Bugs on the Farm

Hi! I’m a farmer and a huge bug fan. I’ve been employed at the farm since 2020. All my coworkers know to come to me when they find a cool bug. I started this blog to document the bugs on the farm, as well as some of the other things that call the farm home. All photos are taken by me unless otherwise indicated. Any pronouns are fine! :)

About the Farm

Located in Upstate NY, the farm is a family business with 6 full time employees. We are certified organic by Real Organic and NOFA. We practice no-till and no-chemical farming. Our methods create a thriving ecosystem that allows for the diversity of bugs you see here.

Tags

I tag by order and common names, as well as naturalization status. Other tags include:

#ID needed - I do not have an ID for this bug. Feel free to help out by providing one!

#ID incomplete - I do not have a latin name for this bug. Feel free to help out by providing one!

 Io Moth (Male) (Automeris io)

June 2022

Stunning lad we found while weeding out a bed <3

Slug (Gastropoda spp.)

June 30 2022

???

Aug 25 2022

Stripey dude

Giant Crane Fly (Tipula abdominalis)

Sept 1 2022

Was so stumped by the ID for this one - I’ve never seen a crane fly resting with its wings tucked back like this! I promised a little girl visiting that I would ID it however, so I enlisted some help. Much thanks to @onenicebugperday for figuring this one out!

Planthopper (Graphocephala coccinea)

Aug 30 2022

What a beauty! Always love bumping into a cool bug unexpectedly. This one was chilling on a wild rose bush. 

Mantis (spec. unknown)

Aug 31 2022

Tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) (Hawkmoth/Sphynx Moth)

Sept 8 2022

Have I mentioned I love these guys? Seriously I adore them. I try to raise a caterpillar every year, and this is 2022′s lovely female adult! 

Wooly Bear (Pyrrharctia isabella) (Isabella Tiger Moth caterpillar)

Sept 17 2022

We get a lot of these guys in the fall and winter. :) There’s an old farmer’s story that you can predict the upcoming winter by the pattern of stripes, though I’ve been taught various methods for doing so. (For this year they were saying a sudden onset of winter, and a long winter to boot). This one has an extra brown stripe!

Spittlebug (Cercopoidea spp.) larvae

May 20 2022

Bold jumping spider (Phidippus audax)

May 21 2022

There are so many of these guys on the farm! I once kept one as a pet, and loved it. <3 They are absolutely delightful dudes. True to their name, they’re very brave and curious.

Golden Tortoise Beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata)

May 28 2022

Showing off its gold color and translucency! Fun fact: tortoise beetles change their color from gold, to brown, and even spotted.

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) on eggs

May 25 2022

Probably plotting my death. You ever get the feeling you’re about to be eviscerated by a small bird?

Golden Tortoise Beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata)

May 13 2022

Too cute so cute can’t stand how cute they are. There were hundreds in the spinach that day, for some reason. They eat field bindweed, which is a horrible weed, and that makes them even more cute.

Do me a favor and google “golden tortoise beetle feet” you will never be the same SO CUTE <3

Photo by my coworker.