Wasps Are Wonderful! Especially the Flower-visiting Kind

Photo of a Bramble Mason Wasp.

Over the past summer, I became fascinated by flower-visiting wasps, especially the solitary kind that build individual nests, either by burrowing into the ground or by fashioning small mud-nests that they attach to plants or artificial constructions. For one thing, these wasps are plentiful where I live in Toronto, Ontario. Throughout the summer and into … Read more

Like this post? Please share!

Caterpillars Are Cool! Especially those that turn into moths

Feature photo of a Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar.

To paraphrase Thoreau, I wish to speak a word for caterpillars, if only because so few defend or find them beautiful. Maybe their unpopularity, at least in North America, stems from the ravages of the LD Moth, Lymantia dispar (formerly known as the Gypsy Moth), whose larvae appear in their millions year after year to … Read more

Like this post? Please share!