Even though summer is fading into fall, there’s still plenty of flowers blooming and insects buzzy. In fact, insects are probably more numerous at this time of year than at any other time. Here’s a sample of what you may see on a leisurely walk through Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind, or any local park, nature preserve, or in your own backyard. Blue dashers are small dragonflies found at just about any pond, lake, marsh or ditch inRead more
Posts tagged: #Green Darner
Some Spring Happenings
Top Photo: Immature plumaged hooded mergansers lingering in wetlands. I’ve been negligent in my duties and haven’t been reporting as often as I’d like to on the goings on in Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind. So much is happening, as it does every spring, that it’s tough to keep up. Here’s just a couple of handfuls of things that we’ve seen in the Wild over the past few weeks (not necessarily in chronological order). During the first weekRead more
Two insects
A dragonfly. Although I saw what I think was a Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura) last week, and definitely saw one on Friday (3/23), Common Green Darners are still the dragonfly you’re most likely to see cruising over the Wetlands at this time. A wasp. The above wasp was spotted as it was dragging the cricket across the farmyard at the end of the day. I didn’t quite know which wasp it was at the time, but simply calling it aRead more
Odes, Leps, Herps, and some Aves
Green Darners have been ovipositing in the Wetlands (3/13). Up until this Tuesday I had only seen males patrolling the area. I was finally able to confirm the emergence of Fragile Forktails (Ischnura posita). I photographed a damselfly a week ago (3/7) but wasn’t sure of its identity, although I was fairly confident that it was a forktail. I’ve seen these forktails here at the Museum as early as mid February. It’s curious that I haven’t seen one earlier thisRead more
Just for the record
The first ode (dragonfly/damselfly) of the season was seen on February 24 flying low over the Wetlands. While I didn’t see it well enough to positively identify it, I’m confident that it was a Common Green Darner (Anax Junius). On March 1st I did see one close enough to make a positive ID. The first damselfly was seen on March 7, but again I could not see enough detail to make out the species. However, I’m fairly sure that itRead more
Mocha anyone?
Back in July of 2008 I found the remains of a dragonfly on the path in Catch the Wind. There was enough of the insect to determine that it was a Mocha Emerald, a dragonfly of small, shady forest streams. I added that ode to the list of dragonflies that could potentially be encountered (alive) here at the Museum. I based the dragonfly’s inclusion to the list on the fact that I found the insect where I did (in CatchRead more
Some Early September Sights
As you well know (if you’ve been following this blog) caterpillars tend to show up more frequently from late summer into fall. It’s not so much that there are more of them, but that the larger species are maturing, their frass more visible on the ground beneath the trees and shrubs that they’re feeding on, and many of them are hustling across the paths on their way to finding a safe place to pupate over the coming winter. Here’s a fewRead 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