Insect Observations

A pale planthopper resting like a folded tent Medog in August is a green wall of vegetation, and planthoppers are everywhere if you look closely. …

A shield bug in the monsoon forests of the eastern Himalaya In early August, the forests of Medog in Tibet were deep in monsoon season, …

A small mantis from the family of flower hunters Not every mantis is a giant. This one, found in Medog, Tibet, on 6 August 2024, …

A lumberjack of the night On a July night in Pittsburgh, a large brown beetle was clinging to the wall beside a porch light, looking …

An arrowhead-shaped spider at the center of her web Mid-July in Pittsburgh, and the woods were full of orb webs. Most of their owners scurried …

A meadow singer that carries an artist’s name On a mid-June day in Pittsburgh, I was walking a grassy trail when the air filled with …

A beetle that has spent generations pretending to be an ant On a June morning in Pittsburgh, this little beetle was walking across the surface …

A native mantis in a Florida summer Florida, 11 June 2024. A green mantis was doing what mantises do best: absolutely nothing, with total focus. …

A soldier beetle on a June afternoon Pittsburgh, 9 June 2024. I found this one on a warm early-summer afternoon, and it was in no …

A desert mantis that counts its molts On the last day of March, in San Diego, this mantis was already out and about, its pale …

The bess beetle that talks to its family December in Florida is mild, and the rotting logs on the forest floor are still warm with …

A lichen with legs On a lichen-covered tree trunk in Florida, the grey bark seemed to have grown a mantis. The grizzled mantis is a …