Insects

Butterflies, spiders, crickets and other small visitors. 13 signs.

• Ants in the houseOne scout on the counter at noon, a busy trail by dinner
• Bee in the houseA heavy buzz against the glass on the first warm day of spring
• Black butterfly in the houseA dark visitor at the window, on the wall or near a lamp
• Butterfly in the houseBright wings on the windowpane, far from any flower
• Cockroach in the houseA dark shape that bolts for the crack the second the light comes on
• Cricket chirping in the houseA steady chirp from behind the bookcase that stops when you look
• Moth at the windowSoft gray wings on the screen while the house sleeps
• Seeing a dragonflyA blue-green flash that stops dead in the air, then is gone
• Seeing a ladybugRed, black and counted by every child who ever held one
• Seeing firefliesA green-gold blink on the ceiling, or a whole yard of them answering
• Spider dangling on a threadA spider lowering itself from the ceiling, inch by inch
• Spider in the houseThe long-legged roommate in the bathtub, the corner, the basement
• White butterflyThe plain white wings over the kale, from April to October