insects are emerging

A bumble bee feeds on meadow grass a Gwynedd Preserve.

by Tanya Dapkey, NextGen Council member

Hello, my name is Tanya Dapkey and I am a member of the NextGen Council at Natural Lands. I am also an ecologist and entomologist who loves going outside, and right now is the perfect time to start going outside if you love insects the way I do.

I have loved open spaces for as long as I can remember, and Hildacy Preserve holds a special place in my heart. I have conducted Moth Night events at Hildacy since 2016, bringing my love of insects to the public and also bringing my family along for the ride.

Recently, I took a nice long walk through Hildacy and found some of my favorite insects: ground-nesting bees (important pollinators), cranefly larvae in the leaf packs along Crum Creek, and some adorable sweat bees (also important pollinators). I also found a Chinese praying mantis ootheca, which I destroyed. These invasive insects can out-compete our beautiful native mantis, the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina). (Here’s a post showing the difference between native and invasive praying mantises, and what to do if you find an invasive egg case.)

ground-nesting bee

cranefly larvae

sweat bee

The Greater Philadelphia City Nature Challenge is a great springtime activity, always occurring around Earth Day each year. If you can, join thousands of nature enthusiasts as we head outdoors to explore the natural world around us. Start at one of your favorite Natural Lands preserves or any park or open space near you. iNaturalist does all the identification for you so you can enjoy the outdoors while learning more about what lives in the world around us all. Check out the iNaturalist information collected at Hildacy Preserve.

I hope to see you outside on one of the preserves enjoying the sunshine and… insects. 🙂