invertebrates
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Arthropods of St. John Part II
One of the ubiquitous arboreal termite colonies, or termitaria, found on the island. Known locally as wood lice or wood ants, this Nasutitermes species builds large nests of partially digested wood pulp mixed with their own saliva and feces. The material looks like mud from a distance. The nests are often found broken up on…
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Arthropods of St. John Part I
An antennae-span of nearly three inches to greet the early risers.When this moth flew into the veranda, everyone thought it was a bat with it’s 4-inch wingspan.Katydids, part of the night chorus, could usually be found lazing around during the day. This one was caught in a brief rain shower.Saw the same species on Virgin…
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Neighbors
A paper nest made by Bald-faced hornets, Dolichovespula maculata. Found a block down the street from the Back 40. It’s quite empty this time of year. Next year’s already mated females are somewhere nearby, tucked into over-wintering nooks, hoping to become queens of new colonies/nests. They will not reuse this nest. Here’s a these Bald-faced…
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Mortal Foe
Well, it seems it’s finally winter, at least for a day or two. That means cold, just like when I was a boy. Over the weekend we saw a turtle head peeking out of the Lake in Prospect Park. That’s no sign of winter! Two weeks ago, I was battling mosquitos in the tropics of…
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Winter caterpillar
Large Yellow Underwing caterpillar. I took this photo on October 15th in Green-Wood and saved it for the first day of winter to illustrate the insect’s life cycle. I thought October was late in the year, but Noctua pronuba can be active even in the dead of winter, given a thaw. The mature caterpillars can…
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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…
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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.
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Three for Thanksgiving
A trio of things found in a southeastern New Hampshire garden this summer by our Thanksgiving dinner host. Burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis. Gray lancetooth snail, Haplotrema concavum (I think). Six-spotted tiger beetle, Cicindela sexguttata. Let’s take a closer look at the latter:The elytra are parted to reveal the underwings.
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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…
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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,…
Backyard and Beyond 