Brooklyn
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So Many Monarchs
Have you noticed what a good year it is for Monarch Butterflies? There have been lots of positive reports from around the city and further afield about the large numbers of Danaus plexippus being seen. On Saturday, I walked from Sunset Park to Park Slope and back again to pick up some baked goods. I…
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Calling Names
Robert Macfarlane’s essay on nature and children, naming and literature, got me thinking about the first big book I read myself. It was Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, which is, of course, three books. I was ten-ish, a late bloomer. As it happens, a new book called Flora of Middle Earth also delves into the name…
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The Butterfly International
Was it my imagination or where the (Red) Admirals in Sweden redder? Vanessa atalanta is found all around the northern hemisphere and is often the last butterfly seen flying in the fall.This birch sap leak was attracting them all at the edge of the ljung (heath). We also saw our old friend the Cabbage White…
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Winter Memories, With Spring and Fall Not Far Behind
Ok, this last one was in May… Alas, I have no pictures of Swedish owls. In coming days I will be posting about our adventures in southwestern Sweden on a Wings Birding tour with a wonderful guide named Evan Obercian. We looked for a Tawny Owl that had been heard around a church in Malmö.…
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Current Lepidoptera
And even more butterflies. This is a Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus). Mostly southern, but makes forays as far north as New England. First spotting of this species for me, in Green-Wood.Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillar. This is the one that gets on your parsley; the earlier instars or stages are black with a white splotch in…
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Painted Ladies
There were more Vanessa cardui butterflies around the Green-Wood Buddleja planting than I’ve ever seen in one place in New York City.Really nice to see so many individuals of slightly different sizes and color intensity.What is up with this hanging out on the stone or tarmac?
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Sceliphron caementarium
What the well-dressed mud-daubing wasp is wearing: black and yellow.The Black and Yellow Mud Dauber builds a mud nest. Trypoxylon politum, the Pipe Organ Mud Dauber, is almost all black and builds pipe organ-like nests.Here’s another gathering mud. Her left antenna is broken off. She does not seem to get much mud per trip. This…
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Cicada Killer
Every August you’re practically guaranteed to see poor soul someone jump and shout in terror when they see a Cicada Killer Wasp. Sphecius speciosus are big; over an inch, and tend to fly low when they’re not scouting out trees for cicadas to capture.You need a big wasp to take home a big bug. It’s…
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Papilio glaucus
Now, that’s a flag. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.Another specimen. This one was working so close to me that I could put my phone next to it to measure the wingspan: slightly longer than 5″. Open up this image to get a sense of the magnificence of life scale. Note that one of the swallowtails is missing:…
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Eclipse!
Some parts of the United States will see a total solar eclipse today. This will be a lifetime event for many. The superstitious, Republicans, and other ignorant fools may want to stay inside: the Sun God is very, very angry with them. Here at Backyard & Beyond, we’re only getting a partial eclipse. (And this…
Backyard and Beyond 