21-AUG-2012
Giant foxtail (Setaria faberi)
This is one of many plants that grew up in a rototilled section of the Old Field Habitat. It is a new species for the list. It can grow to about 5 feet, but this is closer to 3ft or just over. It is a non-native species, an annual.
28-AUG-2012
Spotted Lady Beetle on dragonfly case
This is a super photo by Diane. The little spotted lady beetle (Coleomegilla maculata) has perched on the exuviae of a dragonfly, a darner species. Photo taken in the Amphibian Pond.
28-AUG-2012
Common ringlets (Coenonympha tullia)
These two obligingly landed on some raspberry leaves which had turned a lovely shade of orange. It made an effective backdrop for these two!
28-AUG-2012
Mouse in nest box
This little Peromyscus mouse has taken up residence in an empty nest box. When I did a quick check of the box to see if anything was in there, I saw a pile of Dog-strangling vine seed fluff, and this little guy.
28-AUG-2012
Moth eggs
I found these opalescent eggs on a blade of grass. At first I thought they were just a patch of white from a bird dropping, but decided to look more closely and this is what I saw. Scores of minute eggs all clustered together on both sides of the grass blade, the length measuring perhaps 2 cm. I had to place a leaf under the grass blade in order to photograph the eggs. I think they are quite beautiful! Diane tells me that these are moth eggs.
28-AUG-2012
Locust borer (Megacyllene robinia) on goldenrod
These gorgeous beetles, in the Cerambycidae family (long-horned beetles) are very common right now, almost always on goldenrod. Their larvae feed inside black locust trees (of which we have many in the ravine), but the adults are nectar feeders, as here. Soon, the adults will lay eggs on the locust trees, the larvae will overwinter under the bark, eventually pupate in the following summer, and then we get to see the adults in late summer and early fall.
28-AUG-2012
Old field area
This small section which was mowed and then rototilled a couple of months ago, has been quickly re-vegetated with a wide variety of plants, both native and not. Here, the "foamy" appearance is from the panic grass (Panicum sp) that is spread amongst all the other plants.
28-AUG-2012
Six-spotted fishing spider (Dolomedes triton)
A lovely shot of this very common fishing spider, one that is surely familiar to any who've spent time near aquatic areas. This was photographed by Diane on a cattail stem in the Amphibian Pond.
28-AUG-2012
Spotted lady beetle (Coleomegilla maculata) larva
The small, sometimes ubiquitous, spotted lady beetle is common around aquatic environments as well as in upland habitats. This is the larval form, and in its own right, as with almost all lady beetle larvae, it is a fierce predator. Photographed by Diane in the Amphibian Pond.
28-AUG-2012
Jumping spider (Eris)
This tiny jumper was on a DSV plant. It is likely the bronze jumper (Eris militaris). Jumping spiders are always fun to see, very cute with those two huge central eyes, the other 6 eyes being quite small and placed on either side of the two large ones.
28-AUG-2012
An incomplete emergence of a dragonfly
Diane also photographed this interesting half-emergence. Not sure what happened here, but this adult darner was unable to complete its emergence from the larval skin. Not sure which darner it is, but could be the common green darner, which is fairly common at the garden. It is a migrant species that is always one of the first dragonflies to appear in the spring.
28-AUG-2012
Darner dragonfly case (Aeshna species)
Diane photographed this larval dragonfly in the Amphibian Pond. This one has still not transformed into an adult. Interestingly, the larvae of dragonflies are as fierce as the adults when it comes to hunting. These ones will prey on small fish, tadpoles, and other aquatic invertebrates.
