Fieldnotes
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Realm of the Monarchs
A brand new female. Will she make it down to Mexico?We’re celebrating Monarch’s all this week. But don’t let my anecdotal enthusiasm delude you. Monarchs in a frightful state. *** AFSC’s guide to civil disobedience.
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Chrysalis
The pupal stage of the Monarch is suspended a cremaster attached to a silk base.Isn’t it amazing? Begs the question why we think we need religion and other fantasies when life is so interesting.In a morning of ferocious heat, I counted 19 caterpillars and three pupae or chrysalises in a patch of milkweed and other…
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Monarch Monday
Some of the dozen Monarch caterpillars (Danaus plexippus) seen feasting on swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) in the Bronx recently. This was my highest ever count to this date, although to be fair I’m much better at spotting them now. Good to see some action on one of the other milkweeds besides A. syriaca.In Queens a…
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Monarchy Nears
Prepare for a week of Monarchs! Plant more milkweed! There are around 25 caterpillars in the patch pictured, and they have done an epic job of defoliating these plants down to the bone. All that milkweed energy is going into metamorphosis. (Unless it’s going into a Spined Soldier Bug!)
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Ischnura ramburii
Wednesday is traditionally Raptor Day here at B&B. Damselflies are quite the airborne predators, so…. This one is an immature female Rambur’s Forktail (Ischnura ramburii), spotted at Jamaica Bay with numerous others of her species. I’ve seen a male away from the Bay, in Green-Wood once. Several of the Ischnura genus have orange colored immature…
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Doublewhammy
This Common Grackle with both a broken lower bill and a piece of string stuck onto its foot. *** By The People a new impeachment campaign. Because we can’t depend on politicians.
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The Leeches Are Winning
Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) in combat.Ugh, the leeches! On face and feet and even shell. This stagnant puddle of “fresh” water is simply crawling, or fluttering, with leeches. Here’s some footage of this colossal wrestling match that was too large to email back to myself from my phone… Here’s Solnit on the absolute necessity of…
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Milkweed Continues
Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) on common milkweed pod. This I learned: a note in Evan’s NWF Field Guide to Insects and Spiders says this species has been used extensively in physiological experiments. Easy to raise, they were also used to test insecticides from the 1940s. Carolina Biological Supply sells them for uses in experiments…
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Monarch Monday
Two plump Monarch caterpillars on some common milkweed. They looked ready for a transformation, or metamorphosis….Danaus plexippus, Asclepias syriaca.Nearby, an adult female seemed to be laying eggs. Here is one of the tiny things (I think). Will this egg open up to a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly that flies to Mexico this fall? The…
Backyard and Beyond 