Creatures

Dem Bones

With apologies to James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938), I present Dem Bones. In this case, they are (I assume) deer bones that I came across in the woods behind my office building. While yesterday’s picture was taken in the large lot north of my building, these were in a narrow piece of bottom land along a stream, to the west. I go down there now and then but much of the time it’s too we to walk through. With the heat we’ve been having I expected it to be dry but no such luck. It was mostly a boggy mess. These were just up hill from that and are probably the remains of a deer that was struck by a car but not killed immediately. It managed to get into the woods before succumbing to its injuries. Of course, that’s only conjecture. But there are the bones, regardless.

Harmonia axyridis (Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle)

I went out into the woods beside my building today. When I started working here this property (actually, three separate parcels totaling about 17 acres) was mostly a field with occasional trees. Even as recently as 2011, when I started taking a picture a day for my initial Project 365, there were more open areas than what I’d consider woods. Over the course of the last five years it’s really grown up into a young woodland. I came across a Micrathena spider today but had a hard time getting any pictures and none of them were particularly good. Then I saw this little lady beetle (commonly known as a lady bird or lady bug) and was happy to be able to get a few good pictures of it. I’m pretty sure this is a multicolored Asian lady beetle and that’s what I’ve put in the title. I’ll make a correction here if I discover he’s something else.

Dead Bumble Bee

Just over a month ago (June 24, 2016) I posted a picture of a dead wasp that I found on the floor of my office hallway. I liked the fact that I could get very close and use a long exposure (because it wasn’t alive and trying to get away from me) to get more depth of field than is usually possible with a live wasp. Today I was walking back from a meeting in another building and saw this dead bumble bee on the path. So, naturally (we’ve all done this, right?) I picked it up and brought it back to my office to get the ‘dead bee treatment.’ This exposure was 0.8 seconds at f/32.

Papilio glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail)

The buddleia is blooming and is attracting the fluttery insects in fairly substantial numbers. The most obvious, if not the most numerous, would have to be the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). There is generally at least one and on occasion two or three on the little bush at any time. There are also lots of bees, of course and the carpenter and bumble bees seem particularly attracted. I saw a hummingbird the other day and we’ve seen the occasional sphinx moth from our kitchen window. A happy time of year for viewing insects.

Megachile sculpturalis (Sculptured Resin Bee)

I went out to photograph insects again this afternoon. It was hot out, but that’s when the bees, wasps, butterflies, and dragonflies are at their busy best. The first thing I saw was a four-toothed mason wasp (Monobia quadridens), a mostly black beast with very distinctive ivory markings. There was also a dragonfly out in the yard, which Brady identified for me as a female widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa). But my favorite bee for the day is this sculptured resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis), which I think is quite pretty, in a stinging-insect sort of way. It is native to east Asia and was first reported in North Carolina in June, 1994 but has subsequently spread over the entire eastern half of the continental United States.

Xylocopa virginica (Eastern Carpenter Bee, Female)

The bees and wasps are out in force and if it were not so hot, I’d be spending more time photographing them. I did go out a little early this evening and got a few pictures, including this one of a female eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica). This was taken with available light, so it’s not as sharp as and has less depth of field than I’d like, but it’s not a bad picture. You can see the bee’s dorsal ocelli, the three simple (single lens) eyes in the center of her face, just above the two antennae. I happen to think that bees and many insects are among the most beautiful creatures in the world. Of course, the same can be said for fish, birds, mammals, and other classes, so maybe I just like animals. And plants.

Dead Wasp

I found this wasp on the hall floor of my office building and thought I’d take a closer look. It’s covered with dust but I photographed it pretty much as-is. I think perhaps it is a blue mud wasp (Chalybion californicum) which is a widespread species in North America. It is a beautiful, metallic blue color with hints of green, as well. Since the larvae feed on spiders, most people would consider it a beneficial insect, although spiders in their turn feed on other insects and are beneficial themselves.

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

I’d say that there are a lot of rabbits in our neighborhood but that would be understating it by considerable. This is an eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), one of the most common rabbit species in North America. According to AnimalDiversity.org it “has the widest distribution of any Sylvilagus. It is found from southern Manitoba and Quebec to Central and northwestern South America. In the contiguous United States, the eastern cottontail ranges from the east to the Great Plains in the west.” I came out the front door this evening with my camera just as Cathy got home. There were three rabbits in our front yard. We went for a walk and saw more. When we got home, there were not only three in the front yard but a couple in the back.

Gomphus vastus (Cobra Clubtail)

We had a great day being out and about. It was nice to have Cathy’s brother, Jim here and we went to Rocklands Farm for a while. We enjoyed seeing the animals, including three-day-old piglets and lots of chickens. I got a great picture of Dorothy holding an iridescent, black chicken, probably a Black Australorp. We also relaxed a while in the barn and sampled a few wines and enjoyed some cheese. From the farm we went to Riley’s Lock on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, where Seneca Creek empties into the Potomac River. As we were heading back to the car we saw this dragonfly eating lunch. I don’t know what it is, for sure, but it is similar (at least to this untrained eye) to a cobra clubtail (Gomphus vastus).

Pantherophis alleghaniensis (Eastern Ratsnake)

From there we drove down to between Great Falls and Carderock and walked to the river near Hermit Island. This is along the Billy Goat Trail, Section B, but we didn’t actually go around the loop, just walking out to the river and back. On the way out we saw this eastern ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) curled up beside a tree. I was able to get pretty close without spooking it and got what I think is a pretty nice portrait. After I got up the snake slithered into an opening in the tree and disappeared from sight. Not everyone’s favorite critter, I understand, but kind of elegant in its own way, I believe.

Poecilocapsus lineatus (Four-lined Plant Bug) Nymph

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 I posted a picture of a four-lined plant bug (Poecilocapsus lineatus). That was an adult of the species. This is the same thing (not the same one) but in its nymphal (i.e. immature) stage. The four-lined plant bug is a pest of both ornamental and crop plants, especially preferring members of the mint family. In our yard, they seem to be most attracted to the black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia sp.) but will feed on many other things, as well. They don’t do terrible harm but they disfigure the plants fairly severely and I will probably spray for them when the weather clears up a bit.

I’m pretty pleased with this picture, as these things are on the small side. This was taken with a 100mm macro lens focused as close as it would go and with an additional 25mm of extension added. It was lit by two small slave flashes that were sitting on the ground on either side of the camera and controlled by the on-camera flash, allowing the photograph to be taken at 1/160 of a second at f/16.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

This morning I took some pictures of a gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) at the birdbath. This evening, when I got home from work, there was an American robin (Turdus migratorius) there and I took its picture, as well. In both cases, the picture is through our kitchen door, with its two panes of glass, so it isn’t nearly as sharp as I’d like. Still, it’s not a bad portrait of this fairly gregarious little fellow. The robins are our companions through the winter in these parts and we are happy to have them looking for worms, eating berries off the holly trees, and washing in the birdbath throughout the year.

Gnat Wings

I was working outdoors early this evening and happened to swat a gnat. Generally gnats are a minor pest, annoying but not really a serious problem. This evening when I swatted it, I thought, hey, I could look at this under the microscope. That might be interesting. Of course, this is a transmitted light microscope rather than a reflected or incident light microscope, so it’s really only useful for looking at transparent or partially transparent items (or silhouettes). So, I decided to look at the wings. This is one of the two pairs of wings from the gnat, somewhat damaged by being disconnected from the body. The antennae were also kind of interesting, but I decided to go with the wings here.

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Cathy called me this morning and said I should get my camera and come upstairs. The fox was back in our yard and was sitting in a spot of sunlight next to an azalea bush. By the time I got there, the fox had moved into the shade, into a hole where a tree used to be (when the tree roots rotted out, it left the hole and we’ve never bothered to fill it in. Shortly after I got there, the fox got up, walked through the sunlit spot again and back into the bushes at the back of the yard. I was able to get two quick shots through the somewhat dirty upstairs window before he was gone. So, it isn’t a great picture but it’s all I could get. Also, I think most folks who didn’t appreciate the deer tick picture yesterday will be more pleased with this one, even if it isn’t so sharp.

Ixodes scapularis (Deer Tick)

I know there are some of you who will not like this picture in the least. It is the head of the dreaded deer tick (Ixodes scapularis, the only known vector of Lyme disease. Cathy found this one in the back of her neck this morning and asked me to get it off. The tick came out cleanly but you can see here why they can be a little tough to get out. The proboscis (the tubular, sucking mouth) is not a smooth straw-like structure, but is quite well designed to stay in the skin when pulled upon. It had only been in her neck since yesterday, so there was no real chance of her getting Lyme from this one. Anyway, I put it under the microscope and took a look. Nasty.

Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

It was another beautiful day today, cool but quite nice out. So, Cathy and I went for a walk hoping to see one or both of the bald eagles nesting not too far from our house. We had a nice walk and were rewarded with a pretty nice view of them. First we saw one flying towards us and landing in a tree just ahead. I was able to get some pictures of that one through the branches of the intervening trees. Then it flew back to the nest. I watched for a while and then saw both eagles on the nest. Finally, the other eagle got up and left, flying fairly close, landing on a dead tree about 50 yards away from us. This picture of the eagle slowing for its landing is still a little less sharp than I’d like but I’m fairly pleased with it, nonetheless.

Scutigera coleoptrata (House Centipede)

This was in our powder room sink this morning and so naturally I took it’s picture. I posted a picture of one of these back on Wednesday, April 09, 2014 but I was able to get quite a bit closer this time. This is the head end and you can see the two black, compound eyes and the bases of the two antennae. As I mentioned last time, as much as most people would probably not be glad for these things around their house, they feed on cockroach nymphs, flies, moths, bedbugs, crickets, silverfish, earwigs, and small spiders. So, on balance, not bad house guests, really.

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

We went for a walk in the park around Lake Frank today. The ground is still quite wet and the trails are very muddy so we stuck to the paved sections, going from the abandoned parking lot to the dam and back. We saw quite a few birds, including Canada geese (Branta canadensis), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor), an eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) and a belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). I got some very poor pictures of most of them and two pictures, slightly better than the rest, of this white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis).

Koi Angel (Pterophyllum scalare)

In mid-November I bought some fish for a 70 gallon take that we have in our breakfast room. I posted pictures of a Red Dwarf Gourami (Trichogaster lalius, Monday, November 23, 2015) and of a Green and Gold Cory Cat (Corydoras melanotaenia, Monday, November 30, 2015). Here is another fish that I got at the same time. This is a Koi Angel. There are three recognized species of freshwater angelfish. In the aquarium trade, Pterophyllum scalare is the most common and most of the varieties that are available are derived from that species. I think it’s pretty obvious where the common name for this variety comes from, having been bred to have the sort of markings usually associated with koi, ornamental varieties of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

Bald Eagles On Their Nest

Cathy and I went for a walk late this morning (and into the early afternoon) and really enjoyed the warmer weather. It was quite pleasant out, although very humid. The ground was pretty muddy and I admit I wore the wrong shoes for a walk in the woods. Early on we saw a small herd of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and I got a few pictures of them.

A little later Cathy said she had heard that there was an eagle nest nearby so we walked to the lake and found it. At first we could see the nest but not any birds. After a while, however, they stood up and we could see both adult bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

Bald Eagle in Flight

at about 150 yards, even with my 70-300mm zoom lens all the way out, I had to crop these to help you see the birds. In consequence, the pictures are fairly grainy (or more precisely noisy). But they are plenty clear enough to be able to identify the eagles. Naturally we were fairly excited. When one of the two birds took off, I was able to get a few pictures of it flying, although I had to pan across some intervening trees, which made it a bit harder. The bird is moving along the opposite shore, which angled toward us slightly, so he was not quite so far away now.

Bald Eagle

By the time the eagle landed it was just over 100 yards away. That’s still a long way for a 300mm lens, but the third picture here, of the adult bald eagle on a branch, is pretty nice, I think. I suppose we could have hoped for more, like a brilliant blue sky in the background, but we actually liked seeing the mist on the water, caused by the humid air condensing over the still frozen lake. It was quite beautiful. So, I was especially blessed today, to see both a red fox in our yard and two nesting bald eagles.

Note: This post was originally posted with the date set to February 22. These photos were taken on Sunday the 21st.

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

I mentioned a few days ago that we saw the fox in our yard again. Well, she was back this morning and I was able to get a few pictures of her before she wandered off. The pictures were taken through two panes of glass (regular window and storm window) so it’s a bit fuzzy but it isn’t terrible. Cathy saw a mangy fox in our yard a few years ago but this fox looks quite healthy, which is encouraging. Except for the big snow and a few cool days, it has been a reasonably mild winter so far, which I suppose makes life a little easier on the foxes and other woodland creatures.

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

Cathy and I were at her mom’s house today, doing various things around the house and in the yard. One thing was to cut up a largish branch that had come down in the minor snow storm we had on Monday. While I was out in the yard, I heard a hawk cry as it circled overhead.

When it landed in a tree in the back yard, I hurried to the car, put my 70-300mm zoom lens on my camera and managed to get five images before it took off again. The full frame images were horizontally oriented and this image is cropped from that, so it’s considerably less than the full frame, which accounts for softness of the image.

Brother George confirmed my identification of this as a sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) and went on to say that it was a first-year juvenile. For those of you who make comments to me about my labeling of plants and animals, I want you to know that in general I get expert advice before labeling any bird picture (with a few easy exceptions). In the past that often meant dad and Albert. Now that all falls to George.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

We continue to have a wide variety of birds (and small mammals) at our birdbath. They are also being drawn by the seed that we put out. Early this afternoon I photographed a white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), an American robin (Turdus migratorius), a few house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus), an eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus), mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), and two northern flickers (Colaptes auratus). Present in the yard but not photographed were at least three blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), a lot of dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), and the ubiquitous house sparrow (Passer domesticus). I decided to post this picture of a flicker, because they are the species I see at the bird bath the least often.

Female Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Last week I posted a picture of a junco in this same spot. Before that I posted a picture of a song sparrow on the bird bath, which is just out of this picture to the left. As I mentioned when I posted the junco picture, I put some leftover seed out on the patio and that’s been attracting the birds and squirrels. This morning, in addition to the juncos and sparrows (both song and house), there were cardinals, blue jays, mourning doves, and in the tree just into the yard, a downy woodpecker. Quite a little circus. I wasn’t able to get a picture of the more brightly colored male cardinal, but this is a pretty little thing, too.

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

We had some extra bird seed for Solomon that was starting to go bad. I ordered another bag and when it arrived, I put the old seed out back for whatever birds and squirrels wanted to eat it. Mostly the squirrels came but this morning there were a few dark-eyed juncos on the patio. They are cute little birds and quite common here this time of year. The large power cord behind the bird in this picture is the power to the bird bath de-icer.

D’Argo

We had one of our family birthday evenings today and it was very good to see everyone, have dinner, and then just hang out together. There were two dogs there, D’Argo and Bean. Luna didn’t come because she’d have had the other two for dinner, but these two get along well enough. I took a few pictures of everyone, as I usually do, but I thought I’d post this one of D’Argo, Steve and Maya’s corgi.

He’s been featured here before, back on September 01, 2013. This one was taken with the camera held down at my side while sitting on a chair, but it turned out reasonably well.

Wasp Nest

I walked over to the next building early this afternoon for a meeting that turned out to have been cancelled. That’s life. It did give me a chance to be outside, though, and that’s usually not a bad thing. It was quite chilly today with a fairly strong wind coming out of the northwest. As I walked back to my building, though, I noticed this wasp nest up in a tree. It’s coming apart, as you can see, but still quite interesting.