or lower eyespot might be slightly larger), the small’s lower eyespot is smaller than the upper one and closer to the wing edge. These butterflies range from British Columbia east to southern Saskatchewan and western North Dakota; south to eastern California, Nevada, central Arizona, and New Mexico. They are on the wing in dry chaparral, sagebrush, grasslands, scrub, open woodland, and meadows mainly from June to August, but as late as September in some areas.
Connie Geiger, August 10th, 2024. Rogers Pass, MT.
Field Crescent
Phyciodes pulchella
These small to medium-sized butterflies range across high elevations in the West, from central Alaska and the northern Yukon all the way to southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Their range abruptly ends at the eastward edge of the Rocky Mountains. In western Montana, adults are on the wing from June to August. They are widespread in the mountainous western half of the state, often found in alpine prairie, forested foothills, and mountain meadows. Caterpillars feed on various asters—adults nectar from an even wider variety of flowers.
Connie Geiger, August 10th, 2024. Rogers Pass, MT.
Knapweed Root Weevil
Cyphocleonus achates
This non-native weevil was introduced in the 1980s to help combat another exotic — spotted knapweed. Females lay their eggs on the top of the knapweed’s root crown. Once they hatch, the larvae burrow into the plant’s root, destroying the vascular root tissue and preventing it from transporting water and nutrients. Death of the plant can occur within two years. Research at Montana State University has shown a 99% reduction in knapweed density due to the introduction of knapweed root weevil. Go weevils!
Morgan McNeill, August 23rd, 2024. Lolo, MT.
Ponderous Borer
Trichocnemis spiculatus
Ponderous Borers can be found in forested areas of Douglas fir and ponderosa pine (their principle hosts) throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Females lay eggs in cracks of suitable logs or stumps from trees that have recently been felled or killed by fire. They do not attack live trees. The larval stage typically takes 3 to 5 years until pupation and the emergence of the adults that garner so much attention. And at up to 3.5 inches in length, that attention is well deserved. Interesting fact—the mature larvae have gnawing jaws that inspired the invention of the chainsaw.
Ronald Thomas, August 20th, 2024. Corvallis, MT.
Non-biting Midge
Chironomus sp.
Chironomids are a family of non-biting midges often mistaken for mosquitos for their superficial resemblance. As aquatic insects whose larvae develop in river or lake sediment, they are most abundant near bodies of water. They are important food sources for not only fish and amphibians but also birds and other terrestrial animals. Their larvae are referred to as “bloodworms” because, unlike most other insects, they have hemoglobin (like humans) and are often bright red as a result.
Rustin Bielski, August 23rd, 2024. Mission Valley, MT
Many Spotted Tiger Moth
Hypercompe permaculata
This moth takes the cake for most fashionable insect this week; there are several species of white tiger moth with black spots, but the many-spotted looks like it should be hosting America’s Next Top Model (or playing the villain in a certain Disney franchise). They range throughout the western United States (except the Pacific Northwest) and southwestern Canada, with adults taking wing from June to August.
Judy Halm, August 14th, 2024. Spokane Hills, Helena, MT.
Wavy-lined Emerald
Synchlora aerata
We sure do love a simple, descriptive name here at MBHI. This beautiful species of moth can be found from southern Canada to Georgia and Texas. The caterpillars feed on a wide variety of plants and are known to be “messy eaters”—they adorn their bodies with plant fragments, usually flower petals, to camouflage themselves while feeding.
Macie Krug, August 25th, 2024. Helena, MT
Bee Fly
Exoprosopa sp.
Bee flies are impeccable bee mimics and are essential pollinators in their own right. The adults are nectar and pollen feeders, visiting a wide variety of flowers throughout spring and summer. Their larvae, however, are hyperparasites, feeding on the larvae of other insect species, including other parasites. Their hosts include other flies, caterpillars, and parasitoid wasp larvae.
Connie Geiger, August 10th, 2024. Rogers Pass, MT.
Orange Sulpher
Colias eurytheme
Butterflies in the genus Colias are known as clouded yellows or “sulphers.” All members of this genus are migratory to some degree; some species move up and down in elevation in response to temperature and plant growth. Others undertake significantly longer migrations, traversing north to south across the United States in the fall along with many other migratory animals.
Connie Geiger, August 10th, 2024. Rogers Pass, MT
