Golden Afternoon

Top Photo: Common buckeye on goldenrod. Positioning oneself next to a stand of goldenrod on a sunny fall afternoon is a wise choice for a naturalist interested in getting a quick inventory of the local flying insects. The insects are attracted to the yellow flowers for their nectar and accessibility. There are no long tubular flowers requiring a lengthy proboscis to reach the sweet liquid. No hovering necessary either, the flowers are right there on top of the plant. SmallRead more
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Lepidoptera

Good naturalists keep notes, extensive notes, on everything they see. I must admit that with things happening at such a fast pace this spring I’ve been derelict in my duties. I’ve been neglecting my note keeping and am not up to date on the Lepidoptera (among other things) which have been fluttering through the Museum’s outdoor areas. However, with camera always at the ready, I’m happy to announce that I’ve been able to get a few shots of some ofRead more

Some Late July Insects

I spent part of the morning of July 22nd with the Museum’s Marsh Madness Summer Campers scooping up critters from the Wetlands. A goodly number of aquatic insects and other invertebrates were captured and studied, including a Water Scorpion, several Backswimmers, various water scavenger beetles, many dragonfly nymphs and a handful of leeches. (Leeches are always fun to catch –  everyone wants to see them but no one wants to touch them.) Two interesting creatures that actually have backbones wereRead more

Tumbling Beetles, Odes, and other June Insects

For the past few weeks Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae) have been rummaging through the flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace. Members of this family are small, humpbacked beetles with pointed abdomens that project out beyond the insect’s elytra. The tumblers that I’ve seen all appear uniformly black in color. Species identification can be a head-scratcher and is often dependent upon the number of “ridges” on the hind legs of these beetles. I didn’t get close enough to see the ridges onRead more

Butterflies, Dragons, Tent Dwellers, a Forester, and a Tiger

Fragile Forktails continue to emerge from the Wetlands (see Fragile Forktail, Explore the Wild Journal, March 16-31, 2009), although I’m now seeing females as well as males. Among the other odes observed during the first half of April were Common Green Darner, Swamp Darner, Common Baskettail, and Common Whitetail. Butterflies seen this period were Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Olive Hairstreak (4/9), Eastern Tailed-blue (4/3), Mourning Cloak (4/3), Silver-spotted Skipper (4/9), and Juvenal’s Duskywing. Now bivouacked on atRead more

Autumn Meadowhawk

Right on cue, Autumn Meadowhawks have appeared on the scene (see Autumn Meadowhawks, Explore the Wild Journal, September 16-30, 2008). The first one that caught my eye was on October 19 following the rains brought in by a passing cold front. These rather small dragonflies have a red abdomen and yellowish or straw-colored legs (they were formerly known as Yellow-legged Meadowhawks). Although I’ve seen them in May, they’re typically late-season fliers. The best place to look for Autumn Meadowhawks onRead more

Locust Borer and Late Butterflies

Although mentioned in the last installment of the Explore the Wild Journal, a picture of a Two-lined Spittlebug was not displayed. More spittlebugs have been showing up and I was able to get a nice shot of one (image at right). There was a Locust Borer on the Goldenrod alongside the Wetlands (photo at left). Although I’ve seen Locust Borers on other flowers, Goldenrod is a good place to look for them. They blend in very well with the flowersRead more

Late September Insects

Despite a general decrease in dragonfly activity, several dragonflies are still being seen in small numbers including Common Green Darner, Black Saddlebags and Wandering Glider. All three of these dragonfly species are known to move with the seasons. With the winds out of the north, mostly northeast for a good part of the period, I’m inclined to think that the individuals that are being seen are indeed migrants. Not on the move but still fairly common are Blue Dashers. SoRead more

Some Most Unusual Beetles and other Goodies

While watching a small Northern Water Snake stalk frogs from the Wetlands Overlook, I happened to see something wiggling amongst the dense plants in the water. A quick look through my binoculars revealed two large Predaceous Diving Beetle larvae locked in mortal combat, one had a death grip on the other. These larvae were quite large. Depending upon the species, Predacious Diving Beetle larvae, or Water Tigers as they’re sometimes called, can get to 70 mm (2.75”). They have largeRead more