Backyard Bugs. Jaret C. Daniels
lights are a magnet for nocturnal insects. They are drawn in from the darkness and often linger until dawn near the light. Scientists aren’t exactly sure why bugs are attracted to artificial lights. It may be that the light interferes with their natural navigational cues. It may also be due to the wavelengths that a particular light emits, as we know insects are more attracted to ultraviolet (UV) and short wavelength colors. Regardless, artificial lights are a sure-fire way to draw in bugs and an excellent place to start exploring.
What You’ll Find
While lights attract a wide array of critters, what you’ll find—and how many will show up—depends on many factors, including the time of year, the ambient temperature, the type of light, and your location. In general, insects are more active on warmer nights. Lights that produce ultraviolet light (often known as black lights) are more attractive and are widely used by entomologists. What you’ll find also changes by season; nearby habitat and competing light sources matter too. As a rule, if your light’s the only one, you’ll attract more insects than if there is competition.
Attracting Insects With a Light
On a good night, a productive light can attract a huge number and variety of organisms. Even from a distance you can spot larger insects circling about or perched on an adjacent structure or wall. Moths are often the most numerous and obvious. They range greatly in size, from giant silkworm moths, such as the Luna Moth or Cecropia Moth, to very tiny micromoths, which deserve a much closer look. A great many beetles are also regularly attracted to light, including the common early season May or June beetles. Katydids, giant water bugs, roaches, green lacewings, dobsonflies, and antlions may be regular visitors too. If you are close to water, mayflies can be tremendously abundant at times, along with stoneflies and caddisflies. Beyond insects, lights often also attract some predators. Spiders often build webs near light sources to take full advantage of the abundant and easily accessible prey.
Observing the organisms that are attracted to artificial lights around your home is a good way to quickly learn about the wide variety of bugs near you. It will give you a quick snapshot of the usual suspects you can expect to regularly encounter. You can also set up black lights to more purposefully attract these nocturnal critters. In either case, regular observation at artificial lights is a fun and easy way to get to know your local insect community.
In or Near Water
Many insects live in or around bodies of water for some portion of their life cycle. Streams, ponds, rivers, and even lakes can provide ideal habitat and access to a wealth of food resources. However, surviving in aquatic environments requires many special adaptations to enable insects to breath, move, avoid predators, and find food. These differences make exploring the insect world around or in water all the more exciting.
Looking for Insects in Water
As you approach a stream or pond, move slowly and carefully watch for movement around the edges of the water and nearby vegetation. Dragonflies and damselflies are common and conspicuous inhabitants of this realm. They fly around the habitat, often scurrying low over the water to lay eggs, hunt for small flying insects, or perch on adjacent or emergent vegetation. Pause briefly near the water and watch the circus of activity. It can be quite amazing! Next, scan the surface of the water for motion. You may encounter clusters of whirligig beetles racing quickly in chaotic circles or water striders darting abruptly forward, as if they were literally walking on the water. Then look below the water surface. Here, you may see backswimmers submerged upside down, wriggling mosquito larvae, or diving beetles moving up and down in the water column. In shallow water or around pond margins you may also see dragonfly or damselfly niads on submerged vegetation or on the silty bottom. A small aquatic or aquarium net can be used to explore this word in greater detail. In many ways, this aquatic environment is truly a hidden world of excitement and discovery.
Beware of Bites and Stings
Many of the organisms described in this book can bite, sting, or pinch. They can often cause temporary pain, redness, itching, or minor swelling, and these injuries usually heal on their own. With that said, if you’re allergic to a specific kind of insect bite or sting—bees, wasps, and ants are among the most common culprits—a bite or a sting can lead to severe reactions, which can have life-threatening symptoms and require emergency treatment. If you know you’re allergic, or someone in your family is, don’t closely approach, molest, or handle insects, and always be aware of your surroundings. Use caution when turning over logs or other objects, or when reaching into cavities or crevices, and wear gloves if you plan on doing so. Of course, children should always be under adult supervision.
Lastly, be very careful when walking near bodies of water. Rocks, branches, logs, or muddy banks can be slippery and dangerous. Adult supervision is always recommended. Remember: a safe experience is a fun experience.
At Lights
True Bugs (Order Hemiptera)
Giant Water Bug
Size:1.75–2.25 inches long
ID Tips: Very large, dull brown wings overlap to form a distinctive X-like pattern on the back; forward-facing, pincher-like front legs
Range: Throughout the United States
With adults reaching nearly 4 inches in length, the giant water bug is the largest true bug in the United States and Canada. They are predatory, aquatic insects commonly found in ponds, slow-moving streams, and other freshwater wetlands with submerged vegetation. Hunting by ambush, a giant water bug sits motionless on plants just below the water surface and grabs passing aquatic organisms with its powerful front legs. It holds the prey firmly and pierces the victim with its sharp beak. It then injects enzymes that dissolve the body tissues and sucks up the resulting liquid meal. While they spend most of their lives in water, adults can fly and may move from one wetland to another in search of mates. During this time, they are frequently attracted to artificial lights at night. Be careful, though: Giant water bugs can give you a painful bite if handled.
Believe It or Not: Adults catch and eat insects, snails, tadpoles, small fish, and even frogs.
Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies (Megaloptera)
Eastern Dobsonfly
Size:4.0–5.5 inches long
ID Tips: Very large, brown body with membrane-like gray-brown wings; males have huge jaws
Range: From the Rocky Mountains east
Almost prehistoric in appearance, the eastern dobsonfly is a ferocious-looking insect. The enormous adults approach 6 inches in length and have large, membranous wings. Nonetheless, they are relatively weak fliers and appear somewhat clumsy in the air. Males have long, curved mandibles that are about one-third the length of their body. Despite their monstrous form, they are completely harmless. By contract, females have relatively small but powerful mandibles and are capable of delivering a painful bite and even drawing blood. If disturbed, they assume a defensive posture by raising their head and flexing their mandibles, ready to fight off any attacker. Most active at night, the adults are readily attracted to artificial lights. Their predatory larvae are aquatic, living in fast-moving rocky streams where they prey on other insects. Good environmental indicators, eastern dobsonflies require clean water to thrive and are sensitive to pollution.
Believe