Green Lynx

It was a loosely wrapped nest of silk on a plant in the garden above the Butterfly House. What looked at first to be seeds under a loose knit top layer of silk were actually the tiny abdomens of dozens of spiders. The seeds jumped to life when I poked at the nest with my finger. The mother of these juvenile green lynx spiders hung by her eight legs beneath the nest. Green lynx spiders don’t build webs to captureRead more

Pupae Plus

I’ve been casually checking for Cloudless Sulphur pupae out in Catch the Wind for the past two years. I’d not found one until now! On September 11 as I walked past the patch of Partridge Pea in Catch the Wind I noticed that a Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar had attached itself to a pea pod on one of the plants and had curled itself into a “J” on the underside of the pod. I couldn’t wait until the following morning. IfRead more

August’s Insects

Two spiders to look for in both August and September are the Green Lynx Spider (Puecetia viridans) and the Black-and-Yellow Argiope (ar-guy’-o-pee) Spider (Argiope aurantia). The lynx spiders may be found lying in wait on goldenrod, or other flowers, to pounce on nectar-loving insects. The Argiope, one of the most familiar orb weavers in our area, is often seen at this time of year waiting patiently on its web for hapless flying or jumping insects to ensnare themselves in the web. August addedRead more