I’ve mentioned how bird activity, singing and nesting ebbs as we head into the dog days of August. In fact, many of the songbirds are well on their way or soon to be on their way, south. The Lehigh Gap Nature Center began its hawk count at Bake Oven Knob on Aug. 15, knowing that some raptors, in particular, bald eagles and broad-winged hawks, will begin their migrations, too.
But insect activity doesn’t slow at this time of the year. In fact, crickets, katydids and grasshopper species have completed their nymphal stages and have become adults. Many butterfly species, especially the ever-popular monarch, are breaking free of their chrysalis and becoming adults.
Now is the time to hear katydids rasping away at night, annual cicadas buzzing during the day and for yellow jacket activity to peak.
If your backyard is quiet while relaxing after dark in your porch chair, the crickets chirping can lull you to sleep. Take a morning walk and you’ll probably find the huge webs of the yellow garden spider placed where it can snag the abundant summer insects.
Maybe this is the time of the year to “look small” and notice the invertebrates all around us.
I’m offering up a few photos of some of our late summer “bugs.” But note that all bugs are insects but not all insects are bugs. See if some of these are very familiar to you. Get out there in the next few weeks to catch migrating birds and the plethora of the little critters around us, too.
Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: One bird species that may be still nesting in our region as you read this column is: A. house wren; B. blue jay; C. mourning dove; D. great horned owl; E. red-tailed hawk.
Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Neither turkey nor black vultures are buzzards. In fact, buzzards are really a type of hawk found in Great Britain, Europe and Africa. The word buzzard became a common slang name incorrectly identifying vultures.
Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com
As summer progresses, dozens of butterfly species emerge from a chrysalis and begin searching for nectar. If you have a flower garden, look for one of the most common summer butterflies, the black swallowtail. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Those same flowers attract myriad bees, including the bumble bee. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Sometimes sitting among the flower heads, and especially among the late summer blooming goldenrod species, is a sneaky killer. The assassin bug waits in the flower head for unsuspecting insects, including bees. They grasp the prey and use the curved proboscis to impale and drink their fluids. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Maturing in late summer, the differentiated grasshopper female, bottom insect, can reach nearly 2 inches in size. I found these feasting in my parsley garden. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Not an insect you would have seen in August a decade ago is the spotted lanternfly. Fortunately, their emergence in our region seems to be less damaging than many biologists had anticipated. I’ve seen a drastic drop in their numbers in just the past two years. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Appearing in early August, the annual cicada, often called a locust, finds a perch, “buzzes away” for a minute or two, and then flies off to another. Listen carefully on warm summer days for their characteristic sounds. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Not as large as the monarch butterfly, but probably more common, is the clouded sulphur butterfly. Look for it in your flower beds or flitting about your garden. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
By late July, the Carolina grasshopper becomes an adult and grows its wings at the last nymphal molt. They prefer gravel driveways or disturbed ground with little vegetation. They’ll fly 30 or 40 feet, displaying bright wings and then alight again. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Watch out for this often unpleasant summer visitor! Who hasn’t picked up their soda or favorite beverage at a summer picnic and was nearly stung by the yellow jacket seeking out the sugars in the drink. They’ll all die as the freezing temps arrive, save for the queen, who overwinters to start a new colony the next spring. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Usually not as aggressive as the yellow jacket, the paper wasp nests under roof eaves or on the ceiling of your outdoor porch or deck. Each cell of the nest has held a developing wasp larva that eventually pupates and later emerges from the white capped cell as an adult. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Adding to the calming nighttime summer sounds is the field cricket. As they mature into the adult stage, male crickets rasp a “neat” song that he uses to help attract his mate. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
More common on your milkweed plants than our favorite monarch butterfly caterpillar is the milkweed tussock caterpillar. They too are poisonous from eating the milkweed, and obviously are not trying to hide in their hairy and gaudy covered bodies. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS