Juno Stahl conducting a pollinator survey
Sammi Rizzo
Summer is the season to discover unsung (and often unseen) wildlife—like the wild bees, moths, and beetles that play vital roles in the ecosystem. Dive into July's field guide to learn more about these animals and uncover the buzz, hum, and scuttle of summer.
By Ryan Rebozo
This month, many annual food crops begin to come into their own, growing faster and flowering so they can ultimately produce fruit. If you grow your own fruits or vegetables, keep an eye on the flowers throughout the growing season. You’ll likely find many of Vermont’s common native bee species visiting your plants.
Vermont boasts a diversified food system across the state, with crops from several different plant families that flower at different times and offer a variety of floral resources. So it’s no surprise that when VCE compiled our State of Vermont’s Wild Bees report in 2022, we found that nearly half of Vermont’s 352 bee species were found visiting crop flowers. For some crops—such as blueberries and raspberries—these bee visits have been shown to increase berry quality and quantity.
Plant-pollinator interactions aren’t limited to commercial-scale farming; they also occur in your backyard garden. You may even encounter one of our specialist bees, which only visit flowers from a single species or a limited number of closely related species, like: the Hawthorn Miner (Andrena crataegi), a common species on apples; the Carolina Miner (Andrena carolina), a specialist of blueberries; the Broad-footed Cellophane Bee (Colletes latitarus), a specialist of ground cherries and tomatillos; and the Milwaukee Miner (Andrena milwaukeensis), a common visitor to blackberry and raspberry flowers.
Because agriculture is such an important land use in our state and at least 174 of our wild bees have been found visiting crop flowers, VCE recently partnered with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets> and UVM Extension to better understand what bees are found on Vermont farms.
This pilot project, which we launched this May, is taking a closer look at bees on apple, blueberry, soy, mixed vegetable, and pasture farms. We installed nest blocks (“bee hotels”) to identify cavity nesting bees, a group of bees we have the potential to manage for and hope to learn more about. During the growing season, our technicians will also catalog any bees that may be pollinating out in the open near the crops by conducting a Pollard Walk, a survey technique in which observers slowly walk along mapped transects, recording all pollinators seen within a five-by-five meter box in front of them. This standardized approach helps ensure accurate and consistent data across different locations and times.
By the end of the project, we hope to have a clearer picture of the diversity and abundance of wild bees on Vermont farms—and of how farmers and backyard gardeners can better support these vital pollinators.
You too can help us paint a more detailed picture of bee interactions with fruit and vegetable crops by submitting your garden observations to the Vermont Atlas of Life through iNaturalist.
By Kent McFarland
Maybe you’ve left your porch light on overnight and found dozens of moths hanging on your house in the morning. Or on a warm summer night, perhaps you’ve seen them streaking in and out of your car headlights.
Although many people overlook them, moths are abundant, widespread, and play vital roles in the ecosystem, affecting many other types of wildlife. Without moths, the dawn chorus of songbirds—which eat and feed their nestlings both adult moths and caterpillars—would nearly disappear from our forests. Night-flying adult moths form a major part of the diet of bats. And both adults and caterpillars are also food for other insects, spiders, frogs, and toads.
Here in Vermont we have recorded over 2,000 species of moths, and hundreds of those were first reported by people like you, who were curious enough to look a little closer, snap a photo, and report them to the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist. Thanks to the tireless efforts of both professional and amateur lepidopterists, since the 1995 landmark publication Moths and Butterflies of Vermont: A Faunal Checklist, we have discovered 346 new moth species in Vermont. There are likely more awaiting our discovery!
You can help our scientists research moths, too—no experience necessary!
National Moth Week (July 19–27) offers everyone everywhere a unique opportunity to become a community scientist. Each year we celebrate by encouraging moth watchers of all ages and abilities to learn about, observe, and document moths in backyards, parks, and anywhere else you encounter them. In doing so, you can help map moth species distribution and track their populations.
Just find a moth, snap a photo, and add it to the Vermont Moth Blitz 2025 project on iNaturalist. You don’t even need to know what kind of moth it is. The app’s computer vision is trained to identify many moths in Vermont, and will instantly help you with a preliminary identification. Experts across the region will check your observations and help confirm their identity.
Finding moths can be as simple as leaving a porch light on and checking it after dark. And while serious moth aficionados use special ultraviolet lights and fermented fruit bait to attract moths at night, day-flying moths can be observed visiting flowers in the sun. Check out this short introduction on how to start moth watching. It’s easy and fun!
Last year during National Moth Week, a Hops Angleshade (Niphonyx segregata) was photographed and shared to the Vermont Moth Blitz project and soon identified by taxonomic experts. It was believed to be introduced into the New York City area in the late 1990s from Asia. As the common name suggests, the caterpillars feed on Hops (Humulus spp.), a well-known plant to the home brewers among us. By the end of 2024, we had added 15 new moth species to the Vermont list.
Moth watchers like you have teamed together to record and share over 178,000 moth observations for more than 1,775 moth species across the state. This helps us understand their phenology (seasonal timing), habitat use, and range in Vermont.
To discover and share which moths are flying in your neighborhood during National Moth Week (July 19–27), join us for the 2025 Vermont Moth Blitz on iNaturalist.
By Juno Stahl
While the widespread alarm about the destructive Emerald Ash Borer is warranted, not every shiny, green bug is bad news. There are many harmless—and even helpful—native New England insects that are easily mistaken for the EAB.
First discovered in the continental U.S. in 2002, the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) is thought to have been here since the 1990s, and was confirmed in Vermont in 2018. The larvae of this invasive beetle bore into ash trees to feed under the bark, leaving behind tracks that disrupt the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients. This leads to dieback and other long-term damage to ash trees.
About the size of a cooked grain of rice, bullet shaped with a flat back, the EAB is a bright metallic green with purple/red metallic abdominal segments beneath its wing covers. It chews its way out of the tree through a D-shaped exit hole in mid-May. You’ll find Emerald Ash Borer adults out and about this month in New England forests on warm and sunny days.
I’ve listed below five green beetles and their differences from the EAB. By learning to tell these look-alikes apart, you can help stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer, while also protecting Vermont’s important native pollinators and garden-friendly bugs.
1. Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)
This beetle is a distinctive bright metallic green with (as the name suggests) about six white spots along the bottom edge of the beetle’s elytra (wing covers). The Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle is often found moving quickly and erratically along the ground on sunlit trails. These carnivorous beetles can assist in controlling common garden pests like slugs, and help keep other arthropod populations in check.
Seasonality: Most active from April to July in Vermont
2. Dogbane Leaf Beetle (Chrysochus auratus)
With its iridescent green-blue coloring, the dogbane beetle can be confused with the Emerald Ash Borer. But note its rounded body shape and diet of dogbane plants. This species poses no threat to Vermont forests, and is sometimes considered a welcome find on agricultural lands since it will quickly devour dogbane plants that may overtake common crops such as strawberry.
Seasonality: Most active from June to August in Vermont
3. Say’s Blister Beetle (Lytta sayi)
Long-bodied and metallic green, Say’s Blister Beetle adds a spicy twist to the look-alike list. While their shimmering green color might tempt a closer look, these beautiful beetles are best appreciated hands-off: when stressed or handled, they can release cantharidin, a chemical that causes painful skin blisters. Still, as predators of pest insects, they’re good to have around your garden.
Seasonality: Most active from late April to July in Vermont
4. Sweat Bees (Family Halictidae)
Sweat bees, many of which are metallic green or blue, are small, fast-moving pollinators and can be mistaken for Emerald Ash Borers at a quick glance. Unlike the Emerald Ash Borer, or beetles in general, they have four wings and no wing covers. These bees get their name for their propensity to drink sweat from mammals, including humans, for its salt content. They are non-aggressive and vital pollinators for both wild and cultivated plants.
Seasonality: Can be active from late March to October in Vermont
5. Click Beetles (Family Elateridae)
Vermont is home to around 68 species of click beetles, a family known for its unique clicking mechanism used to flip upright when overturned. While many are brown or black, a few species can display metallic green or bronze hues, leading to confusion with Emerald Ash Borer. However, click beetles are typically more elongated and have a distinct “hinge” between the head and thorax.
Seasonality: Can be active from March to October in Vermont
