Andrew Warren

@andybugguy

IN AWE OF NATURE! Entomologist, systematist, biogeographer, photographer; museums & collections. Based in Colorado! he/his. My science:

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Andrew Warren@andybugguy· 15d

The best way to start the day- with a lovely two-tailed swallowtail…!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· 21d

So, know it or not, today is your lucky day! You are one of the first humans to see the fully-grown caterpillar of the undescribed Hypsocompe species! They have been happy feeding on a lot of plants, but at the moment seem to prefer the organic romaine from Whole Foods… 🐛😁

Bristly blackish caterpillar with orangish highlights, in the palm of my hand. This is an undescribed species… I’ve been rearing this and its ~200 siblings, with good success so far. I hope they beef up and make cocoons soon, otherwise I might have to figure out how to overwinter them…

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· 22d

It was a long hot day, but in a majestical place that is poorly surveyed for butterflies. AND we found our target: a very poorly known metalmark (Apodemia sp.)!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· 23d

This anglewing butterfly is very rarely seen because it basically never visits flowers or damp ground- it is a sap feeder. Endemic to Colorado’s Front Range: Polygonia oreas nigrozephyrus Douglas County, Colorado

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jul 16

Found a new favorite place! Actually found it last year, but a bit too late in the season to see it at its summertime best. It’s in the greater Sangre de Cristo range of southern Colorado… It was a butterfly paradise!

Mountain meadow looking up to 14,000’+ peaks.

Wet part of a flower-filled meadow, surrounded by giant spruce and aspen trees.

Wet meadow full of yellow composite flowers, surrounded by towering aspen and spruce trees. The flowers were infested with butterflies!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jun 24

Don’t bother going up into the Wet Mountains. Ugly terrain, no good views at all. Just stay away, ok thanks!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jun 24

West Spanish Peak in southern Colorado is one of the most breathtaking features in the southern Rocky Mountains. Planned for a week around the weather forecast, for the perfect day up there, and got it yesterday!

View of West Spanish Peak- blue sky forever and a mountain of rocks

View of West Spanish Peak from a nearby ridgeline.

Talus slopes on the flanks of West Spanish Peak. Blue sky above…

Slopes leading down from West Spanish Peak, leading to the Cucharas River below…

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jun 4

The worms have run out of space in their baby skins and head capsules- they’re about to molt to the second instar! These are happy worms!!!!

These tiny, hairy, pinkish caterpillars are stationary, and not feeding at the moment- all are about to shed their head capsules and skin and turn into bigger, far more efficient eating machines! It’s so exciting to see the immatures of this undescribed species, still new to science!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· May 16

This absolute stunner is an undescribed species of Hypsocompe, known from just a few specimens. There is only one other record from Colorado (Baca Co.), thus, this is the northernmost record for the species (see alt text). Found under the sheet this morning by @nunesnaturalist.bsky.social !

The pattern of black markings on the white background of this moth give it a remarkably cryptic and unique appearance. This undescribed species is known as "Hypsocompe extrema of authors" on the Moth Photographers Group website, where it is acknowledged as an undescribed species known from Arizona and Texas. There are known specimens from New Mexico as well, and in 2022, Christian and I found the first record in Colorado- in Baca County. This one, from Huerfano County, pushes the known range of this rarely encountered moth even further north... Huge thanks to Chris Pague and Michael Figgs for arranging access to the site!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· May 16

Southeastern Colorado remains absolutely parched, with almost no butterflies at the moment, but we’ve been finding a lot of really cool moths!

Old schoolhouse on shortgrass prairie at the junction of Huerfano County roads 120 & 103, with the Spanish Peaks in the background.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Mar 22

Look who showed up at my lights last night- a full SEVEN WEEKS earlier than the previous early date I have found it here...!!! Spring is springing way too early here along Colorado's parched Front Range... Glover's Silk Moth- Hyalophora gloveri

Large colorful moth with a maroon-and-white striped body at rest below UV lights, on a cool morning in Castle Pines, Colorado. The season is WAY ahead of schedule!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jan 31

… as you can see from last night’s screenshot…

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Nov 15

So cool! photographed the same old schoolhouse from another angle on May 30!

Old schoolhouse in Huerfano County, Colorado, northeast of Walsenburg. Wet Mountains in the background.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jun 16

Oh to be a moth that cannot fly... Meet the newly described genus/species Coloradactria frigida, a moth with females that don't fly- they scurry around on the ground like a spider or silverfish... lepscience.com/wp-content/u... @inaturalist.bsky.social observations helped us locate populations!

This female moth cannot fly. She has wings, but they are not fully developed (called brachypterous). Females of this species require warm bare ground and stubby grass to be active during their late October-late November adult emergence. Currently known habitats are regularly mowed. Before the evolution of lawn mowers, we speculate that their specialized habitat was maintained by grazing and movements of large mammals such as bison, pronghorn, elk, deer, and prairie dogs. Females lay 250-400 eggs near the bases of highly disturbed Sand Dropseed grass. When larvae eclose in the spring, they immediately burrow down into bases of the grass clumps, and they apparently develop underground feeding on the roots of Sand Dropseed. While described from and currently only known from Colorado, we suspect this species will be found to occur elsewhere once targeted searches are conducted. Perhaps additional species in this genus will be found? Unidentified observations at iNaturalist helped us find additional populations once we knew what to look for. Several males and one female were found there, as cited in the paper linked in this post. They are now identified at iNaturalist as Coloradactria frigida.

This male moth spends all of this time looking for females in highly disturbed (= mowed, trampled) patches of Sand Dropseed grass. The late October to late November flight time of this moth is unusually late for its known habitats in Colorado. The other moth that is common during this period is the geometrid Alsophila pometaria, which also has flightless females. Why do late-season moths evolve flightless females? We talk about this near the end of our paper linked in this post.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Apr 1

The photo of the Mountain Ball Cactus I originally posted was in full sun. I took this photo of the same cactus once it had clouded over- interesting how different the colors are...

Mountain Ball Cactus, Pediocactus simpsonii, in dappled light from full cloud cover. Pink and Yellow flowers appear in a different hue than in full sun, as was the original photo. E of Castle Rock, Douglas County, Colorado, 28 March 2025.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Apr 1

I stumbled upon this most extremely perfect Mountain Ball Cactus last week, and realized it would be rude not to share this incredible beauty with you! Pediocactus simpsonii Douglas County, Colorado, USA

The Mountain Ball Cactus is widespread in Colorado at elevations above 6000'. They bloom very early in the spring. This one, with bright pink and yellow flowers, was found on March 28, 2025, east of Castle Rock, Douglas County, Colorado. These cactus don't usually bloom quite this early in the season, but we had very warm weather in late March. Spring is here!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jan 31

From north Africa and Europe to Siberia and North America, The Swallowtail thrills and inspires everyone who is lucky enough to see it! Papilio machaon aliaska Brooks Range, North Slope, Alaska, USA

Yellow and black butterfly with blue and red spots on the hindwing, basking on the arctic tundra of Alaska's North Slope. Papilio machaon is called "The Swallowtail" in Britain, where it is the only resident swallowtail species. In North America, it is usually called the Old World Swallowtail.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jan 25

This is one sneaky little moth! The caterpillars live in a Polistes wasp nest, creeping around at night eating the wasp larvae and pupae while the parents are asleep! 😱 Chalcoela iphitalis Douglas County, Colorado, USA

Small brown moth with irregular grayish and white markings, at rest on a wall near a Polistes wasp nest. The carnivorous caterpillars can completely decimate a wasp nest over the course of the summer.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jan 23

Despite sporting some pretty loud warning coloration, the Red Peacock is not known to be toxic. Anartia amathea Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

Brown butterfly with white spots and irregularly-shaped red patches near the center of the wings. This butterfly is thought to be a Batesian mimic of toxic butterflies such as Heliconius.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jan 18

This female Zebra Swallowtail spent 10 minutes searching for the perfect place to deposit an egg on this young Pawpaw. She ended up flying away without ovipositing- something about this plant was just not quite right... Eurytides marcellus Levy County, Florida, USA

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jan 17

If I told you this is a caterpillar, would you believe me? Spun Glass Slug Moth (Isochaetes beutenmulleri) Gainesville, Florida, USA

This slug-like caterpillar is covered in irregular tubercles and protuberances covered with venomous hairs and spines that can deliver a painful sting.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Jan 10

To avoid males as much as possible, female Rocky Mountain Parnassians don’t fly much. Instead, they spend most of their time running around on the ground! Douglas County, Colorado, USA

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Dec 31

Just in time: 4 insects from 4 orders (in only 2 photos) for #Hexapodecember Coleoptera: Mycotrupes gaigei (Florida endemic dung beetle) Diptera: Ceroptera longicauda (phoretic kleptoparasite) Lepidoptera: Euphyes pilatka (barely escaped alive) Hemiptera: Ambush bug (Phymatinae).

This shiny black beetle, Mycotrupes gaigei, is endemic to north Florida sandhill habitats, where they make burrows up to 6 feet deep. The tiny flies, Ceroptera longicauda (Sphaeroceridae) are phoretic on the beetles and kleptoparasitize its dung caches. Levy County, Florida, USA

Brown orange and black skipper butterfly, Euphyes pilatka, next to a whitish ambush bug on a yellow flower that was hoping to eat the skipper. The skipper escaped alive...

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Dec 27

Spent the afternoon picking up trash in the neighborhood and on my adjacent routes. So much trash! I just hope it will help the wildlife, including the greenies that are barely holding on here...

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Dec 25

Happy Holidays everyone! Here are some seasonally appropriate Parides swallowtail butterflies from the New World Tropics!

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Dec 21

Astonished to have found TWO species of butterflies today! A lovely winter-form Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole- in pic), with its vivid greenish underside, and an Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme- no pic). It's the latest in the year that either species has been found in Colorado!

Small greenish butterfly with orange, yellow and white markings. Most of the year the Dainty Sulphur is mainly yellow on the underside, but extreme late-season individuals like this one are mostly greenish instead. This pic is from the same place as today's butterfly but from Dec. 18, 2013; all I got of today's butterfly was a crummy cell phone pic...

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Dec 21

Please enjoy this 'Solstice Swallowtail', likely flying now in S Florida... Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus), Alachua County, Florida, USA

Black and white striped butterfly with long tails on the hindwings, ornamented with red and blue spots, and a red stripe near the middle of the hindwing.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Dec 20

Check out those spiracles and tracheae! Brazilian Skipper caterpillar here to show us how insects breathe... Alachua County, Florida, USA

Greenish caterpillar with an orange head and transparent skin, showing the fine details of the spiracles and tracheae which serve as its respiratory system.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Dec 17

Move along now... There's nothing to see here... Just a couple of jumping spiders... nothing special... (Mating pair of Gemmed Satyrs, Cyllopsis gemma) Levy County, Florida, USA

Two brown butterflies with red and silver markings on the ventral hindwings that resemble jumping spiders.

Andrew Warren@andybugguy· Dec 17

This is the unique form of the Anicia Checkerspot in Colorado's Front Range- subspecies capella- and they are absolute stunners with their mainly orange-red upperside coloration! This one is feasting on the nectar of Spearleaf Stonecrop (Sedum lanceolatum). Douglas County, Colorado, USA