June 2013
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Treehopper
One of the thorn-like treehoppers, perhaps the Oak Treehopper (Platycotis vittata), since it looks a little like one of those, sans the hornlike crest some of them grow, and was on an oak. These feed on sap. As one of the bugs of the order Hemiptera, they are suckers, not chewers.
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Dragonflies
Common Whitetail (Libellua lydia) male.Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellua pulchella) male.Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellua pulchella) female.Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax lonipennis) male. Beaverpond Baskettail (Epitheca canis). (h/t to Ed Lam for the ID on this one.)
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300 Year Old Tulip Tree
At the northern end of Clove Lakes Park in Staten Island is a Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) said to be 300 years old. I would not say it is extraordinarily tall, but it certainly is large-boled. That head on the right is a child’s, three others are hidden behind the tree. Tuliptrees can be the tallest…
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Juneberry
The Juneberries (Amelanchier sp.) are nearly ripe, and that means the birds are starting to devour them.A Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). Unexpected. Later I found four in a tree on the mezzanine that is Squib Park. Here’s one of these crested beauties:
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Papery
The beginning of a Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) nest. It would have gotten to be the size of a football (American) if the construction process hadn’t been interrupted.Fallen to the ground from a tree for some reason.You bet I approached it gingerly.
Backyard and Beyond 