From the Field

Hunting a creature that hunts me

Aug 20, 2021 8:15 am

INHS vector ecologist Holly Tuten describes her work at "tick ground zero," investigating Heartland virus in Illinois ticks.

Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey (CAPS)

Feb 22, 2021 9:00 am

Kelly A. Estes serves as state survey coordinator of the Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey (CAPS) with the Illinois Natural History Survey. Kelly recently answered a few questions regarding her work on agricultural pests.

larval lone star ticks with key for scale

It's the season for larval lone star ticks!

Aug 27, 2020 8:00 am

Investigating mosquito insecticide resistance in Illinois

Aug 20, 2020 9:00 am

Light up the night

Aug 8, 2020 9:00 am

Adventure on July 21, 2020

Jul 30, 2020 9:00 am

Spring ephemeral butterflies

Mar 28, 2020 9:00 am

The #fightingillini sawfly, 𝘋𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪

Feb 12, 2020 10:00 am

A Rare Stray

Oct 26, 2018 1:00 pm

Studying the striped bark scorpion

Mar 12, 2018 9:00 am

Overwintered mourning cloak. Photo by Michael Jeffords and Susan Post.

Butterflies in Winter

Nov 28, 2017 11:45 am

Butterflies on the wing in November

Nov 4, 2017 12:00 pm

Cottonwood Borer

Sep 24, 2017 1:00 pm

Monarch magic

Sep 16, 2017 12:00 pm

Stink bug babies

Sep 5, 2017 8:45 am

Skimmer dragonflies in Illinois

Sep 2, 2017 12:00 pm

Here are nine of Illinois' many skimmer dragonfly species. Skimmers have large eyes that meet in the center of the head, and many species have distinctive markings on their wings. Look for these beauties around the edges of still waters.

"Punctuation" butterflies in Illinois

Aug 19, 2017 12:00 pm

To kick off the school year, here are Illinois' common "punctuation" butterflies—the Question Mark, Comma, and Gray Comma. These butterflies have distinctive silver marks on the underside of their hindwings. Look for a crescent and dot on the Question Mark, a c-shaped mark on the Comma, and an L-shaped mark on the Gray Comma.

Field of butterflies

Aug 14, 2017 11:30 am

Swallowtail butterflies in Illinois

Aug 6, 2017 12:00 pm

Swallowtails are the largest butterflies in Illinois. These beautiful insects are easily identified by their large size and hindwing tails, which are reminiscent of the forked tails of swallows. Swallowtails are welcome visitors to flower gardens—they are adept pollinators for a number of herbs, shrubs, and trees.

Illinois silkmoths

Jul 29, 2017 12:00 pm

Illinois is home to a number of large moths known as imperial moths or silkmoths. These moths are mostly nocturnal insects of forests, so they're not observed as much as their relatives that are active during the day—butterflies and skippers. However, silkmoths can occasionally be spotted around lights in the evening. Here's a short video featuring nine of these nocturnal beauties.

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