The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs Discover Amazing Butterflies, Moths, Spiders, Dragonflies, and Other Insects!

137 Pages·2011·222.35 MB·English

by  Judy Burris

SECRET LIVES
THE OF
BACKYARD BUGS

THE
SECRET LIVES OF
B A C KYA R D

Bugs
discover amazing butterflies, moths,
spiders, dragonflies, and other insects!
Judy Burris and Wayne Richards
ß
Storey Publishing
The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.
Edited by Claire Golding, Sarah Guare, and Gwen Steege
Art direction by Mary Winkelman Velgos
Book design and text production by Tracy Sunrize Johnson
Cover and interior photography by © Judy Burris and Wayne & Christina Richards,
except for © Blue Moon Stock/Alamy: 60 top; © Cathy Keifer/Dreamstime.com:
80 bottom inset; © Edith Smith: 82 top and 83 bottom; © Hazel Proudlove/
iStockphoto.com: 119 top; © John Yuschock/Dreamstime.com:
19 bottom, 116 second row left; © Michael Quinton/Minden
Pictures: 3 top left; © Robert Schantz/ Alamy: 72 top;
© Scott Camazine/Alamy: 102 2nd row right;
© Stephen Bonk/iStockphoto.com: 121 top
Prepress by Hartley Batchelder
Illustrations by © David Wysotski/Allure
Indexed by Christine R. Lindemer, Boston Road
Communications
Expert review by Chris Eaton, Mass Audobon
Review of plants by Barbara Ellis
© 2011 by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission
from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce
illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means —
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without written permis-
sion from the publisher.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.
All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey
Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use
of this information.
Storey books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for cus-
tomized editions. For further information, please call 1-800-793-9396.
Storey Publishing
210 MASS MoCA Way
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Printed in the United States by Versa Press
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Burris, Judy, 1967–
The secret lives of backyard bugs / by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-563-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-60342-985-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Insects—Behavior—Pictorial works. 2. Backyard gardens—Pictorial works.
I. Richards, Wayne, 1970- II. Title.
QL496.B88 2011
595.7175'54—dc22
2010051177
We dedicate this book
to gardeners, backyard explorers,
and nature lovers everywhere.
v
CONTENTS
viii Preface
1 Part One: Introduction
(cid:19)(cid:31)(cid:27)(cid:45)(cid:41)(cid:40)(cid:27)(cid:38)(cid:343)(cid:3)(cid:51)(cid:29)(cid:38)(cid:31)(cid:45)(cid:343)(cid:266)(cid:343)(cid:16)(cid:38)(cid:27)(cid:40)(cid:46)(cid:343)(cid:12)(cid:35)(cid:32)(cid:31)(cid:343)(cid:3)(cid:51)(cid:29)(cid:38)(cid:31)(cid:45)(cid:343)(cid:266)(cid:343)(cid:19)(cid:41)(cid:35)(cid:38)(cid:343)(cid:12)(cid:35)(cid:32)(cid:31)(cid:343)(cid:3)(cid:51)(cid:29)(cid:38)(cid:31)(cid:45)(cid:343)(cid:266)(cid:343)(cid:12)(cid:35)(cid:32)(cid:31)(cid:343)(cid:3)(cid:51)(cid:29)(cid:38)(cid:31)(cid:45)(cid:343)(cid:41)(cid:32)(cid:343)(cid:9)(cid:40)(cid:45)(cid:31)(cid:29)(cid:46)(cid:45)(cid:343)(cid:27)(cid:40)(cid:30)(cid:343)(cid:19)(cid:42)(cid:35)(cid:30)(cid:31)(cid:44)(cid:45)
11 Part Two: The Secret Lives of insects and spiders
14 Lightning Bug
16 Ladybug
18 Clavate Tortoise Beetle
19 False Potato Beetle
20 Dragonflies
22 Damselflies
24 Green Lacewing
26 HoverFlies
28 Stick Insects
30 Chinese Mantid
32 Wasps
34 Bees
36 Ants
38 Grasshoppers
40 Katydids
42 Crickets
44 Cicadas
46 Aphids
47 Spittlebug
48 Stink Bug
50 Leafhoppers
54 American Copper
vi
56 American Snout
58 Baltimore Checkerspot
60 Cloudless Sulphur
62 Eastern Black Swallowtail
64 Hackberry Emperor
66 Monarch
68 Mourning Cloak
70 Silver-spotted Skipper
72 Spring Azure
74 Tiger Swallowtail
76 Wild Indigo Duskywing
80 Cecropia Moth
82 Imperial Moth
84 Io Moth
86 Luna Moth
88 Polyphemus Moth
90 Promethea Moth
92 Royal Walnut Moth
94 Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth
96 Isabella Tiger Moth
98 Tobacco Hornworm Moth
100 Giant Leopard Moth
108 Black Widow
110 Easy Comparison Guides
119 Our Top Host and Nectar Plants
124 Glossary
126 Index
vii
PREFACE
This book is an accumulation of many years of exploration and research. In our
first book, (cid:20)(cid:34)(cid:31)(cid:343)(cid:12)(cid:35)(cid:32)(cid:31)(cid:343)(cid:3)(cid:51)(cid:29)(cid:38)(cid:31)(cid:45)(cid:343)(cid:41)(cid:32)(cid:343)(cid:2)(cid:47)(cid:46)(cid:46)(cid:31)(cid:44)(cid:243)(cid:35)(cid:31)(cid:45) (Storey, 2006), we showcased the mirac-
ulous metamorphosis of plump and homely caterpillars into graceful winged
beauties. A welcome and unexpected result of studying butterflies was the dis-
covery of the interesting lives of other creatures near us.
We are a sister-and-brother author/photographer team, and Wayne’s wife,
Christina, also a nature photographer, regularly shares her work with us. We’re
the kind of people who like to get our hands dirty: we flip over moss-covered
rocks to find squirmy things to photograph; we climb trees to retrieve interest-
ing caterpillars to raise at home; we lie in the damp grass, risking the blood-
thirsty attacks of chiggers, to get a bug’s-eye view of a particularly lovely spring
flower. In essence, we’re kids who never grew up.
We hope this book will inspire nature lovers of all ages and levels of exper-
tise. About 90 percent of the photos were taken in a backyard garden in north-
ern Kentucky only one-eighth of an acre in size. Digital cameras with macro
lenses enable us to bring the smallest, most magical details to life. So, after
you’ve read about our assorted adventures as gardeners, photographers, and
crazy critter caretakers, it’s your turn. With the exception of the lightning bug,
all of the bugs in this book can be found throughout the United States and parts
of Canada and Mexico. Explore your backyard, gardens, and local parks and see
what you can find. Take your camera, journal, family, and friends with you, and
find out what’s just waiting to be discovered.
(cid:10)(cid:47)(cid:30)(cid:51)(cid:343)(cid:2)(cid:47)(cid:44)(cid:44)(cid:35)(cid:45)(cid:261)(cid:343)(cid:23)(cid:27)(cid:51)(cid:40)(cid:31)(cid:343)(cid:18)(cid:35)(cid:29)(cid:34)(cid:27)(cid:44)(cid:30)(cid:45)(cid:343)(cid:267)(cid:343)(cid:3)(cid:34)(cid:44)(cid:35)(cid:45)(cid:46)(cid:35)(cid:40)(cid:27)(cid:343)(cid:18)(cid:35)(cid:29)(cid:34)(cid:27)(cid:44)(cid:30)(cid:45)
Throughout this book, we have recommended a wide variety of plants that attract, feed, and shelter the fea-
tured bugs. Most are native species. Nonnative species that may be invasive are marked with an asterisk (*).
Invasives vary from region to region. Please consult your local extension service, botanical garden, nursery,
or conservation organization for a list of plants that may be invasive in your area. Also ask for a list of native
plants that are suitable for your area.
viii
INTRODUCTION
Every living thing progresses through a series of developmental stages, or life
cycles, as it grows and matures. Plants begin as seeds, mushrooms as spores,
insects and animals as eggs. It’s easy to overlook these tiny first stages of life unless
you know what time of year to look, where and how to search, and what to look for.
Once you start paying attention to the many lives being lived all around you,
you probably won’t want to stop! Every year we feel a sense of wonder as healthy
vegetables grow from the tiny seeds we sprinkle. We’re fascinated by the fragile
seedlings we nurture as they become tall sunflowers, providing food for songbirds,
squirrels, and chipmunks. Again and again we’re filled with awe and astonish-
ment when we witness a metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis and
then watch a butterfly emerge and take flight.
You can begin (cid:51)(cid:41)(cid:47)(cid:44) discovery of life cycles by just looking outside.