Danae Wolfe | Chasing Bugs

I’m in Ohio!

A firefly pupa with glowing lantern rests on a brown leaf.

Did you know that firefly glow as larvae and pupae? I found this shrimp-like pupa in my garden earlier this summer. 🍤

A closeup of a fuzzy yellow bumble bee tucked under the pink petals of a purple coneflower.

The cutest little bumble bee (I believe a Bombus perplexus) found respite from the afternoon sun under a coneflower in my pollinator garden. 🐝

#pollinator #bee

A closeup of a monarch butterfly resting on a green leaf in front of brick house.

First monarch of the summer!

Colorful poster showing the four distinct life stages of a firefly—egg, larva, pupa, adult—in a natural habitat with leaves, logs, trees, and tall vegetation.

It’s World Firefly Day! Everyone loves the glow. But #fireflies spend most of their lives underground, hidden in the damp soil and leaf litter, glowing softly where almost no one sees.

So what do fireflies need from us?
🌙 Darkness
🌱 Undisturbed soils
🍂 Leaf litter and logs
🚫 No chemicals
🕰 Time

Thousands of firefly flashes illuminate a darkened forest.

I need to photograph firefly larvae. What’s the best way to find them? Start digging through leaf litter in my yard?!

Thousands of small glowing fireflies light up a dark forest.

The light trails of glowing fireflies light up a dark forest.

Thousands of small glowing fireflies light up a dark forest above a reflective pool.

Thousands of small glowing fireflies light up a dark forest.

The synchronous fireflies are beginning their annual light show in the Great Smoky Mountains right about now. And like an insatiable thirst, my soul aches to be there.

Picture of Danae Wolfe

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Photo mosaic highlighting 12 colorful closeup photographs of a diversity of bees.

Today is World Bee Day.

There are around 20,000 species of bees in the world, yet honey bees gets most of the fanfare.

Here’s to the sweat bees, the leafcutter bees, the mason bees, the longhorn bees, the bumble bees, the carpenter bees, the squash bees, and all the rest of our unsung bee heroes!

Book cover with title of “Grass Isn’t Greener” held up in front of computer screen next to microphone.

IT’S PUBLICATION DAY!

Grass Isn’t Greener is officially out in the world! And I’ve been busy jumping from one interview to the next to promote the book. Between this week and next, I have nearly 20 media interviews and I couldn’t be more excited! 🥳

Yep—a mother oak treehopper with one of her nymphs. I photographed several colonies last year!

Smiling women with long brown hair holds up book titled “Grass Isn’t Greener.”

It’s officially the week of the release of Grass Isn’t Greener, and I had the pleasure of joining Ray Brown on this morning’s episode of @talkinbirdsradio.bsky.social to chat about the book. You can listen to the segment here: www.talkinbirds.com/archive

A mother oak treehopper rests face-to-face with her nymph on a tree branch.

Happy Mother’s Day to mothers of all sizes and sorts.

Hundreds of small glowing fireflies illuminate a dark forest.

May the forest be with you.

Closeup portrait of a fuzzy yellow and pink rosy maple moth against a black background.

Closeup dorsal view of a fuzzy yellow and pink rosy maple moth on a stick against a black background.

Side portrait showing the fuzzy yellow and pink body of rosy maple moth on a stick against a black background.

Side view of a fuzzy yellow and pink rosy maple moth against a black background.

To exist on the same planet as this creature is a privilege.

A small jumping spider sits amongst many bright green plant stems.

Hello, bright eyes. 🤩

A large tiger swallowtail butterfly visits hanging clusters of white flowers against a green background.

A chunky green caterpillar rests on a silken web spun across a folded green leaf.

A small white jumping spider with beady black eyes sits on a green leaf.

A blue, red, and yellow leafhopper stands on a pale green leaf.

It’s easy to feel the weight of lost protections and broken promises. But stewardship was never theirs to give or take.

Small acts still matter—in the patches we rewild, in the pollinators we protect, in the native seeds we sow, and in the wild things we tend. Hope still matters.

Happy Earth Day.

What is it good for? Absolutely one thing. Luna moths use their tails solely for bat evasion In a pair of complementary studies, researchers take a close look at Luna moth (Actias luna) tails through the eyes of birds and female moths to test their role in predation and sexual selection. Scie...

Using their antennae, males can detect the pheromones emitted by females from up to 6 miles away! www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/what...

Close-up portrait of a male luna moth with large feathery antennae against a black background.

Peek-a-boo!

This male luna moth’s large, feathery antennae aren’t just for show. They’re finely tuned instruments designed to pick up the faintest scent of a female from miles away (think of them as nature’s GPS). Also, when are we going to get a moth emoji? And a firefly!?

And now, my favorite Easter tradition.

A laptop displaying a PowerPoint presentation title slide with the title “The Everyday Conservationist” and a photo of a gray tree frog next to a book entitled Grass Isn’t Greener.

And so begins a busy season of book promotions. I have 13 upcoming radio, TV, and podcast interviews and around a dozen different talks scheduled in the coming months. I’m also working on a second book proposal for a bug book, which I’m incredibly excited about. Busy as a bee! 🐝

Black and white image of a goofy raccoon captured on a bird feeder camera at night.

When you expect your bird feeder camera to capture birds but captures this instead…

A white cottony egg sac on a tree branch.

Two small brown treehopper nymphs with spikes along their backs rest on a green plant stem against a blue background.

A newly eclosed two-marked treehopper rests beside its shed exuvia on a pink leaf. The treehopper is white and light pink with two pale yellow marks along its backside.

Two adult two-marked treehoppers with large horned pronota rest on a purple plant stem against a blue background. The treehoppers are black with two pale yellow marks along their backsides.

The humble lifecycle of a two-marked treehopper. I love finding these among the leaves of my redbuds each spring.

Dorsal view of a male io moth with wings spread and eye spots visible.

Who you looking at?

Io moths are one of my favorite moths (then again, I’ve never met a giant silk moth that I didn’t love).

The diversity of insects and spiders in this world is astounding. 😍

Mostly Ohio!

Small green sawfly larvae chew holes in a green leaf. Nearby, a group of translucent sawfly eggs get ready to hatch.

So much happening in this photo. Newly hatched sawfly larvae make quick work of skeletonizing a leaf. Nearby, a group of sawfly eggs are nearly bursting with larvae ready to emerge.

Close up portrait of male Luna moth with large, yellow feathery antennae.

You got mud on your face, big disgrace…

Just kidding, you’re perfect in every way.

Two green sawfly larvae with black heads raise their backsides in the air while nibbling a green leaf against a blue backdrop.

Bottoms up!

These two sawfly larvae are enjoying an afternoon snack.

Twelve colorful bookmarks with insect and spider imagery laid out on a wooden table.

I designed a series of colorful buggy bookmarks to distribute at author events in the coming months for the release of Grass Isn’t Greener. I can’t wait to hand these out! 🐛🦋🐝🐞