Insect Picture of the Day

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The more field trips I take to photograph bugs, the better I get at spotting them. As my wife and I strolled along the wetlands trail, I looked over at this tall milkweed plant and found my attention immediately drawn to the tiny midge hanging underneath this leaf. The backlighting and framing seemed nice to me, and as you can surmise, I just happened to have the camera with me.

Winter fired its first warning shot this week, with temperatures dropping to 1°C (33°F) and dropping a brief flurry of snow. Insect activity around my neighborhood has fallen off quite sharply, even as temperatures returned to the high teens (mid-60’s), but I am surprised to find that the midges are still hanging in there. I saw three praying mantises last weekend, and the funnel-web weavers nesting on my front porch seem unfazed, but other than that it’s really quiet out there. Most of the flying populations seem to have been wiped out, and with them, flying predators. Looks like I won’t be seeing any more meadowhawks until next year.

But the midges are still here. Still in droves, even. I wonder if they’re still going for just one more life cycle this Fall, if their larvae are still pupating even in this weather… or if they’re just laying their eggs to overwinter in the ponds and lakes nearby.