Spring has Sprung!

After a rather odd winter, it seems that spring has finally arrived in central Illinois! Spring ephemeral plants are flowering and the insects have begun emerging in large numbers! Some of the things you may see are:

Common green darner (Anax junius) – this is an early migrating dragonfly species that you’ll commonly see around ponds and marshes. Look for a large dragonfly with a green body and green or blue abdomen. Warning to those wanting photographs, they never stay still! Hover shots will usually be what you get.

A common sight (and common shot!) as they fly rapidly about.

Butterflies such as the spring azure (Celastrina ladon), eastern comma (Polygonia comma), painted lady (Vanessa cardui), and mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) can be found flying now, among many other species! I’m hoping with the warm weather this weekend to get out and photograph some of these!

For the grasshopper lover, the green-striped grasshopper (Chorthophaga viridifasciata) nymphs awoke from their winter slumber almost a month ago and finally begun molting to adulthood! This species overwinters in Illinois as late instar nymphs, meaning they have molted several times and are close to adulthood. After snacking on early spring vegetation, they were able to complete their final molts, and can be found in fields and along trails.

A surprisingly cooperative adult I found on 8 Apr. 2017

Even with the species I’ve listed here, it’s only touching the tip of the iceberg as more arthropods wake up and begin yet another season. Flies, bees, ants, cockroaches, beetles and more have begun to crawl about and are just out there waiting to be found.

Enjoy this spring weather, everyone! Hope you have a wonderful start to your arthropod season!