Stunning orange day lilies growing near SERC's Mathias Laboratory. Photo credit @coraline_k (at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center)
A swamp milkweed leaf beetle, Labidomera clivicollis, sequesters toxic steroids from the milkweed it eats in its body, making it poisonous to predators. Its Halloween-ish colors warn predators it doesn’t make a good snack!
Photo by Robert Aguilar, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Taken during SERC’s BugBlitz in Edgewater, Maryland.
It’s the first day of National Pollinator Week!
Pollinators, like butterflies, move pollen from male flower parts to female flower parts to complete fertilization.
Photo credit to Jim Fowler.
Photo credit to Bonnie Ott. Taken during SERC’s BugBlitz in Edgewater, Maryland.