Top Photo: European hornet inspects bark of tree where hive is located. While you’re walking along the paths of our outdoor loop through the Dinosaur Trail, Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind keep an eye out for large yellow, black and brown wasps, European hornets. The wasps are large and intimidating but are considered non-aggressive. I agree. They’re social wasps. Here at the museum, all of the nests, or hives, of these vespids that I’ve seen were in aRead more
Posts tagged: #stink bug
Late Season Insect
Top Photo: Common green stink bug. I came across a green stink bug while walking on a service road here at the museum. Though it’s November, the temps were in the mid 70s, twenty degrees warmer than it is today. The insect was making its way up two bundles of loblolly pine needles which had fallen and lodged themselves on a small bare vine. There are at least two green stink bugs you can encounter here on the Carolina Piedmont,Read more
A Question Mark, a Comma, and a Question of Origin
Over the past few weeks I’ve seen several species of butterfly winging through the outdoor exhibits. Two of those species are very similar in appearance and both, if you’re hearing them for the first time, have rather odd names, Question Mark and Eastern Comma. Even their Latin names reflect the strangeness of the common names, Polygonia interrogationis and Polygonia comma respectively. How did these butterflies get the names Question Mark and Comma? The underside of the hindwing tells the story.Read more