Pretty, right? Surely no harm could come from such lovely looking butterflies…. Right? Wrong. So wrong. Looks can be very deceiving. These butterflies are definitely bad news in the garden.

Bane of my existence. Gross. Slimy. Indestructible. Insatiable. Strawberry destroyers.

I love this time of year. Yes, it’s hot. Yes, it’s humid. But, there are fresh berries!

Remember back when you were a kid and your parents were freaking out about the gypsy moths destroying all their trees? Ok, well the late 80’s early 90’s since most of you reading this probably aren’t the same age as me… Gypsy moths were really a big concern when I was young. My parents wrapped black tar like sticky bands around all our trees to keep the caterpillar from climbing up. My siblings and I were taught what the egg masses, caterpillars, and moths looked like so they could be killed if…

Last summer, to my utmost enjoyment, we discovered that we have window frogs 💕😍💕

Since I frequently get asked about ticks, here we go…

I love parsley. Usually I try to plant a few parsley plants every year, but generally it ends up being no more than a handful of plants. This year, I managed to overwinter one single mature plant and have a few additional tiny seedlings. Despite only having one properly sized plant that could even possibly support something eating it - she found it. The Black Swallowtail found it again.

I wish I could capture the absolutely amazingly beautiful lightshow I saw last night to share with you. Unfortunately, my cell phone camera just doesn’t do super well with night shots (despite the “night vision” setting). Hence, the mostly black looking image in the header…

We’ve all heard the saying “lets talk about the birds and the bees”, right? Normally I love to talk about the bees (some of my absolute favorite critters), but what about the butterflies? Don’t the butterflies get any loving? Well yes, according to the photo I managed to snap, apparently they do!

By now you’ve probably all heard the ‘buzz’ about it being the year of the Brood X 17-year periodical cicada, Magicada. At least for folks in many parts of the US. I live in southern Michigan and according to the historical maps that means I should just barely be in the range to see them. Hooray! So all year, I have been anxiously awaiting and anticipating the emergence of Brood X. And waiting. And enviously looking at photos and videos posted by my fellow entomologists in more eastern parts of…