Grapevine Beetle (Pelidnota punctata)
A golden scarab with an appetite for grapes On a warm July evening in Rhode Island, something polished and golden was sitting on a leaf …
North American Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)
The assassin bug with a cog on its back On June 18 in Pittsburgh, a large, grey insect was climbing a sunflower stem, and I …
Golden-backed Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus thoracicus)
A fly dipped in gold On a late-May morning in Pittsburgh, a tiny fly landed on a leaf in front of me and sat still, …
Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia)
A gecko on night watch On a January night in the Dominican Republic, I stepped out onto the porch and found a small gecko already …
Leptostylopsis perfasciatus
A banded longhorn on a Caribbean morning On January 4 in the Dominican Republic, a slender beetle was resting on a low branch, and the …
Lipsticktree (Bixa orellana)
A shrub that paints its own seeds red In early January, on a sunny day in the Dominican Republic, I stopped in front of a …
Tropical Fire Ant (Solenopsis geminata)
A colony that never asked for an invitation New Year’s Day in the Dominican Republic, and a trail of ants was streaming across the driveway …
Epaphrodita musarum
Bark that watches back New Year’s Eve in the Dominican Republic, and I was scanning a lichen-covered trunk when a patch of grey bark moved. …
Strategus oblongus
A horned heavyweight on a winter path On the last day of December I was walking a quiet path in the Dominican Republic when something …