Bugs

Insects at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge

June 17, 2010 by Corey 1 Comment

The Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge actually spans two states, New York and New Jersey, and has a host of species that call it home.  When Seth, Stella, and I visited on Sunday, flush from finding the birds we had been seeking, the sun had finally come out and it was late in the day for many birds to be active.  So we did what birders do when faced with the absence of our feathered foils; we switched off to searching for the six-legged set, insects.  And insects we found, insects in numbers, insects for which that we, poor birders, had no names.  But, fortunately, we birders do have field guides and friends who know bugs better than we and, eventually, these species got identified, if in some cases only down to the genus level.  Thanks to Steve for the help with the dragonfly, damselfly, and moth.

Enjoy the insects and feel free to correct any mistakes that have been made in identification, which are, of course, all mine.  Even if others provided me with names I must take responsibility for choosing who to listen to.

European Skipper Thymelicus lineola

firefly sp., probably from the genus Photuris but possibly from Photinus

Pearly Wood Nymph Eudryas unio

female Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis

Red Milkweed Beetle Tetraopes tetraopthalmus

Ailanthus Webworm Moth Atteva punctella

a stinkbug from the genus Euschistus

Slender Spreadwing Lestes rectangularis

Bugs are great when birds are scarce!  Have you identified a six-legged creature today?

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.