insects
-
Ootheca
A praying mantis egg case, or ootheca, from the Greek for egg (oon) and container (theka). Thanks to Amy for spotting and IDing this for me while we were at Four Sparrow Marsh. These are collected and sold for science projects and pest control in gardens, since mantises devour whatever they can get their prayerful…
-
Insectarium
Montréal’s Insectarium is located next to the Jardin botanique. Admission is included with the garden. And here’s a jump back to some of the beetles.
-
Beetlemania
A collection of beetles at the Insectarium de Montreal which I visited earlier this month. This picture was shot through the vitrine glass. There are 350,000-400,000 described species of beetles; estimates suggest there may be a million or more species of them all told. These are just some of the most spectacular and shiny ones…
-
Springtime in November
It was like spring in Prospect Park today. Late spring, even, except for the rich fall colors of the leaves and the lack of birdsong. How warm was it? There was a woman wearing a bikini in Nelly’s Lawn. Among other sun-worshippers were the turtles, brought up out of the murk by the warmth.A few…
-
Milkweed Party
A larval Large Milkweed Bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, on its eponymous food source in Brooklyn Bridge Park.Two of the adults. The park has several species of milkweed, which hosts a number of interesting animals. Monarch butterflies (and their caterpillars) are the most famous milkweed fans, but they have flown south for the winter. These milkweed bugs,…
-
Culex
“Nymph, in thy (whining) orisons be all my sins remembered.” It was a tough night on the skeeter front. Approximately eight bites amongst the two of us, and so far three mosquitoes, including this early afternoon kill. Hard to tell here, but the eyes have a blue-green iridescence to them. Possibly the southern house mosquito,…
-
Cyclops
Do you know how hard it is to get a photo of a Common Green Darner? Anax junius. Well, for one thing, they are not one of the perching dragonflies, but every once and a while they do have to take a break. At about three inches long, these are one of the largest species…
-
Aedes albopitcus
Though locked in ceaseless struggle with these dipterous beasts — mid-air slapdown palm smear wins this round, but I couldn’t take pic with my left hand — vectors of dengue fever, dog heartworm, eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus, and infuriating itchiness (finger and toe joints the worst!), I can’t help but admire them for…
-
“Why are there so many dragonflies in prospect park this year?” asks a Googler. Are there? Populations rise and fall through the years, depending on weather, food supplies (adult dragonflies eat other insects), disease ~ the usual ebb and flow of expansion and contraction amid animal and plant populations. (Only we humans have managed to…
-
Hairy Larva
As much as we love the great outdoors here at Backyard and Beyond, we don’t neglect the mysteries of the interior. Wildness is also here, inside, with us and amongst us.A tiny larval something or other in the bathroom, using the edge of the tiled wall as its path. I could not help but think…
Backyard and Beyond 