mthew
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Freshwater Jellyfish?
Yes, a thing. Common Freshwater Jellyfish/Craspedacusta sowerbii. Introduced, all of the world now. They just showed up in Green-Wood’s Sylvan Water. On the plus size, the largest are the size of US quarters. They do sting, that’s how they capture their tiny prey, but their stinging cells are so small they don’t seem to have…
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Creations
Woven silk egg sac of Common House Spider/Parasteatoda tepidariorum. Paper nest of Bald-faced Hornets/Dolichovespula maculata.
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Monarch Monday
Surprisingly, this female was laying eggs on Common Milkweed on Sept 28th. On my two Bugging Out walks that weekend, I saw at least two dozen adult Monarchs.
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Carnivores
Papa Kestrel atop the Old Chapel has some wasp attendents. I didn’t notice these while photographing. Is there a nest up there, or are these wasps on mating flights?
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Wasps as Pollinators
They are not as hairy as most bees, but wasps can also pick up and transport pollen when they’re feeding on nectar. This Northern Paper Wasp/Polistes fuscatus on goldenrods flowers is a case in point.
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Low Tide on the Gowanus
Mud Fiddler Crabs/Minuca pugnax in the toxic muck of the canal. From the 3rd St Bridge. Definitely not your dad’s canal; it’s seen massive development since I used to regularly walk across it in the 2010s. It’s now a hurricane away from one hell of a big mess, though.
