Editor’s note: “Critters” features insects, spiders, snakes and other freaky/fun creatures unique to the Grand Valley. Have a critter you want discussed? Email crow@gjfreepress.com. Giant ichneumon ...

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An ichneumon wasp uses its long ovipositor to pierce the bark of a tree and deposit its eggs on larva inisde. (Susan DiMaso) Indeed, quite a few parasitic wasps can be found on Staten Island. A few ...

WHEN the ice melts and the trees bud in the temperate forest, the female ichneumon wasp surveys the land in search of caterpillars. When she finds one, she lands on its back and inserts a delicate ...

Many insects make cocoons when they are young to protect themselves from the big, bad world, full of predators (and cable news channels). Ichneumon wasps have a found a way to make this process easier ...

You never know what surprises — some hair-raising — are waiting to be discovered when out and about in Penn's Woods. Not too long ago, my friend Stan Galenty and I had searched for plants and animals ...

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Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The church publishes the ...

MONITOR TWP. — It looks like something out of a horror movie — spindly legs, a long yellow and brown body, and a stinger-like tail that stretches for several inches. When Melissa Jean first laid eyes ...

The giant ichneumon wasp, megarhyssa rixator, has an unusual method for laying eggs. Using her overly-long ovipositor to drill deep into a tree trunk, she deposits a single egg on to the surface of an ...

Whenever I asked students to tell me how insects were ecologically important, two of the most common responses were “as plant pollinators” and “some insects were vectors/carriers of diseases.” It ...