June 22nd, 2007
like clockwork
Yes, indeed… just like clockwork. Yesterday, June 21, 2007, I found the first Brown Mantidfly (Climaciella brunnea) of the summer (click on image for larger view). Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile may remember that I posted about these little creatures exactly one year ago today, after finding the first mantidfly of 2006 on June 21st. Isn’t that interesting? Don’t you just love seeing phenology in action?
If you’re not familiar with the term, phenology is the study of the times of recurring natural phenomena. Phenology is one of the areas that I’ve focussed on through my photography since I began somewhat diligently recording insect sightings in 2003. After only five years of this form of record-keeping, I’ve found that insects are generally quite dependable — often putting in their first appearance of the season within a very narrow time frame. That’s good news for the birds and other creatures that depend on insects for food. It’s good for the plants that depend on insects for pollination. It may well be good news to the organic gardener who is thrilled to find mobs of predaceous baby stink bugs dining on other vegetable-eating insects. And then, of course, there’s the much larger issue of tracking climate change. Plant bloom dates, arrival dates of insects, appearance of migratory birds, and a host of other natural phenomena can tell us a lot about what’s happening with the climate.
Now, about those predaceous stink bugs! As you may recall, back on June 7th, I photographed a stink bug in the process of laying her spiny silver eggs on a goldenrod leaf. On June 18th, I returned to that site to find that most of the eggs had hatched out into small stink bug nymphs. Whenever possible, I like to follow a story through to its conclusion, but in this case, I struck out. Search as I might over the next couple days, I couldn’t find any of these little fellows on the surrounding plants. Perhaps they wandered off, or perhaps another predatory insect came along and had stink bug nymphs for breakfast. It’s an insect eat insect world out there, so I’m never too surprised by that outcome.
However, in a not-so-distant area, I did find a young predaceous stink bug — perhaps even of the same species – dining on a Sharpshooter type leaf hopper a couple of mornings ago. I thought some of you might like to see how, even at such a tender age, these young insects are formidable and efficient hunters. For the next few weeks, these little bugs will patrol the leaves of plants and trees, dining on anything they can capture and eat, gradually growing and changing in appearance until they reach their adult form. I’ll encounter many dozens of them before the summer is done. And by the way, here we are, launching into the beginning of summer. I’m looking forward to many wonderful weeks of insect watching and photography. For me, the game has just begun. What’s on your agenda for the coming season? Any particular projects, plans or journeys?
Tags: Brown Mantidfly, Climaciella brunnea, Pentatomidae, Stink Bug, phenology