Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Old Home Day

A periodical cicada sighting in Prospect Park on iNaturalist brought me to my old stomping grounds. I searched the Vale, where the sighting was made, and the Midwood, but found neither sight nor sound of any. There was much else to see, otherwise, of course, including all the Chipmunks. (Green-Wood doesn’t have a large Chippy population).

This Northern Cardinal had just had a tussle with another male.
Diurnal firefly.
Elm Leafminer, a sawfly. Lots of such evidence through the park. The larval form does the damage.
Hairy-eyed Mimic Fly.
Enormous elm burl.
A vast carpeting of goutweed.
Asia Lady Beetle larva in white campion.
Maple Bladdergall Mite on silver maple.
Just over an inch long, this caterpillar might be a geometer moth of some kind.

Speaking again of cicadas: in reference to these and and other insects who shed their larval husks, like dragonflies and damselflies, I have used the term “exuvia” thinking the singular was appropriate for one of them. However, I’ve learned that entomologists use the plural exclusively. “Exuviae” it is, always plural, like “pants.” So noted.

mthew

3 responses to “Old Home Day”

  1. Chuck McAlexander

    I learned from Sarah Elliot that the lady beetle larvae are called dragons. Does this term ring any bells?

    Reply
    1. mthew

      They look like the things put in Chekov’s ear in the Wrath of Khan. That’s how I remember them…

      Reply
  2. chuxpix65

    But pants isn’t capitalized… LOL!
    Latin schmatin.
    While I recognize the importance of getting “the nomenclature correct”, doing better than just common names is a good start, and anybody that gives it a good go should get a “participation trophy”.

    My Latin pronunciation is atrocious!

    I once gave a talk on Sundews pronouncing the name dro-cera throughout only to be told afterwards that “it’s dross-era”.
    Didn’t care. The info I provided was correct.

    Reply

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