Creatures

Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis)

It was a fairly quiet day at work, with a lot of people off for a four day weekend. I went into the woods next to my building, across the streem and up to the higher and more open area, filled mostly with ragweed and milkweed. There were a few butterflies and I tried to get some pictures of them. Then I saw this female eastern pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) and I slowly move it to get a good picture. She would fly away but then would come back to the same perch, so I would move a little closer each time until I was able to get this one.

Leaf Beetle (Chrysomelidae)

I was out taking pictures in the yard again this afternoon and happened to look at the same flower on which I took the picture of the Scudderia nymph two days ago (see: Friday, June 30, 2017 ). The outer ray florets, the ‘petals’ of the coneflower, were all tattered and eaten into. The culprit was this little beetle (well, a bunch of them, actually). It is a leaf beetle (family Chrysomelidae), probably in the subfamily Eumolpinae. If I get a more definitive identification, I’ll update this post. It’s a little beetle, less than 5mm long so I wasn’t able to get a close as necessary to really get a good picture, but this one turned out well enough to use.

Gea heptagon

Cathy did a bunch of work in a small garden this morning, clearing out the overgrown sedum and making room for annuals that have been waiting to be planted. She said I should come out with my camera to take some pictures of this little spider that was doing really well gathering the small insects that are present in our lawn by the thousands. It is a Gea heptagon, one of the orb weavers (family Araneidae) and I think it’s a really cool little spider. The abdomen is painted with red, yellow, and pale spots that are quite pretty, especially in the sun. I’ve photographed this species before, with posts on Monday, September 05, 2016 and Saturday, August 20, 2016.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

As I drove into the parking lot at work this morning I saw out of the corner of my eye that there was a heron on the pond between my building and the rest of the campus. Before I went inside, then, I decided to see if I could get a picture or two. I happened to have my 75-300mm lens this morning, so I was able to get a few reasonable shots. It let me take them, continuing to fish for a little while (I even got pictures of it with a fish in its beak). Then if flew away and I was able to snap one picture as it headed off. It is not as sharp as I’d like and I’d prefer a background that is more different to the color of the bird, but I’m fairly pleased with the composition overall.

Cicada Wing

Because there are a lot of them about, I’m guessing that this is a wing from a Riley’s 13-year cicada (Magicicada tredecim) like the one whose picture I posted ten days ago (see: Saturday, May 20, 2017). I think it’s a beautiful thing. It’s also quite sturdy. This one was separated from its owner and has little droplets of water on it. Even handling it to get it into position for a photo didn’t dislodge them. Interestingly, the wings of the clanger cicada (Psaltoda claripennis, also known as the clear wing cicada), a species found in eastern Australia, has a physical structure of ‘nanopillars’ that kill bacteria that settle on them. Pretty cool.

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Rabbits. We’ve got rabbits. Eastern cottontail rabbits, to be precise (Sylvilagus floridanus). Apparently they have been multiplying like, well, rabbits. It’s not uncommon this spring to see four or five in the back yard at once. And there will be others in the front yard, as well. Mostly they are eating clover and not causing too much trouble with our garden so we put up with them. This many of them, though, and I’m starting to wonder how the local fox population is doing. Either there aren’t enough foxes to take care of the rabbits or they are simply not keeping up.

Magicicada tredecim (Riley’s 13-year Cicada)

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that this is not the year for the huge brood of 17-year cicadas. I also said that there were, nevertheless, a noticeable number of cicadas about, mostly obvious from their exuviae (their shed exoskeletons) on small plants all around the yard. Well, I got a pretty good picture of an adult cicada today and I’m pretty sure this is a Riley’s 13-year cicada (Magicicada tredecim). It is identified as a periodical cicada by its red or orange eyes (the annual cicadas have black eyes). The orange patch between the eye and the wing identifies it as Magicicada tredecim.

The last time we had the huge brood of 17 year cicadas was in 2004. Well, that was 13 years ago. That means that this admittedly smaller brood of 13-year cicadas happened to coincide with that larger brood, making 2004 an especially huge event, more than either of them would be on their own. So, in four more years, the 17-year cicadas shouldn’t be as bad as they were in 2004. That’s good to know.

By the way, if you are of a mind to try one, they don’t taste like much. Just saying.

Small Spider Web

I went out into the yard after work today and took some pictures. I started with some yellow irises that have started to bloom. From there I moved on to take a few rose pictures, the multiflora rose, ‘Blush Noisette’, and my newest, ‘Cutie Pie’. The cicadas are out in significant numbers. This isn’t the year of the largest local brood, which isn’t due until 2021. But there are still quite a few of them. Finally, I took some pictures of this small spider web in the dying Colorado spruce in our front yard. It’s not as sharp as I would have liked, having been taken in somewhat dim light and without the aid of a tripod (and the branch was moving a bit int he breeze.

Dwarf Spider

I know, I know. There are those among you who would be happier if I would just stop taking pictures of spiders all together. I’m sorry, but I think they are fascinating and beautiful creatures and I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. This one, which I think is a dwarf spider (subfamily Erigoninae), is quite safe to be around. Her body is probably 3 to 4 mm long and her jaws are not likely strong enough even to break your skin. So, no problems here. And don’t forget what spiders eat. If you don’t like flying insects, then spiders are your friend. I get not wanting them all around in your house but in the garden, please let them be.

Castianeira Spider

Cathy and I went out for a later afternoon walk today. We just walked around my building a few times but I brought my camera, as I usually do. There were some ducks and ducklings on the pond but today’s picture is this spider, a Castianeira species of some sort. Castianeira is a genus of spiders with about 26 species in North America. They are members of the Corinnidae, the antmimics and ground sac spiders. This isn’t a particularly good picture, having been taken hand-held at 1/60 second in somewhat dim light in a parking lot. Still, it’s a new spider for me and one I’ll look for again when I have more time to get a good picture.

Loon

We spent a fair amount of time with Dorothy today. We drove into Salem for a while but it was cold and wet so we didn’t stay out as long as we might have done. We did see this loon in the water next to Derby Wharf. I only had my 100mm lens so couldn’t get as close as I would have liked but at least you can tell what it is. Dorothy went to dinner with some friends so Cathy and I were on our own. We had a very nice meal in a place called Toscana Bar Italiano. The food was quite good and I think we were a bit lucky to get a table without waiting. It’s a smallish place so it can easily fill up. The rain probably helped us a bit this evening.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Cathy and I went for a walk in the early afternoon. You might think that working at the same company we’d see a lot of each other during the day but in fact, we don’t. We work in different buildings, for one thing, on a campus that isn’t exactly sprawling but which includes six buildings. Mine if on the north end of the campus, separated from the others by a pond. We walked across West Montgomery Avenue to a larger pond today and that’s where I took this photo, of a Canada goose (Branta canadensis).