We found several interesting insects at Beebe Lake including some orthoperans, lepidopterans, and a cicada's (Hemiptera) cast off cuticle. Because we need to create a massive insect collection for class, we have been focusing on finding everything we can these days. There are often so many things that we collect on each trip that there is hardly any point of documenting them all, especially if we cannot identify them yet and they are not particularly interesting. With that said, we happened to come across a few creatures at Beebe Lake today that seemed worthy enough to show. We found several of these conehead katydids (Neoconocephalus sp.; perhaps ensiger based on cone shape), both males and females among tall grasses growing immediately along the edge of the water. These katydids are huge compared to the Scudderia mexicana back at home. We also saw some of these katydids, which are quite common among grasses and herbaceous plants everywhere and not just by the water. They are also in the Conocephalinae subfamily, in the genus Conocephalus (meadow katydids) though we are not 100% on the species yet. Tree crickets are also quite common among shrubs and sometimes even on the walls of buildings. They look to be Neoxabea bipunctata, or two-spotted tree crickets. We typically find them on the undersides of the leaves resting because they are nocturnal. On one occasion, we caught one that burst open with parisitoid maggots the next day. Near the water, at the same place that we found the conehead katydids, we also came across this loose lepidopteran cocoon. We don't have any clue what it could be right now. There was also this huge cluster of geometrid eggs on a milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) leaf. These are actually very common around here and can be found on many different species of trees and shrubs. They are clearly extremely polyphagous. At the end of the lake, we found this cicada skin on a tree trunk, still in perfect shape. We actually found a live cicada a few days ago on August 29 that we will post here out of laziness. ![]() Authors Brian Liang
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Timeline 2017–present
Ithaca, New York This timeline is a series of daily posts recording our observations and experiences with various insects (primarily Lepidoptera) around the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York, starting from the time we moved here in 2017. As this is a personal blog, we try to keep collections/rearings for university research and course work to a minimum, and mainly focus on just the species we catch and raise for our own fun and interest. Posts prior to this time can be viewed at Timeline 2012-2017: Albany, California, though there is occasionally some crossover when we have returned home during breaks or reared stock derived from home (see Albany, California Updates). Archives (232)
July 2020 (1) August 2019 (2) July 2019 (35) June 2019 (46) May 2019 (20) March 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) November 2018* October 2018* September 2018 (1)* August 2018 (9)* July 2018 (11)* June 2018 (22*) May 2018 (18)* April 2018 (2)* January 2018 (6) December 2017 (5) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (5) September 2017 (26) August 2017 (19) *Currently, a significant portion of 2018 posts are missing. The notes/photos for this time period are saved on our personal files but the posts were never built due to a busy schedule that year. We are still actively building these posts when we have the time. Authors
![]() ![]() Full Species List
(Alphabetical by scientific name) Note: - Not every species we encounter is necessarily presented on this site, rather a selection of those that were of particular interest to us and that we felt were worth documenting. - We can't guarantee that all species have been identified accurately, particularly taxa we are not as familiar with. Lepidoptera Actias luna Agraulis vanillae Allancastria cerisyi Amphion floridensis Ancyloxypha numintor Antheraea polyphemus Battus philenor hirsuta Callosamia promethea Colias eurytheme Citheronia regalis Cupido comyntas Danaus plexippus Darapsa myron Diadema inscriptum Epargyreus clarus Erynnis baptisiae Estigmene acrea Euchaetes egle Eumorpha pandorus Hemaris diffinis Hyalophora cecropia Limenitis archippus Liminitis arthemis arthemis Limenitis arthemis astyanax Manduca sexta Orgyia leucostigma Pachysphinx modesta Paonias myops Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio glaucus Papilio polyxenes asterius Papilio rutulus Papilio troilus Papilio zelicaon Pyrgus communis Samia ricini Smerinthus ophthalmica Speyeria cybele Sphecodina abbottii Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui Vanessa virginiensis Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Conocephalus sp. Dissosteira carolina Melanoplus femurrubrum Neoconocephalus ensiger Neoxabea bipunctata Phasmatodea Carausius morosus Diapheromera femorata Mantodea Mantis religiosa Albany, California Updates |