Brooklyn
-
Hedgehog Galls, Ladybug
According to my own personal memory device, this is the third year I’ve noted these hedgehog galls on this White Oak (Quercus alba) in Green-Wood. This year there is a bumper crop of them.A Multicolored Asian Ladybug (Harmonia axyridis) on the galls.
-
Diggers
Digger wasps (Scolia dubia) hide their lights under their dark blue-black wings. “Blue-winged Wasp” is another common name for them.A bunch of these were looping over a strip of dirt on the edge of First Avenue at 41st, rather industrial ground for natural history, except for the feral cats and Paulownia and Ailanthus trees. But…
-
Morning’s Heronry
Just before Bush Terminal Park opened yesterday morning, we had a trifecta of herons. There were three Black-crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) the adult above, and two juveniles.One of the youngsters stuck around as parent and sibling (?) flew off “kwoking” to this Cottonwood:This tree also hosted a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) — barely…
-
Ant Farm
Ants herding a flock of aphids. The ants protect the aphids from other predators and harvest the aphids’ sweet honeydew for themselves. The aphids go about their business sucking plant juices. Just another day in Brooklyn.
-
Bombus
This large, handsome bumble bee was thoroughly probing the Hostas in Green-Wood. Now, I find bumblebee identification difficult. There are four or five species that have yellow abdomen, and none of them are commonly seen here. I narrowed it down to Bombus pensylvanicus or B. borealis (but we are a bit south of its range)…
-
Webworm Parent
The Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva aurea) is distinctive. For one thing, it was working in daylight and most moths are nocturnal. Also, with its small wings tightly rolled, it doesn’t look like your typical moth; it’s one of the ermine moths. Its nominal host plant, Ailanthus (The Tree that Grows on Roofs), is originally from…
-
Frog, Rock, Turtle
This downward-facing turtle was king of the hill.This frog wanted a piece of the action.And this was one determined frog.It made several attempts to…well, what, exactly? Dislodge the turtle? In theory, the right amount of force applied to the fulcrum here should have knocked off the much larger turtle. But the turtle’s steadying feet made…
-
A Better Way To Plant
This patch of native meadow in Green-Wood Cemetery was a revelation on a recent afternoon when it was absolutely pulsing with life as numerous species of butterflies, dragonflies, bees, wasps, and beetles gathered pollen and nectar and munched on plants and each other. I gather it’s an experiment. I hope it thrives, and that those…
-
Autumn Meadowhawk
An immature or teneral male Sympetrum vicinum in Green-Wood. When mature, this small dragonfly will be a beautiful shade of red, and a representative of one of the few dragonfly species to be seen locally into October. The yellow-legs will stay this color: an alternate common name is Yellow-legged Meadowhawk. Having recently emerged from its…
Backyard and Beyond 