One of our strangest insects begins life in largish, powdery-white masses of eggs pasted to structures overhanging streams. They might adorn rocks, logs or even bridges. This spring, I saw dozens ...

I’m not cussing when I say my favorite stream bait for smallmouth bass is a hellgrammite. Hellgrammite is the legitimate name for a long, slender insect larva that by appearance looks like it could ...

The lifespan of a dobsonfly is three to five years, but the vast majority of its life is spent underwater — as a hellgrammite. Anglers know the hellgrammite as a centipede-looking critter found under ...

I grew up in a small town located on the banks of the Mississippi River. Being so close to water, aquatic insects were commonplace. At times, they were actually a nuisance. I remember the year they ...

Claim to fame: The eastern dobsonfly is a very obvious insect that has a not-so-obvious connection with one of the Ozarks’ favorite pastimes — fishing. Sightings of this creature, one of the larger ...

An annual sign of the arrival of summer, it happens slowly, and seemingly overnight. Along the course of the river, curious little white blotches appear on box elder and sycamore leaves, on the ...

Old black-and-white monster movies often featured giant spiders or ants rampaging through the countryside. Think of this story as a reality version of “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” Attack of the ...

In the dark, it’s understandable that residents might be frightened by dobsonflies — the flying insects can grow up to 5 inches long and have sickle-shaped mandibles. Though the females’ jaws are ...