Insects that disappeared in the cold came out again during last week’s warm weather. On Wednesday I found a western conifer-seed bug on my front porch.

Formerly restricted to the western U.S., the western conifer-seed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis, WCSB) has spread across North America, to Europe and South America. At 1/2 to 3/4 inches this “true bug” sucks the sap of developing pine cones and the pulp of pine seeds.

WCSB can see pine cones from afar in glowing infrared colors so this one was probably lured by the cones on my neighbor’s blue spruce.

After he ate, he needed to find shelter. Wednesday’s warmth was followed by record rain on Thursday and cold wind on Friday.

Western conifer-seed bugs overwinter in a bark crevice, a dead tree, or a house. My house. I didn’t know they came inside until I researched this article. By then the bug had disappeared.

Western conifer-seed bugs stink when they’re disturbed. … Great. I can hardly wait.

(photo by Kate St. John)

So many woolly bear caterpillars have crossed my path this fall that, fearing they’d be trampled, I have carefully moved each one across the trail.

“Woolly bears” are the larva form of a common North American moth, the Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella). Since she is not dependent on only one host plant, Isabella is found in many habitats.

She even lives in the Arctic, surviving the winter because she has natural anti-freeze in her cells. Wikipedia describes how she does it:

The banded woolly bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form when it literally freezes solid. First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body. It survives being frozen by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues.  In the spring it thaws.

— from Wikipedia: Pyrrharctia isabella

After she thaws in the spring, the woolly bear resumes eating, spins a cocoon, and becomes a flame-colored moth.

She’s rather large, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her as an adult. Have you?

I only notice Isabella as she’s preparing for winter.

Read about woolly bears — and what their stripes mean — in this vintage article: Isabella Scoffs At Winter.

(photos of woolly bear caterpillars by Kate St. John, photos of adult moths from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)

The orange oakleaf butterfly (Kallima inachus), native to tropical Asia, is well named. The underside looks exactly like a leaf when the butterfly closes its wings, and it has wet and dry season forms that mimic the leaves of each season.

The butterfly stands out when its wings are open.

Watch it become a leaf as it flutters in place.

We have leaf-like butterflies in North America, too. Click to see the ventral and dorsal sides of the goatweed leafwing (Anaea andria). It ranges from southeastern Arizona to southern Ohio.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals. video from Red Cache World on YouTube)

While writing about the worldwide spread of Asian ladybeetles (Establishing a Bridgehead) I learned another amazing fact. These insects are cannibals when they need to be, but they’re careful about it. They avoid eating close relatives.

Asian ladybeetles (Harmonia axyridis) are insect carnivores, preferring aphids above all else. Their population surges when aphids are plentiful and goes hungry when aphids crash. Rather than starve, ladybeetle larvae eat eggs and smaller larvae of their own species. The strong ones survive, indirectly regulating their own population.

However, they also make sure that their own family survives …

Interestingly, H. axyridis recognize their kin and are less likely to cannibalize a sibling than a non-related individual (Michaud, 2003). If normal prey becomes scarce, larval mortality can be very high, with in excess of 95% of larvae failing to survive to adulthood, and in such circumstances cannibalism can be essential for survival.

— Invasive Species Compendium, Harmonia axyridis

I’m not surprised that they eat each other, but I’m amazed that they recognize their relatives and avoid eating them.

(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)

Further reading:

• The multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis: A review of its biology, uses in biological control, and non-target impacts.
• A comparative study of larval cannibalism in three species of ladybird.

Lance Mroz knew this fish was trouble as soon as he pulled it from the river. Anglers had been warned for years to watch out for this invasive alien species but it had never been seen in western Pennsylvania waters — not until Lance caught it in the Monongahela River at Duck Hollow on 26 September 2019.

Northern snakeheads (Channa argus) are predatory fish native to China, Russia and the Koreas. They prefer shallow stagnant freshwater and can survive in low oxygen locations because they can breathe the air. In fact they can live out of water for days where it’s moist and cool and are known to wriggle overland from pond to pond, earning them the nickname “walking fish.”

This top-level predator eats crustaceans, amphibians and other fish and can double its population in only 15 months. If you find one, watch out! They look like this.

All Snakeheads are distinguished by their torpedo shaped body, long dorsal and anal fins without spines, and toothed jaws. Northern Snakeheads are typically distinguished by a flattened, pointy head with long lower jaws.

They have teeth …

… and they can get really big! According to Wikipedia, a record 19.9 pound northern snakehead was caught — actually shot at night with a bow and arrow — at Mattawoman Creek in Charles County, Maryland in May 2018.

How did they get here? People release them. They’ve been kept in aquariums or raised on fish farms in the past, but it’s illegal to keep a live one now in North America. Not everyone knows this.

The first encounter with northern snakeheads in the U.S. did not go well. A breeding population was found in a pond in Crofton, Maryland in 2002. Officials were so worried about this species that they drained the pond and poisoned three adjacent ponds to kill every fish. A man later admitted to releasing an adult pair in the original pond, but the fish was out of the bag. It already had spread in the watershed.

Since then northern snakeheads have been found in Virginia, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Arkansas, and B.C, Canada. New isolated discoveries always begin with someone releasing a fish. If the fish become established they spread throughout the watershed. When deemed appropriate, wildlife officials may poison newly infested ponds and kill all fish.

Fortunately Lance Mroz knew what to do. He identified the fish, killed it, froze it and reported it to the PA Fish and Boat Commission. If you ever catch one,

• Identify it: It resembles two native fish, but not closely. Use this USFW Factsheet to Identify the Northern Snakehead.
• DO NOT RELEASE THE FISH.
• Kill it. This video from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has drawings that show how to kill this fish.
• Freeze it. The fish agency will want to see it.
• Notify the local fish agency. In Pennsylvania that’s the PA Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) at 610-847-2442 or via email.

The PA Fish and Boat Commission confirmed today, 30 September, that it’s indeed a northern snakehead.

Thanks to Lance Mroz for posting his catch in the Duck Hollow Facebook group. Now we know what to look for and what to do when we find it.

(fish photo courtesy of Lance E. Mroz, Jr., teeth photo from USFW factsheet)

Additional resources:

• Wikipedia northern snakehead
• US Fish and Wildlife Northern Snakehead Factsheet
• August 2019 Trib-Live article by Mary Ann Thomas: Watch out for invasive Northern Snakehead fish.
• 30 September 2019 Trib-Live article by Mary Ann Thomas: Invasive northern snakehead fish confirmed caught in Monongahela River.
• PA Fish Commission northern snakehead ID poster here.