LEO Network

About the LEO Network
The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
Continue

Observations

Fireweed blooms hindered by foam?
Foam or saliva-looking substance on seen on flowering plants like fireweed and yarrow.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Derek Sikes, Julia Salt, Brandie Radigan, Chyna Williams

The spruce beetle invasion’s exhausting toll on Southcentral Alaska property owners
For property owners, the beetles present a vexing scenario, as some scramble to keep their trees alive while others mourn the loss and embark on the oftentimes costly removal process.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Ants are moving house - is this because of the rain?
Ants carrying white rice like objects out of their nest.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Spittlebugs galore in Sand Lake area
"I am seeing spittlebugs deposits everywhere I look in the Sand Lake area."

Summer of the Fly
We are seeing these little flies every outdoors. I don’t recall them like this in the past.

Notice more wasps and yellow jackets this year? You’re not alone
A lot of people are complaining about the wasps this year. They are actually very beneficial insects in some ways. These are very beneficial insects. They gather other insects to feed their larvae and thus control aphid populations, take out delphinium defoliators and other leaf rollers.
Anchorage Daily News

Red Velvet Mite (Family Trombidiidae) Found Near Potters Marsh
Unfamiliar insect found near Potters Marsh, identified as a red velvet mite (family *Trombidiidae*).

Southcentral Alaska’s spruce bark beetle infestation is spreading in Anchorage. There’s only one defense.
The worst-hit areas appear to be established neighborhoods with older spruce trees, especially in Turnagain and Spenard.
Anchorage Daily News

Southcentral Alaska sees most destructive spruce beetle outbreak in over two decades
Spruce beetles damaged nearly 600,000 acres of forest in 2018, and the damage continues to grow.
Alaska Public Media

A summer without insect stings
Fewer wasp and mosquito interactions in Anchorage in 2018 than typical.

Fireweed Clearwing Moth (Albuna pyramidalis) Sighting
Fireweed Clearwing Moth (*Albuna pyramidalis*) found in south Anchorage.

Spruce beetles take flight in search of new host trees
Over the last two years, an outbreak has affected more than 500,000 acres of forest.
Sterling, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Spruce bark beetles are back with a vengeance. Here’s how to defend your trees.
There is a spruce beetle outbreak in Southcentral Alaska. Since the beetles don't emerge for a few weeks, we might as well start thinking about the problem.
Southcentral, Alaska, United States

Horntail Wood Wasp (family Siricidae)
Horntail wood wasp (family Siricidae), attracted by fire damaged wood, observed a year after the McHugh fire along the Seward Highway.

What Kind of Beetle?
A bright little unknown beetle in the middle of my kitchen.

Invasion of the House Crickets (Acheta domestica)

Alaska abuzz over rise in wasp population
In Southcentral Alaska, wasps seem to be everywhere. One Anchorage clinic has seen more than 250 sting patients this year.

Fritillary (Boloria alaskensis) Butterfly
Unusual Butterfly(?)

Early Wasps (Leucospid spp.)
Early wasps

Mosquitoes (Culicidae) Hatch
First mosquito (and bite) of year.

March Pollen and Active Honey Bees (Apis)
Warm temperatures drive emergence of early willow buds, pollen and honey bee activity.

Caterpillar (Hyles gallii) with reddish tail
9-2-14 Caterpillar with reddish tail - Tyonek, Alaska, USA
Tyonek, Alaska, United States

Abundant Bees
08-17-14 Abundant bees - Eagle River, Alaska, USA
Eagle River, Alaska, United States

Predaceous Diving Beetle (Cybister fimbriolatus) Larvae
Unusual insect observation approximately 2 1/2 inches in length and moved slowly, but had long strides.

Bugs Swarm at 2017 Mount Marathon Race
The 2017 Mount Marathon races were run under cloudy skies and damp conditions. A man swats at bugs that swarmed at the top of Mount Marathon during the race Tuesday, July 4, 2017 in Seward.
Seward, Alaska, United States
Alaska Dispatch News

Bed bugs are calling Alaska home at increasing rates
In Anchorage, the city logged 68 bed bug complaints in 2013, a decrease from the 84 in 2012. There was just one complaint in 2007 and 2008 combined, according to city data.

Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) Butterfly Caterpillar
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) butterfly caterpillar

Mosquito invasion in Southcentral Alaska leads to run on supplies
Each spring, it seems, the air of Alaska is filled with the buzz of mosquitoes and the whines of people declaring that this is undoubtedly the worst bug season they've ever experienced. This year they may have a case.

Strange bug
6-10-13 Strange bug - Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Caterpillars gang up on berry bushes, native trees
The outlook for blueberries in Southcentral Alaska this year is bleak, scientists say. The reason: Two species of moth have damaged berry patches, as well as native deciduous trees, from the southern Kenai Peninsula to Mat-Su.

ALASKA: A havoc-wreaking beetle loose in the forest
STERLING, Alaska — Spent today tramping around the boggy depths of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, which is about a three-hour drive south of Anchorage. Berg The group went there to see h…
Sterling, Alaska, United States
SciGuy

Seeing brown birch leaves? It’s not necessarily a sign of fall. Blame leaf-munching larvae
The birch leafminer ate its way through birches across Southcentral and Interior Alaska this summer. Hot and dry weather earlier in summer may have been optimal for them.

Support

Observation Template