What’s Buzzin’

What can you see around Western Montana right now?

Lorquin’s Admiral (Limenitis lorquini)

These showy butterflies can be found from British Columbia south to Baja California and inland to Montana and Nevada. Like many butterfly species, there’s an incredible visual difference between the […]

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Salmonfly Cicada (Platypedia areolata)

It takes five years for these insects to complete their lifecycle, spending all but a few weeks of that time underground. Unlike the massive, all-at-once, emergence of “periodical” cicada species […]

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Hoary Comma (Polygonia gracilis)

The angular edges of the wings, combined with the bark-like appearance of the underside of the wings, allow these butterflies to practically disappear when they land on a tree. The […]

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Slender Crab Spider (Tibellus oblongus)

We believe this may be Tibellus oblongus, one of seven species of Tibellus in North America north of Mexico. Slender crab spiders are ambush hunters, almost always found lying in wait on stems, […]

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Rocky Mountain Parnassian (Parnassius smintheus)

Parnassians are part of the swallowtail family (Papilionidae), but don’t look like the typical bold, black and yellow or white-winged ones. They lack tails and are mostly white, with black and red markings. […]

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