A holiday brunch with my ants. Odorous house ant, Tapinoma sessile.

Green is good. The holly berry midge, Asphondylia ilicicola

Brown, blue spruce and spruce spider mite, Oligonychus ununguis

A moth in winter - the fall cankerworm, Alsophila pometaria

Circular reasoning - Leaf cutter bees, Megachilidae

‘Twas two weeks after Christmas – Giant bark aphids, Longistigma caryae

Red and green - Tailed jay, Graphium agamemnon, and cotton stainer, Dysdercus suturellus

The scourge of the hemlock - hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae

The hottest bug north of Havana - Cuban laurel thrips, Gynaikothrips ficorum

Pantry surprises - Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella

Jungle raiders - Army ants, Eciton sp.

Ever seen a stone fly? - Winter stoneflies, Family Taeniopterigidae

Dashing through the snow, Snow scorpionflies, Boreus sp.

Millipedes on steroids? - Giant African millipede, Archispirostreptus sp.

Fungus gardeners - Leafcutter ants, Atta sp.

Who am I?

Belizean sting - Slenderbrown scorpion, Centruroides gracilis

Bug of the Week Academy Awards

Whips in Xibalba – Whip spiders, Amblypygi

Who's been sucking on my coleus? Citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri

An army of one - million Army ants, Eciton sp.

Super Bowl sized nest, European hornet, Vespa crabro

Bug of the Week 2009 Academy Awards

Beetles roasting on an open fire - Roundheaded borers, Cerambycidae and Darkling beetles, Tenebrionidae

Wiwi woes - Leaf cutter ants, Atta sp.

Bugs in love, lovebugs, and kissing bugs

Lanternflies – Fulgoridae

Turn on the light, a cockroach delight. Oriental Cockroach Blatta orientalis and German cockroach Blattella germanica

Belizean squirt - Nozzle-headed termites, Nasutitermes sp.

Savvy Zebras – Zebra butterflies, Heliconius charitonius

Winners of the 2009 Bug of the Week Academy Awards

Small Olympians - Snow fleas, Collembola

You make me feel like dancin' - Tarantulas, Theraphosidae

Beetlejuice, beetlejuice, beetlejuice, and multicolored Asian lady beetles, Harmonia axyridis

The trees have eyes - Owl butterflies, Caligo sp.

Bug of the Week Academy Awards

Who are you? Carolina mantids (Stagmomantis carolina), wax scales (Ceroplastes), and katydids

Romance on ice – Winter stoneflies, Family Taeniopterigidae

What lies beneath the mulch? Formosan termite, Coptotermes formosanus, and Eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes

Winners of the First Annual Bug of the Week Academy Awards

Hidin' in the jungle - Cryptic katydids, beetles, and mantises

Winners of the 2008 Bug of the Week Academy Awards

Return of the honey bee – Apis mellifera

Time for tents - Eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum

Faith and buggora - Bess beetles, Odontotaenius disjunctus

Hide and hair, Carpet beetles, Anthrenus sp.

Return of the honey bee – Apis mellifera

Flipping out - Eyed elater, Alaus oculatus

Return of the tent makers - Eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum

Stingless bees in Belize – Tribe, Meliponini

The sweet smell of ants - Citronella or Large yellow ants, Acanthomyops interjectus

Beetle in the willow - Imported willow leaf beetle, Plagiodera versicolora

Boxelder bungalow - Boxelder bugs, Boisea trivittatus

Check your cherry tree - Eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum

A wolf in sheep's clothing - Debris carrying lacewing larvae, Chrysopidae

Spring leepers - Jumping spiders, Family Salticidae

Parasites at the porch light – Ichneumonid wasps

Euonymus peril - Euonymus leaf notcher, Pryeria sinica

Hairy wanderers - Eastern tent caterpillars, Malacosoma americanum

Life and death down under - Garden millipedes (Order Julida) and stone centipedes (Genus Lithobius)

Return of the gypsies Gypsy moth - Lymantria dispar

Boxwood blues - Boxwood leafminer, Monarthropalpus flavus

Spring beauties – Plasterer bees and yellow-faced bees, Colletidae

Trail's end for odorous house ants, Tapinoma sessile

Where have all the honeybees gone? Honeybees, Apis mellifera

Bistro bees – Large carpenter bee, Xylocopa virginica

Mason bees – Osmia sp.

Beware, Tigers in the Woods: The Six-Spotted Green Tiger Beetle, Cicindela sexguttata.

Murder and mayhem in aphid land - Ladybugs, Coccinellidae; Flower flies, Syrphidae; and parasitic wasps, Chalcidoidea and Brachonidae

Boxwood blues II - Boxwood psyllid, Cacopsylla buxi

Tigers in the woods – Six-spotted green tiger beetle, Cicindela sexguttata

It’s clobbering time for gypsy moth - Lymantria dispar

Anne Arundel County - This Bug's for You: The Euonymus Leaf Notcher, Pryeria sinica.

Field ants to the rescue- Formica sp.

Death by fly - Flower flies, hover flies, Syrphidae

Will Barney find the Green Menace? - Emerald Ash Borer, Agrillus plenipennis

She's a lady - or is she? The Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis.

Inch by inch - Fall cankerworm, Alsophila pometaria

Carpenter Bees - Xylocopa virginica

Death by beetle – Multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis

Plasterer bees, Colletes sp.

Carpenter bees if you please - Xylocopa virginica.

And may all your azaleas be white - Azalea lace bug, Stephanitis pyrioides, and friends, Andromeda lace bug, Stephanitis takeyai, and hawthorn lace bug, Corythuca cydoniae

Jersey skeeters – Tipulidae

Avoiding bed bug blues - Common bed bug, Cimex lectularius

Aphids and their bodyguards – Aphididae and Formicidae

Just in the tick of time - American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis and Black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis.

The ugly duckling - Red-spotted purple caterpillar, Limenitis arthemis astyanax

Chicago style cicadas – Magicicada spp.

Headstands in the desert – Eleodes sp.

Aphid peril – Aphids, flower flies, lady beetles

Who's your maggot? - Flower flies, hover flies, drone flies, syrphid flies - Family Syrphidae

Wither my honey - Honeylocust plant bug, Diaphnocoris chlorionis

Almost biting time – Mosquitoes, Culicidae

Mining goldenrod - Goldenrod leafminer, Microrhopala vittata

Swarming time – Honeybees, Apis mellifera

Lions in the sand - Antlions, Family Myrmeleontidae.

A royal welcome - royal walnut moth, Citheronia regalis

Small Dragons – Dragonflies, Anisoptera

Discriminating detritivores - Pillbugs, Isopoda

There will be blood – Mosquitoes, Culicidae

The Tiger in my frisbee - Aedes albopictus, The Asian Tiger Mosquito.

Widow watch - Black Widow Spider, Latrodectus mactens

Damsels not in distress – Damselflies, Zygoptera

The pits - Antlions, Family Myrmeleontidae

Summer nights - Lucifer's lights.

Hooray for the red, white, and blue! Milkweed longhorned beetle, Tetraopes tetraophthalmus; dogbane tiger moth, Cycnia tenera; and familiar bluet, Enallagma civile

Come on baby light my fire – Lightning bugs, Lampyridae

Enlightening bugs - Lampyridae

Stingers – Baldfaced hornets, Dolichovespula maculata

Roses beware Japanese beetles are in the air, Popillia japonica.

Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire - Red Imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicata

Misery named the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica

Misery named the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica

Hercules – Hercules beetle, Dynastes tityus

Gold in the meadow, the dogbane beetle, Chrysocus auratus.

She's so shy - Brown recluse spider, Loxoceles reclusa

Crazy redheads - Redheaded pine sawfly, Neodiprion lecontei

Scary eyes - Polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus

Mosquito redux - Culicidae

Scorched locust - Locust Leafminer, Odontota dorsalis

Lawn zoomers - Green June Beetle, Cotinus nitida

Who’s Cuckoo – Cuckoo wasps, Chrysididae

Here’s looking at you, kid – Eyed click beetle, Alaus oculatus

It's the wheel thing, the assassin bug, Arilus cristatus.

Parsley and dill beware – Black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes

Beware of ticks – Black-legged ticks Ixodes spp., American dog tick Dermacentor variabilis, and lone star tick Amblyomma americanum

The royals are in the house, the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.

They eat dead things - Part I – Burying beetles, Silphidae

Hummingbirds and sphinxes - Hummingbird moth, Hemaris thysbe and the Pandora sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus

Dog day cicadas, Tibicen spp., and their killers, cicada-killer, Sphecius speciosus

The troubadour downstairs - fall field cricket, Gryllus pennsylvanicus.

They eat dead things, Part II – Blow flies, Calliphoridae

Grasshoppers hit the beach – Differential grasshopper, Melanoplus differentialis

World wide webworm - Fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea

Bag a bagworm, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis.

Pumpkins beware – Squash vine borer, Melittia cucurbitae

Run, Forest, run – Fiery searcher, Calosoma scrutator

Mason peril – Parasitic wasp, Leucospis affinis

Bed Bug of the Week, Cimex lectularius.

Drought, borers and dead trees – Roundheaded borers, Cerambycidae

Bad ladybugs – Mexican bean beetles, Epilachna varivestis

Rock on spider, rock on! - Black and yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia.

Katydid? - The curve-tailed bush katydid- Scudderia curvicauda.

A rather continental hornet – European hornet, Vespa crabro

Harlequin hijinks - Harlequin bug, Murgantia histrionica

Twiggy - Walking sticks, Phasmatidae

To sting a stinger – Saddleback caterpillar, Acharia stimulae, and brachonid wasp, Cotesia sp.

The lion in my garden - Chrysoperla carnea.

Feeling yellow – Yellow Jackets, Vespula maculifrons

Humble bees – Bumble bees, Bombus sp.

Squash bugs - Anasa tristis

Diggers and daubers - Thread-wasted wasps, Sphecidae

The Chinese Praying Mantid - Tenodera aridifolia sinensis.

Have you ever seen the rain? Sharpshooters, Oncometopia sp.

Ambush - Ambush bugs, Phymatinae and crab spiders, Thomisidae

Devils and hummingbirds - Hickory horned devil, Citheronia regalis and hummingbird clearwing moth, Hemaris thysbe

Horning in on your tomatoes - Tomato and tobacco hornworms, Manduca quinquemaculata and Manduca sexta.

The lesser ash threat ? Banded ash clearwing borer, Podosesia aureocincta

They steal lives - Robber flies, Promachus sp.

It’s the Great Wedge-shaped Beetle, Charlie Brown – Wedged-shaped beetles, Macrosiagon sp.

Unwanted picnic guests – Yellow Jackets, Vespula spp.

The goldenrod gang - goldenrod soldier beetle, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus, the black blister beetle, Epicauta pennsylvanica, and the jagged ambush bug, Phymata pennsylvanica.

Beautiful in yellow and black - The locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae

Bird-droppings, snake eyes, dead leaves – Swallowtails, Papilio sp.

Red velvet ant, Dasymutilla occidentalis

Gimme shelter - Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys

Who's that spider in my bed? - Fishing spiders, Wolf spiders, Cellar spiders, and Harvestmen.

Scary Potter – Potter wasps, Eumeninae

Rain tree surprise - Golden rain tree bug, Jadera haematoloma

Loopers in the goldenrod - Geometrids, Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria and Synclora sp.

Paper wasp, Polistes exclamens

Sawflies - Curled rose sawfly, Allantus cinctus, and dusky birch sawfly, Croesus latitarsus.

Who put the "sick" in sycamore? Sycamore lace bug, Corythucha ciliata

Cabbage eaters – Imported cabbageworm, Pieris rapae

Home invaders I - The lesser of two weevils? Black vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus

Spooky spiders in a big web - Cob-web spiders, Anelosimus studiosus

One hump or two? Camel crickets, Ceuthophilus sp.

Back by Popular Demand - Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home - The Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis

Gall of the wild – Gall wasps, Cynipidae

Home invaders II – A real stinker, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys

Bugs in orange and black - Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus; Milkweed Bug - Oncopeltus fasciatus; Milkweed tiger moth, Euchaetes egle

Bugs in Orange and Black II - Milkweed leaf beetle, Labidomera clivicollis; Oleander aphid, Aphis nerii; Milkweed Bug - Oncopeltus fasciatus; Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus

Bugs in Orange and Black III – Argus tortoise beetle, Chelymorpha cassidea; oleander caterpillar, Syntomeida epilais; and wheel bug, Arilus cristatus.

Bugs in orange and black IV – Golden Helicon butterfly, Heliconius hecale; Queen Butterfly, Danaus gilipus; Woolly bear caterpillar, Isia isabella.

Capitol spiders – Mediterranean recluse, Loxosceles rufescens

Winter, harsh or mild? Only the woolly bear knows for sure. Woolly bear caterpillars, Pyrrharctia isabella and Hypercompe scribionia

Busy carpenters, lazy carpenters – Carpenter bees, Xylocopa virginica

Home invaders III - Fall field cricket, Gryllus pennsylvanicus

Dashing caterpillars predicting weather- Woolly bears, Pyrrharctia Isabella, yellow bears, Spilosoma virginica, and leopard moths, Hypercompe scribonia

A stinker at the window - Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys.

Hocus-pocus - Silver spotted skipper, Epargyreus clarus

Large schnozzolas – Acorn weevils, Curculio sp.

Home Invaders IV - Attack of the red and black, Boxelder bugs, Boisea trivittatus.

American rhinoceros beetles, Xyloryctes jamaicensis

The last butterfly flying? The variegated fritillary, Euptoieta claudia

There's a sucker born every day - Tuliptree scale, Toumeyella liriodendri

There’s no place like home for the holidays - Boxelder bugs, Boisea trivittatus

Look but do not touch – Blister beetles, Epicauta and Meloe spp.

Red and black, Boxelder bugs, Boisea trivittatus

Waxy ladies – Hyperaspis lady bugs

Dye in the desert – Cochineal insects, Dactylopius coccus

Make mine a drumstick – Camel crickets, Ceuthophilus sp.

Up on the rooftop, click, click, click, Down through the chimney with good Polistes

Summer hummer - Hummingbird moth, Hemaris thysbe

Starry sky beetle – Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis

Big mamma -Twostriped walkingstick, Anisomorpha buprestoides

My, what a long tail you have little wasp. The American pelicinid wasp, Pelecinus polyturator

The holly and the native holly leaf miner - Phytomyza ilicicola

The Holly and Ivy: A two part series - This week the holly and holly leaf miner - Phytomyza ilicicola

'Tis the season for the whitefly - The silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii.

The gift of the poinsettia. The silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii.

The Holly and Ivy: A two part series - This week, ivy and thrips, Thripidae

White Christmas tree - Pine needle scale, Chionaspis pinifoliae

The gift of the Manti – European praying mantid, Mantis religiosa

Cooley spruce gall adelgids, Adelges cooleyi