Interesting Insects

Insects play a huge roll in our world's ecosystem as both pollinators and as the major contributor to the food web.  Without them, we humans would not be around for very long.  It is may be hard to believe, but we need them far more than they need us!

And what insect is more admired than a butterfly?  This Great Spangled Fritillary nectaring on purple milkweed is the stuff of poets.

Dragonflies provide the drama for the insect world.  This unusual blue beauty is a Spangled Skimmer; it was photographed on a pond in Otway, Ohio.

A bumblebee?  Look again- this is a robber-fly, one of the Laphrias.  It may be nature's most aggressive mimics, the under-cover Mafia of the insect world.

 Daddy Long-legs,  you are a carnivore!  More correctly known as a Harvestmen, it turns out one of the least "scary" of the spiders is still pretty scary stuff.  Daddy has to eat, too.

The striped-winged supper for the Daddy Long-legs appears to be none other than a Golden-backed Snipe Fly.  They are abundant in the woods these days; now you can identify them to amaze your friends.

Insects: they are OK.  Actually, they are way better than OK, they are an important part of our lives.  Look a little closer and you might find them down right interesting!