Focus Shift

Spring migration is pretty much over; birds should now be on or near their nesting grounds.  It’s time to shift focus to insects and other species that spend the summer in Kansas.  Insects and spiders are attracted to lights, so almost every night, I turn outside lights on and check every fifteen minutes for new species.  I catch them, attempt to make the ID, then release them.  There are some amazing creatures outside, and my list of total insects and spiders is really growing.

 This is a very large Fishfly, which was attracted to the light by my back door.

 

 

Here is a Caterpillar Hunter, a large beetle that eats, you guessed it, caterpillars.