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To Many, the Words Bug and Insect Are Interchangeable, and Refer to Those Six-Legged

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To Many, the Words Bug and Insect Are Interchangeable, and Refer to Those Six-Legged by Tim McCabe and Eileen Stegemann Art by Jean Gawalt and Frank Herec What's the difference between a bug and an insect? o many, the words bug and insect are interchangeable, and refer to those six-legged creatures you see everywhere. However, in the scientific community, the two terms do have differentT meanings. The word bug refers to a specific subgroup of insects classified as "true bugs" which have a feeding tube instead of chewing mouthparts. Examples of true bugs are the shield and assassin bugs. So remember, all bugs may be insects, but not all insects are bugs. Banded Woolly Bear A member of the tiger moth only the queen overwintering (the rest die). family, the banded woolly bear is the lar- Bumblebees have relatively small wings when com- val stage of the Isabella moth. It gets pared to their large bodies, making one wonder at its name from its woolly, bristly, their ability to fly. To overcome this, the wings move in black and rust-colored coat. It eats a complicated figure-eight pattern that provides more low-growing vegetation. A familiar late summer and lift because of re-used airflow. fall sight, the woolly bear is thought by many to be Praying Mantis Appropriately named, the praying able to predict the severity of the upcoming winter mantis is a formidable predator that based on the width of its black bands. However, the holds its powerful front legs upraised real determining factors for band size are genetics and in a seemingly praying position while it environmental impacts experienced by the caterpillar waits to ambush its prey of insects such as past weather, crowding factors, and ingestion and spiders. A large insect, the of old leaves. The caterpillar overwinters. praying mantis can reach 3 to 4 Walking Stick A unique-looking insect, the walking inches in length. The praying man- stick truly looks like a small twig tis is perhaps best known for the with legs, making it very diffi- female’s tendency to behead the male cult to spot them on the trees during mating. New York is home to two species of and shrubs where they like to mantids—the praying mantis and the Chinese mantis, hang out. They can grow to be introduced from Europe and China, respectively. fairly long, reaching 4 to 5 inches Cricket Known for serenading on a summer’s night, in length. Strictly an herbivore, these twig mimics can crickets are more often heard than seen. be so abundant that they can defoliate whole tracts of They produce their chirping song by rub- forest. New York State has two wingless species of bing the edges of their wings together. walking sticks, one found throughout the state, and Mistakenly thought by many to be a the other limited to Long Island. Historically classified beetle, crickets generally have large, with the grasshoppers, they are now placed in their bent back legs and are closely relat- own order. ed to grasshoppers. While there are Bumblebee Large, plump, and fuzzy, black and yel- many species of crickets—camel, house, ground, low bumblebees are a familiar sight to etc.—probably the cricket species most commonly everyone. Important pollinators, they are seen is the field cricket. Each cricket species has its often seen during the summer drinking own unique song. The tempo of a cricket’s song is so nectar from flowers. Bumblebees are not predictable and temperature dependent that one can aggressive, but can give a painful sting if calculate the temperature by counting the number of threatened. They nest underground, with chirps per minute and plugging it into a formula. Dragonfly Dragonflies come in a variety of shapes year. Millions migrate south each fall, with females and sizes, with New York State returning each spring or early summer, laying their having approximately 120 differ- eggs along the way. These new generations replace the ent dragonfly species. All old, continuing the northward trek. Birds and other have relatively long, slen- predators avoid eating monarchs because they are der bodies with two pairs of approxi- toxic; the caterpillars feed on milkweeds, storing toxic mately equal-length wings. They are chemicals from the plant. often seen near water, but are good fliers June Bug Also called May beetles, these relatively and will fly long distances. Of the various dragonfly large, stout beetles are most often encoun- groups, skimmers are slightly shorter-bodied and are tered in May and June, buzzing around the ones you most commonly see around ponds and lights or banging against screens and marshes. Damselflies are delicate-bodied with very windows. Adults graze on the foliage slender abdomens. Darners are our largest dragonflies, of shrubs and trees. The larval reaching over 3 inches in length. All dragonflies are stage of this beetle, known as a predators, known for their aerial acrobatics. Often grub, feeds on the roots of grasses and referred to as a mosquito hawk, a single dragonfly is other plants, remaining in the soil for up able to consume as many as 100 mosquitoes in a day. to three years. Moles and skunks will sometimes dig Dragonflies do not sting, but larger adults can bite if up entire lawns searching for these grubs to eat. handled carelessly. Ladybug Also known as ladybird beetles, ladybugs Lightningbug A type of beetle, lightningbugs (or are often brightly colored, relatively small fireflies) are a favorite of kids who beetles that are generally a favorite of enjoy watching these rather small children. The nine-spotted ladybug is insects put on a unique, dazzling night New York State’s official insect. display of blinking lights each spring Ladybugs are highly regarded as one of and early summer. Firefly adults use our most beneficial insects because they feed on pest this bioluminescence to find mates and each species aphids, with adult ladybugs consuming as much as 100 has its own distinct flashing pattern. Lightningbug lar- aphids a day. There are a few species of ladybugs (such vae look like little alligators, and eat snails and slugs. as the Mexican bean beetle) that are herbivores. Adult One genus of lightningbugs will mimic the courtship ladybugs frequently overwinter in groups, sometimes flash of another genus of smaller lightningbugs in indoors where they will congregate at windows in order to attract and then eat them. spring and fall. Because of their beneficial qualities, Grasshopper New York is home to numerous several different species of ladybugs—including the grasshopper species, including European seven-spotted ladybug, and the Halloween various short-horned species bug or many-spotted ladybug—have been introduced (the type most commonly into New York since the 1940s as a method of aphid seen), and katydids. A familiar control. Unfortunately, many native ladybugs (such as summer sight, grasshoppers are the nine-spotted) are now rarities because of these easily recognized by their large, conspicuous, powerful exotic introductions. hind legs that they use for jumping. They are excellent Hornworm The larval form of various species of fliers, sometimes traveling long distances. Adult male sphinx moths, hornworms get their name from grasshoppers make a buzzing sound by rubbing their the "horn" on the back end of the body. Large, wings together, and are often heard "singing" in fields plump, hairless caterpillars, they will and farmland. While some species will eat and damage rear up when threatened. They are farm crops, grasshoppers provide an important food voracious feeders and can quickly source for many bird species, as well as other insect- strip a plant of all its leaves. eating animals. Two species, the tomato Monarch Butterfly With a distinct orange and black and potato hornworms, wing pattern, the monarch is perhaps migrate into New the best known of our butter- York State each sum- flies. Large, strong fliers, they mer, sometimes damaging crops. Tomato are often seen feeding on hornworm moths have coiled tongues that can extend flowers or flying leisure- many inches, enabling them to reach the nectar of ly in open areas. long-tube flowers, pollinating the plants in the process. Monarchs migrate Although many people think a hornworm can sting thousands of miles, frequently stop- with its horn, this is not true. ping in the same rest spots each NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION George E. Pataki, Governor Erin M. Crotty, Commissioner .
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