Photo by Christy Solo, Illinois Valley News This week’s crawly is a bird worth taking a road trip for. Meet the white-headed woodpecker (Dryobates albolarvatus).You don’t have to go on a road trip; they have been spotted in our area around Table Rock, Lost Creek Lake and over in Grants[Read More…]
Author: Christy Solo
Crawlies with Cri: Tule bluet damselfly
Tule bluet damselfly (Enallagma carunculatum) Many do not know what it’s like behind blue eyes, but this week we’ll try to get some insight into what’s behind the particular set on the tule bluet damselfly (Enallagma carunculatum).First: It’s pronounced “too-lay”.Bluets comprise the Genus Enallagma and unsurprisingly are called bluets because[Read More…]
Crawlies with Cri: Wooly bear caterpillar
Wooly bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia Isabella) This week’s crawly is wooly, but it is not a bear and it cannot predict the weather. Meet the wooly bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia Isabella). Before we learn about the moth the wooly bear morphs into, let’s talk about the weather.The popular folklore around wooly bears[Read More…]
Crawlies with Cri: Jagged ambush bug (Genus Phymata)
You may not have known it, but we’ve been waiting eight years to meet this week’s crawly. Meet the jagged ambush bug (Genus Phymata).I first saw a photo of one on Twitter around 2014 and have been searching for one ever since. They’re tricky to find for several reasons. First,[Read More…]
Crawlies with Cri – Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia)
Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) This week we are both revisiting our featured flitter and meeting them for the first time. How are we going to pull off that neat trick? Strap yourselves in! This is a fun one!Now, this week’s crawly is a buckeye butterfly; that hasn’t changed.The last time[Read More…]
Crawlies with Cri: Common blue mud-dauber (Chalybion californicum)
Common blue mud-dauber (Chalybion californicum) This week’s crawly is positively waptastic and she wants you to know, “Don’t panic” if you see her. Meet the common blue mud-dauber (Chalybion californicum).At three-quarters of an inch to one inch in size, common blues are good-sized wasps and their wicked cool metallic blue[Read More…]
Crawlies with Cri: Wide-belted dark bee (Stelis laticincta)
This week’s crawly reminds us once again that nature never runs out of ideas. Meet the wide-belted dark bee (Stelis laticincta). Yep. This bitty flitter is a bee, not a wasp.Even though this species of dark bee is brightly colored, at just under one-quarter of an inch, they are tricky[Read More…]
Crawlies with Cri: Ashy-gray lady beetle (Olla v-nigrum)
This week’s crawly reminds us to never judge a beetle by its cover. Meet the ashy-gray lady beetle (Olla v-nigrum).Our first fun fact – ashy-grays come in two forms: the pictured form which gives them their moniker and a black form which gives them their scientific name “nigrum” which means[Read More…]
Crawlies with Cri: Common Whitetail Dragonfly (Plathemis lydia)
This week’s crawly is big, bold and beautiful. Meet the common whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia).Whitetails are in the skimmer Family (Libellulidae). Skimmers earned their common name from the females who skim over the water to deposit eggs.The “whitetail” name comes from the males who, as you can see, do have[Read More…]
Crawlies with Cri: Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina)
Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina) This week’s crawly will really click into place with your summer memories. Meet the Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina).There are around 650 species of grasshoppers in North America. Despite that, it’s always easy to identify a Carolina hopper. Carolina hoppers are one of the largest grasshoppers around.[Read More…]
