Joseph Spencer

“Spy vs. Spy, Assassin #bug vs. Soldier bug" I didn’t see how one stealthy #predator caught the other, but the outcome was photogenic. Perhaps declining Autumn numbers of #caterpillars & other small prey make this inevitable? #Reduviidae #Podisus #Hemiptera

[Champaign Co., Ill. USA. 14 Oct 2025]

“Spy vs. Spy, Assassin #bug vs. Soldier bug" I didn’t see how one stealthy #predator caught the other, but the outcome was photogenic. Perhaps declining Autumn numbers of #caterpillars & other small prey make this inevitable? #Reduviidae #Podisus #Hemiptera

[Champaign Co., Ill. USA. 14 Oct 2025]

Big-eyed black bee with dark red legs, amber wings, white body stripes and other markings resting on a closed aster flower against a black background.

Big-eyed black bee with dark red legs, amber wings, white body stripes and other markings resting on a closed aster flower against a black background.

Big-eyed black bee with dark red legs, amber wings, white body stripes and other markings resting on a closed aster flower against a black background.

“Girl with kaleidoscope eyes” #Coelioxys sp. #Cuckoo #leafcutter #bees parasitize the nests of leafcutter bees by invading & laying their eggs inside that will kill the leafcutter larvae & then eat their store of nectar & pollen. This female was chilling on an aster in my garden.

Big-eyed black bee with dark red legs, amber wings, white body stripes and other markings resting on a closed aster flower against a black background.

Big-eyed black bee with dark red legs, amber wings, white body stripes and other markings resting on a closed aster flower against a black background.

Big-eyed black bee with dark red legs, amber wings, white body stripes and other markings resting on a closed aster flower against a black background.

“Girl with kaleidoscope eyes” #Coelioxys sp. #Cuckoo #leafcutter #bees parasitize the nests of leafcutter bees by invading & laying their eggs inside that will kill the leafcutter larvae & then eat their store of nectar & pollen. This female was chilling on an aster in my garden.

Green-blue colored stick insect with a red head resting horizontally on a piece of bark-less wood in a forest against a black background.

Red-headed beauty!
I found this walking #stick #insect (#Orthonecrosia sp.) on at the Jungle Girl Entomology Camp at Trus Madi, Malaysia on Borneo in March 2025. Borneo is amazing, an island of wonder & stick insects! There are currently about 400 described Borneo species of stick insects.

Green-blue colored stick insect with a red head resting horizontally on a piece of bark-less wood in a forest against a black background.

Red-headed beauty!
I found this walking #stick #insect (#Orthonecrosia sp.) on at the Jungle Girl Entomology Camp at Trus Madi, Malaysia on Borneo in March 2025. Borneo is amazing, an island of wonder & stick insects! There are currently about 400 described Borneo species of stick insects.

A large tan-colored, orb-weaving spider with red legs is struggling with a partially silk-wrapped wheel bug. They are dangling in a tattered web against a black background

A large tan-colored, orb-weaving spider with red legs is struggling with a partially silk-wrapped wheel bug. From this angle, the spider is almost completely eclipsed by the struggling wheel bug. They are dangling in a tattered web against a black background.

A large tan-colored, orb-weaving spider with red legs is struggling with a partially silk-wrapped wheel bug. They are dangling in a tattered web against a black background

“Who’s in charge now?” If asked, I’d affirm the wheel bug, #Arilus cristatus, as the top predator in my yard. A recent encounter w/ one of the many cross #orbweavers, #Neoscona crucifera, in my yard reminded me that the tables can, and do, turn. #Arachtober #spider #Reduviidae #Araneidae #arachnid

A large tan-colored, orb-weaving spider with red legs is struggling with a partially silk-wrapped wheel bug. They are dangling in a tattered web against a black background

A large tan-colored, orb-weaving spider with red legs is struggling with a partially silk-wrapped wheel bug. From this angle, the spider is almost completely eclipsed by the struggling wheel bug. They are dangling in a tattered web against a black background.

A large tan-colored, orb-weaving spider with red legs is struggling with a partially silk-wrapped wheel bug. They are dangling in a tattered web against a black background

“Who’s in charge now?” If asked, I’d affirm the wheel bug, #Arilus cristatus, as the top predator in my yard. A recent encounter w/ one of the many cross #orbweavers, #Neoscona crucifera, in my yard reminded me that the tables can, and do, turn. #Arachtober #spider #Reduviidae #Araneidae #arachnid

Brown inchworm caterpillar perched on a nearly vertical green leaf petiole against a black background. Three creamy orange parasitic wasp larvae, each approximately the size of the caterpillar's head, are attached to the caterpillar's back.

I've been following the "progress" of this little (<1 cm) #inchworm #caterpillar for a couple of days. It is wearing a trio of #ectoparasitic wasp larvae (in Family #Chalcididae). They're siphoning the caterpillar's blood & bodily fluids. It'll die soon & they will form pupae near the cadaver.

Brown inchworm caterpillar perched on a nearly vertical green leaf petiole against a black background. Three creamy orange parasitic wasp larvae, each approximately the size of the caterpillar's head, are attached to the caterpillar's back.

I've been following the "progress" of this little (<1 cm) #inchworm #caterpillar for a couple of days. It is wearing a trio of #ectoparasitic wasp larvae (in Family #Chalcididae). They're siphoning the caterpillar's blood & bodily fluids. It'll die soon & they will form pupae near the cadaver.

I see them with some frequency. Female release of sex pheromone to attract a mate may draw in >1 male. I suspect that if males arrive at about the same time, it may lead to a bit of confusion until one gets the upper hand.

The pops fluctuate tremendously between & w/ years. Besides availability of nectar sources @ any given location, I think the winds and weather, along w/ the presence/absence of any nearly competing nectar sources combine to make numbers rise or fall. Day #s seem low 'cause some are unseen in trees?

I have done that for a couple of years. I make a count of adults active in my flowers and yard during the day and then go out after dark to count the monarchs I can find roosting in my trees. I typically find more roosting adults than I saw active at any one time.

An amorous trio of two males and 1 female gray-colored wheel bugs with red antennae and beaks hang together off of the left side of a brown and dried purple coneflower against a black background.

Three’s a crowd! The wheel bugs (#Arilus cristatus) in my garden seem confused about how many individuals are needed to start a family. They worked it out about an hour after my photos and the “third wheel” hit the road. #Reduviidae #AssassinBug

[Champaign County, Illinois. USA. 19 September 2025]

An amorous trio of two males and 1 female gray-colored wheel bugs with red antennae and beaks hang together off of the left side of a brown and dried purple coneflower against a black background.

Three’s a crowd! The wheel bugs (#Arilus cristatus) in my garden seem confused about how many individuals are needed to start a family. They worked it out about an hour after my photos and the “third wheel” hit the road. #Reduviidae #AssassinBug

[Champaign County, Illinois. USA. 19 September 2025]

This afternoon, a group of #migrants on their way to Mexico stopped in my yard to grab a bite and rest. They are staying the night. I count 64 lodgers tonight. On Saturday evening, I had 142! #butterflies #monarchseason #monarch.

I returned home from work tonight to find a collection of #monarch butterfly wings within and beneath a blazing star plant next to my driveway. Then I noticed the culprit, a giant #Chinese #mantid! The mantid was caught for relocation...to a student insect collection! #invasive

Orange, white and black monarch butterfly is perched on the top of a taco-shaped, purple blazing star flower with a small alfalfa butterfly lurking over the edge below. Image is set against a field of green foliage and out of focus grass stems.

Days like today, when the yard is full of butterflies, remind me why I planted and tend my gardens of prairie plants.
[Champaign County, IL. 13 September 2025]

Though they were vastly out-numbered by #monarchs, painted lady #butterflies, were still showing off as they completed for opportunities to sample the floral delights offered up by the Liatris blossoms. #Colias.

Though they were vastly out-numbered by #monarchs, painted lady #butterflies, were still showing off as they completed for opportunities to sample the floral delights offered up by the Liatris blossoms. #Colias.

Orange, white and black monarch butterfly is perched on the top of a taco-shaped, purple blazing star flower with a small alfalfa butterfly lurking over the edge below. Image is set against a field of green foliage and out of focus grass stems.

Days like today, when the yard is full of butterflies, remind me why I planted and tend my gardens of prairie plants.
[Champaign County, IL. 13 September 2025]

I returned home from work tonight to find a collection of #monarch butterfly wings within and beneath a blazing star plant next to my driveway. Then I noticed the culprit, a giant #Chinese #mantid! The mantid was caught for relocation...to a student insect collection! #invasive

Tan-colored smooth caterpillar with a few bumps and dark specks gripped onto a vertical stem with its rear prolegs, extending out stick-like in a straight, rigid posture against a dark background.

"I'm an #inchworm caterpillar, but I identify as stick." When disturbed, some #Geometridae family #caterpillars will straighten out in a stick-like posture to avoid detection. It's an effective form of #crypsis even the color/texture doesn't match well.

[Champaign County, IL. USA. 5 September 2025]

Have you ever seen a #pelecinid #wasp? Well, you have now! Say "Hello" to #Pelecinus polyturator. Their larvae live as internal parasites of wood or ground dwelling scarab beetle larvae. Until 3 weeks ago, I'd only ever seen 1 individual. Since then, I've seen a dozen females.

That look! A #katydid leans in to ask, “I can’t hear you with all the tree-cricket racket, can you talk into my ear?” Conveniently, katydid #ears are located on their prothorasic legs, just below the "knee". Can you see them? #insect

A luminous green caterpillar with a spiky tail horn is covered with the cocoons of parasitic wasps that have fed internally before emerging and spilling a cocoon attached to their host's back. Openings near the tops of the cocoons reveal that the adult wasps have emerged.

A luminous green caterpillar with a spiky tail horn is covered with the cocoons of parasitic wasps that have fed internally before emerging and spilling a cocoon attached to their host's back. Openings near the tops of some cocoons reveal that the adult wasps have emerged. The caterpillar is hanging from the leaf of a paw paw tree.

A brown inchworm caterpillar grips a leaf with its rear legs while a silken thread supports the head as it hangs upside-down. Half-a-dozen parasitic wasp cocoons dangle from the back of the caterpillar.

A crane fly with banded brown/tan banded legs and a yellow abdomen dangles from the leaf of a forest plant. Pseudoscorpions are attached near a joint on one meso- and one metathorasic leg. They use the fly to harmlessly carry them over the landscape (this phenomenon is called Phoresy).

Hanging around or hanging on! A nightwalk revealed #insects exploited by other #arthropods. Doomed big & little Paw Paw #sphinx #caterpillars parasitized by #braconid wasps, an #inchworm bearing more #wasp #cocoons, & a crane fly #Über allowing 2 #pseudoscorpions to hitch a ride (called #phoresy)

Have you ever seen a #pelecinid #wasp? Well, you have now! Say "Hello" to #Pelecinus polyturator. Their larvae live as internal parasites of wood or ground dwelling scarab beetle larvae. Until 3 weeks ago, I'd only ever seen 1 individual. Since then, I've seen a dozen females.

That look! A #katydid leans in to ask, “I can’t hear you with all the tree-cricket racket, can you talk into my ear?” Conveniently, katydid #ears are located on their prothorasic legs, just below the "knee". Can you see them? #insect

A luminous green caterpillar with a spiky tail horn is covered with the cocoons of parasitic wasps that have fed internally before emerging and spilling a cocoon attached to their host's back. Openings near the tops of the cocoons reveal that the adult wasps have emerged.

A luminous green caterpillar with a spiky tail horn is covered with the cocoons of parasitic wasps that have fed internally before emerging and spilling a cocoon attached to their host's back. Openings near the tops of some cocoons reveal that the adult wasps have emerged. The caterpillar is hanging from the leaf of a paw paw tree.

A brown inchworm caterpillar grips a leaf with its rear legs while a silken thread supports the head as it hangs upside-down. Half-a-dozen parasitic wasp cocoons dangle from the back of the caterpillar.

A crane fly with banded brown/tan banded legs and a yellow abdomen dangles from the leaf of a forest plant. Pseudoscorpions are attached near a joint on one meso- and one metathorasic leg. They use the fly to harmlessly carry them over the landscape (this phenomenon is called Phoresy).

Hanging around or hanging on! A nightwalk revealed #insects exploited by other #arthropods. Doomed big & little Paw Paw #sphinx #caterpillars parasitized by #braconid wasps, an #inchworm bearing more #wasp #cocoons, & a crane fly #Über allowing 2 #pseudoscorpions to hitch a ride (called #phoresy)

Stout-bodied multicolored jumping spider with an abdominal constriction and elongate spinnerets that resemble the head and thorax of an ant or wasp. It rests on a green leaf surface marked with some silk this individual was spreading the surface.

Stout-bodied multicolored jumping spider staring up and to the left of the viewer exposing ruby-red chelicerae. This species has an abdominal constriction and elongate spinnerets that resemble the head and thorax of an ant or wasp. It rests near the edge of a green leaf surface.

Stout-bodied multicolored jumping spider with an abdominal constriction and elongate spinnerets that resemble the head and thorax of an ant or wasp. It rests on a green leaf surface next to a bright red leaf vein.

Singularly fantastic & uncommon #arachnid. #Orsima ichneumon, the kaleidoscope #ant #mimic #spider #Salticidae, is found in SE Asia. This female was shadowing an ant while patrolling a leaf @ Trus Madi Jungle Girl Entomology Camp. #Sabah #Borneo. It has fewer than 50 records at #iNaturalist