While hiking along with Museum Summer Campers, as is usual on Wednesday mornings, I happened to turn over a partially eaten leaf in hopes of finding a caterpillar. What I found was a lacewing (Chrysopidae) egg. The egg was on a serviceberry in Catch the Wind across from Vapor Rings. If you’re not familiar with what a lacewing is, a larva can be seen here. I don’t have a photo of an adult but you can see many here at BugGuide.net. LacewingRead more
Month: July 2011
Around the Egg in 80 Days!
A few months ago (May), a portion of the female turtle population in our Wetlands was up walking about the landscape looking for suitable locations to lay their eggs. The offspring of those turtles who were successful, and whose eggs weren’t subsequently dug up and eaten by raccoons, are now walking about the Museum’s landscape searching, this time, for water. I came across two Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta) hatchlings Tuesday afternoon near the end of the day and one theRead more
Highlight of a “rough” day!!
As much as I enjoy Dino Days (July 16-17) and sifting through tons of dusty, gray, ocean-bottom sediment for fossils, I have to say that the highlight of Dino Days (at least day one, Saturday) was watching a Rough Green Snake eat a dragonfly in a willow tree just off the Wetlands Overlook in Explore the Wild. It was near the end of the day, hot and tired. Ranger Kristin and I were watching for frogs from the side ofRead more
Migration and Cyrano de Bergerac
It’s been nearly two weeks since I last posted to the Journal. The reason for my absence has to do with migration. No, not the migration of ?birds or some other wildlife, but of computer files from one server to another. Migration now appears to be over and hopefully there are no lingerers. On to the good stuff! ============ At around 12:30 on July 19, while seeking shady shelter from the searing sun, I noticed a large dragonfly carrying anotherRead more
Snapper at Large
Last week a very large Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) was seen in the Black Bear Compound, and again the next day, at the Red Wolf Exhibit. Was the snapper attempting to expand its knowledge of mammalian behavior? No, I think it was probably off looking for a place to lay eggs or even a new pond to colonize. Both excursions had the turtle running into barriers, a fence the first day and the heat the next. The turtle in theseRead more
Luna Moth Caterpillar
Once again it was the sharp-eyed Summer Campers (Floor to Canopy) who spotted the insect of the day out in the wilds of the Museum of Life + Science. This time it was Camp Counselor Hannah who first saw the large green caterpillar climbing on the block column leading into Catch the Wind from their Outdoor Classrooms in the woods. Good spot Hannah! Note: I removed the caterpillar from the column for the photograph and later placed it in the leafRead more
What Dragonfly is That?
In order to help those of you who are interested in knowing what it is that you’re looking at when you see a dragonfly whiz by you as you stand on the boardwalk and paths that encircle the Wetlands here at the Museum, I’ve decide to offer up a quick and very simple identification guide. Here, we’ll start with two common odes (dragonflies) that could possibly be mistaken for one another. Note: If you don’t care what the names ofRead more
Good Morning Frog!
As I walked up to the Butterfly House this morning I saw Emily staring down at the ground near the outside entrance to the Lep Lab. She was looking at a little frog on the storm drain in front of the doors. “Good morning frog!” ” Morn’n Emily!” Relatives of Emily’s little friend are quite active now, out in the Wetlands. Besides the very vocal treefrogs that are calling on these hot, humid, and thunderstorm prone July days, there areRead more