Butterfly Gardening

EAST COAST BUTTERFLY GARDENING PART 1 – Attracting Butterflies To Your Yard

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Gardening, without a doubt, is one of the best hobbies out there, for many different reasons. First off, it gets you out into the fresh air and you truly get to interact with nature. It is relaxing and yet the payoff is amazing. Whether it is the resulting vegetables from your gardens, fruit from your trees or the gorgeous flowers that bloom, there is no better feeling of satisfaction than the one you get after growing something yourself. Everyone has their type of gardening preference; whether it is growing fruits and vegetables or just growing flowers. Mine is butterfly gardening. This will be a work-in-progress so check back often.

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Carnivorous plants

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS – A Hobby That Is Not As Hard As You Think!

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Being a lover of insects, I have also always found carnivorous plants a fascinating subject. I remember growing up and seeing the ads in the back of comic books advertising meat-eating Venus Fly Traps (right alongside the ads for live pet monkeys), ads that sensationalized them as being little monsters. I tried many times to grow these amazing plants but with no luck. They always ended up withering and dying on me.

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Tarantulas

SO HOW DO TARANTULAS GROW?

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Tarantulas, like all arachnids and insects, must shed their skin, or molt, to grow. This is because they have an exoskeleton. Since this exoskeleton is hard, the only way these invertebrates can grow is by breaking through their old skin, revealing the pliable new skin underneath. Once the shed is complete, the new and larger skin is then allowed to dry. What I present for you here is a pictorial guide to one of the world’s largest species of tarantulas, the Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-eating Spider (Lasiodora parahybana), named for the beautiful pink hairs on this massive spider’s abdomen.

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After making a bed of silk, the spider turns onto its back to start the molting process.

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ENTOMOLOGICAL DISPLAYS

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Though I am no longer an insect collector, I do from time to time put displays together, either for friends or to be used in my insect presentations at schools and libraries (for more information please click HERE). These are just a sampling of some of the things I have done. As additional displays are completed I will add to this blog. To get an idea of scale, I am using Presidential Display Cases that measure 24″ x 18″ x 2.5″.

INSECTS VS. ARACHNIDS

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In 2013 I decided to totally revamp my insect presentations featuring all new displays to bring into the classroom. This was the first one that I did, featuring a side-by-side comparison of insects and arachnids. I am very happy with this display even though it is not jam-packed with specimens. It does feature a good assortment though of some of the largest species of both insects and arachnids, including one of the largest scorpion specimens I have ever seen!

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Buggy Book Reviews, Butterfly Field Guide, Butterfly Gardening, Conservation

BOOK REVIEW: “A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America”

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I am a huge fan of field guides and thankfully most of them out there are pretty good. In my last book review (seen HERE) I discussed my favorite of the guides, though it is one that is so large it is impractical to bring into the field with you. Thankfully, this one is much smaller, very user friendly and is perfect to have with you in the field. I must also say that I am quickly becoming a huge fan of Jeffrey Glassberg, who wrote this and many of the best guides available today.

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KEEPING INVERTEBRATES AS PETS

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Keeping invertebrates as pets is not for everyone. Most people, when thinking of tarantulas, scorpions or other invertebrates, react in disgust or fear. This is mostly due to the fact that these animals are greatly misunderstood. Thanks to horror movies and stupid shows like FEAR FACTOR alot of these invertebrates have been given a bad reputation as being dangerous, even deadly. Though many invertebrates that are kept as pets are venemous (no, they don’t remove the venom before the animal is sold) keep in mind that their venom is not designed to kill people. It is designed to help them subdue their prey. There are species of scorpions that have venom so strong that it can kill a person but that is not what it is there for. Most of these animals would rather run away and hide from a person than actually try to bite them. They are actually very timid, and at times nervous. Keep in mind also that people are not supposed to die from bee stings or ant bites, but they do. It is not because of the bee or ant, but because of the person’s allergic reaction to the sting or bite. The same can be held true for all invertebrates that can bite or sting. The first rule to follow when having pets like this is to show them respect.

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Buggy Book Reviews, Butterfly Field Guide

BOOK REVIEW: “Butterflies Of The East Coast: An Observer’s Guide”

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“Butterflies Of The East Coast: An Observer’s Guide” by Rick Cech and Guy Tudor, is, without a doubt, the best guide to East Coast butterflies. Since I live in Rhode Island, this was a book that I bought when it was released in 2005, and was not disappointed at all when it arrived. This book is everything a field guide should be, even though it is oversized (9″ x 11″ and weighs over 3 pounds) and would be cumbersome to take in the field. If you want a pocket guide, then I would recommend any of the available smaller field guides to take with you but for home study, this book cannot be beat!

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Butterfly Gardening, Conservation, Pipevine swallowtails, Raising butterflies

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION IN RHODE ISLAND – PART 1: The Pipevine Swallowtail

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I have had a lifelong fascination with lepidoptera, the study of butterflies and moths. Ever since I received a kit for Christmas for collecting them when I was seven, I have been hooked. As a child I have many great memories of being out with my net collecting various species of local butterflies. Then, at night, I would be out again checking out the local street lights seeing what moths were attracted and wondering why, if moths only flew at night, were they were so attracted to lights? As the years went on I started to notice a pattern. The places where I used to collect were no longer available as they had been renovated for new houses, shopping centers and condominiums. I also noticed something else…the numbers of wild species flying around were not there anymore! It was obvious that this habitat destruction was taking its toll. This was when my attitude towards butterflies and moths changed. Even as a child it was obvious we were hurting the environment.

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Dave The Bug Guy

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Welcome to my website. My name is David Albaugh and I have had a lifelong interest in entomology. This started at the age of seven thanks to a kit for collecting butterflies and moths. This kit was put out by the now defunct Butterfly Company, the world’s leading supplier of dried insects at the time from Far Rockaway, NY. It was this very company, and it’s owner Irene Glanz, that fueled my desire to know everything I could about the world of insects.

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