“Other steps must be taken, both for the immediate security of the lives and property of the present generation, and for the prevention of yet greater and remoter evils which are inevitable unless means to obviate them are found before it is forever too late.” George Perkins Marsh, writing in Man and Nature, published in…

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A Wavy Mucksucker (Orthonevra nitida) spotted on Governors Island last week. Very distinctive eye-pattern. Not the wetlands habitat you’d expect this, by the way, but always expect the unexpected when it comes to insects. Last Saturday, a cold front finally brought in day-time temperatures below 50F. The season of insects is passing. Temperatures rose again on…

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Temperatures edged up to 70 last week and the Autumn Meadowhawks were out in force. Yesterday, after several chilly days with no sign of these little red beasts, it got into the high 60s. One or two were spotted again. Speaking of red beasts, here’s this morning’s lunar eclipse. A car alarm outside the apartment…

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Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) nests in Green-Wood are being revealed by the falling leaves. I’ve walked under these all summer without noticing them.

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So, yes, seeing Cooper’s Hawks a lot these days. One day last week, I had three sightings, of two different birds (at least). No picture of the last encounter, but I was hearing some Blue Jays yelling bloody murder, when suddenly a Coop sliced low over the buildings and a female American Kestrel went after…

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Back in April, I spotted a Grey Squirrel gnawing on a bone not so far from here.

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But what was it? In the last picture, it looks like a cigarette, but it doesn’t look like a cigarette at all in in the other images. Thing is, though, it doesn’t look like insect prey, either. So what’s tumbling through the air up there. This was above Governors Island. There are an infernal and…

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Last week, it was warm enough for these Red-eared Sliders. A species native to a wide swath of the midlands, from westernTexas to western Indian, and north to Illinois, these have been spread every damn where by the irresponsible pet trade and the fools who buy from them.

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These are ALL Asian Lady Beetles (Harmonia axyridis). They come in different colors, different spot arrangements, and sometimes have no spots at all. The females are larger and rounder than the males. The big M pattern on the pronotum is a good indicator, but as you see from these, this is also some variety in this…

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