May 2010
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Armchair Naturalist
Printed on the back of my MetroCard (the local public transit system’s swipe fare card, which replaced the token of happy memory) as part of the “Train of Thought” program: “Within five miles of where you live, there are enough strange things to keep you wondering all your life. Probably in your dooryard may be…
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In the Back 40
The first blossom of my grape tomatoes. Come pollinators! And some kind of leaf miner enjoying the sunflower. Meanwhile, the neighbor’s Japanese knotweed is now a good two feet higher than the fence. Machete time. (TimeOutNY, the consumption [consumptive?] guide to the city, recently pictured the next backyard over from knotweed central.) It’s an evil…
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Lady Beetle Sex
(Must be blog sweeps week…) The multicolored Asian lady beetle, or lady bug, Harmonia axyridis. An introduced species, these are highly variable in terms of color and number of spots. Note the W or M (depending on your point of view) shape on the pronotum; most of this species seems to have these. They seem…
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Robin’s Nest
I was a little surprised there were no eggs here, since the green suggests it’s a fresh nest. Those green pieces do give it a homey touch. Robins incorporate mud into their nest, as well as found things like scraps of plastic, which, unfortunately, the park does not lack.
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In Praise of Prospect Park
Today is officially “It’s My Park Day.” But it isn’t mine, or yours; it’s not even ours. After all, we’re justing passing through this life, this borough. If we do our job, the park will long survive us. This is a reminder that Prospect Park, indeed, all our urban parks, are combinations of the natural…
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Limulus Polyphemus
Spring, the new moon: The littoral of the city is filling with mating Atlantic horseshoe crabs. The males of Limulus polyphemus, sometimes several at a time, are clamoring aboard the larger females, who come ashore at high tide to lay their eggs at the wrack line. A female may lay 90,000 eggs in a season.…
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Field Notes: Nesting
It’s breeding season. Canada geese in Green-Wood and Jamaica Bay have made their nests right next to paths and roads; they are becoming entirely too familiar with the most dangerous biped. In Prospect Park, red tailed hawks, mourning doves and robins are already feeding their hungry babies. Young robins waiting their next mouthful. Double-decker. Last…
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Field Trip: Doodletown
American carrion beetle, Necrophila americana. The name “Doodletown” usually gets a quizzical look, but it’s real, or was once. Nestled between Bear Mountain, West Mountain, and Dunderberg Mountain in Bear Mountain State Park, Doodletown was a village founded in the late 18th century. Iron mining, logging, and tanning (using hemlock bark) were local industries early…
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Random Arthropods
A jumping spider of some kind; it was hanging on to one of the Wolfe’s Pond Park crew on Sunday. Insects will often use leaves to hide in, make nests, and lay their eggs. So I looked closer at this curled leaf and, instead of caterpillars or other bugs, found a couple of spiders. This…
Backyard and Beyond 