#plant bug

SPRING COMES AT YOU FAST

Frog Uber.

A huge congregation of boxelder bugs on the sunny side of a tree! The top image is only a small peek at what were probably several hundred (or thousand) boxelder bugs gathered in dozens of clumps on the trees of a park I visited. I didn't go there to find bugs, but they were there anyways, and it was exciting to get pictures of invertebrates for the first time in months! When the time is right, this species emerges from their winter shelters in unison to mate before the first boxelder seeds (their preferred food) are dropped in the spring. By the time the babies hatch, their food will be plentiful!

[PHOTO TAKEN: APRIL 1ST, 2026 | Image ID: A photo of a black and yellow/orange bordered plant bug on the grey fabris surface of a chair /End ID.]

image by Elliott Gordon

this guy successfully tricked me into thinking they were an ant 😅 I only took a closer look because they were larger than the ants I normally see

Four-lined plant bug By: A. Kalnik From: Wild, Wild World of Animals: Insects & Spiders 1977

I found this little guy while pruning an overgrown non-native Sage (the only one in the native garden) that was encroaching on its native neighbors. They’re an omnivorous Plant Bug that iNaturalist identifies as “Creontiades rubrinervis,” with no common name. They’re native to the Americas and very small!