Bug Eric

Fall is the time when many kinds of true bugs, in the order Hemiptera, reach peak abundance, before going into hiding for the winter.

I can hardly believe we are one third of the way through October already, but at least we can celebrate International Jumping Spider Day on October 10.

This post is not an advertisement.

Lately, I have not been motivated to write, but two recent events in particular prompt today’s post.

As I write this, Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, is under an (checks notes) “extreme heat warning,” expected to last for another two days at least.

I am so far behind in uploading camera photos to my computer and external hard drives that I literally “phoned it in” for National Moth Week, July 18-26.

Heidi and I participated for the fifth consecutive year in the annual bioblitz conducted by the Missouri Prairie Foundation, on June 6-7, 2026.

Today is World Bee Day, for celebrating our favorite pollinators.

My anticipation for the annual City Nature Challenge usually begins with great anxiety around the weather, and ends with nice surprises and unexpected species.

A wonderful thing happened recently.

At the end of February, I finally found a beetle I had been looking for here, for years.

Considering that we have hardly had winter at all here in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, this year, I probably could have started blacklighting for moths and other insects near the end of February.

Over the last few years, and intensifying more recently, I have gone through something of a metamorphosis in the topics of my writing.

I had intended to make this post years ago.

One way that I find insects in winter is by scraping off paper wasp nests that have been abandoned by the past season’s generation of wasps, and placing the nests in a transparent container.

Happy New Year to my friends and followers!

Apparently, your third book as a solo author unleashes a torrent of people, bots, and phony “book clubs” heaping lavish praise upon your work and writing style, while begging you to avail yourself of their promotional skills.

Yes, I am terribly behind in making public my sightings of insects, arachnids, and other wildlife this year.

If there was ever a person whom I wanted to remain immortal, it would probably be Dr.

Here at the end of September, I am gearing up for the Heartland Book Festival in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, October 11.

My new book, Bugwatching: The Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects, had its first event last Saturday at the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

When we lived in Colorado Springs, I would walk our neighborhood regularly, if not daily, unless the weather was severe.

I learned recently that my new book, Bugwatching: The Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects, is, or was, number one in the "Outdoor and Nature Reference" category of new releases for Amazon books.

I am trying something new for this blog post.

Bioblitz on the Snadon Tract of Coyne Prairie, Missouri, USA.I was honored to be invited to be a guest on This Green Earth, a podcast, and NPR talk show hosted by KPCW in Park City, Utah, USA, last Tuesday, June 3.

The City Nature Challenge is an annual event that I always look forward to, when I have no conflicting engagements.

It is always best to avoid making assumptions about insects in the field.