Green Lynx Spider
In the Green Swamp, green lynx spiders (Peucetia viridans) live on pitcher plants, enjoying the insects that don’t quite make it into the death trap. Bwah-ha-ha!
Creatures
Green Lynx Spider
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Arachnids, Green Lynx Spider, Lynx Spider, Peucetia, Peucetia viridans, Spider
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Dinosaur and Chicken
Dinosaur and Chicken
It was cool enough in the car that Dorothy wanted to wear her dinosaur suit today. Outside, where this chicken was, however, it was pushing 100°F. We stopped there for lunch and Dorothy asked if she could have her picture taken with him.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
This is a male eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). These and more of the silver-spotted skippers (see photo in yesterday’s Extra gallery) were out in force today feeding on the teasel (Dipsacus sp.) flowers in the lot next to my office.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Butterfly, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Insect, Insects, Lepidoptera, Papilio, Papilio glaucus, Swallowtail
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Vulpes vulpes
Vulpes vulpes
This red fox was hunting on the church property as we were leaving this afternoon. He looked at me for a second or two, then went back to his (or her) hunting. Pretty scruffy looking but still cool.
Great Golden Digger Wasp
Great Golden Digger Wasp
I keep thinking I’m done with wasps and bees and then I find a new one (there are thousands, after all). This, I’m pretty sure, is a great golden digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus). This isn’t the best picture I took in terms of identifying the wasp but I really like this head-on view.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Digger Wasp, Great Golden Digger Wasp, Insect, Insects, Sphex, Sphex ichneumoneus, Wasp
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Sweat Bee
Sweat Bee
I know some of you are probably getting tired of wasps but I this is one of the nicer wasp pictures I’ve gotten, so, here you go with another one. UPDATE: Identified as Halictus parallelus, a sweat bee.
If I get an identification for it I’ll change the label but for now, it’s a wasp of some kind. I spent about a half hour at the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) in the back yard today. The sun was pretty hot so by the time I came in I was wilting. The insects didn’t mind and were really out in huge numbers.
Potter Wasp
Potter Wasp
There were lots of insects enjoying Cathy’s mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) today, including this potter wasp. I’ve narrowed it down to the genus Euodynerus of which there are 19 local species. Beyond that, I need better pictures and different views.
There is a good key to the genus here: http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejournal/bmc_05/key_euodynerus.html. I also found a good Hymenoptera glossary here: http://www.diapriid.org/projects/32/public/ontology/.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bee, Euodynerus, Hymenoptera, Potter Wasp, Wasp
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Spined Micrathena
Spined Micrathena
This is one wicked looking spider. It is a Spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis) and I came across her in the woods next to my office. Her web is about eight inches across and about three feet off the ground. With the number of bugs flying around, I suspect she eats well.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Arachnid, Micrathena, Micrathena gracilis, Spider, Spined Micrathena
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Bumble Bee on Sunflower
Bumble Bee on Sunflower
We were out at Rocklands Farm to pick up our weekly share of produce and I enjoyed photographing crops. There are sunflowers growing in various places, mostly not yet fully in bloom. These, however, were beautiful. They are only about foot and a half tall but four or five inches across. The bumble bees (and many others) really seem to be happy about them. (Bombus griseocollis)
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bee, Bombus, Bombus griseocollis, Bumble Bee, Bumblebee, Hemiptera, Rocklands, Rocklands Farm, Sunflower
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Catching Fireflies
Catching Fireflies
We enjoyed a pleasant dusk catching fireflies in the yard today. The joys of summer. Kind of hard to photograph, though. Here’s one on Dorothy’s thumb. She thought it interesting that little girls that don’t normally associate closely with insects have no problem catching fireflies. Somehow they are different.
Honey Bee on Wild Onion
Honey Bee on Wild Onion
I’ll end the first six months of Project 365 with a honey bee (Apis mellifera), busily visiting the flowers on a wild onion in the empty lot next to my office.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Apis, Apis mellifera, Bee, Honey Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insects, Onion
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Eastern Amberwing
Eastern Amberwing
Albert corrected me as to the identification. I had labeled it as Perithemis domitia, the slough amberwing. He correctly identified it as Perithemis tenera, the eastern amberwing. That makes more sense, base on where I took the picture and the range of the two species. Also, the differences in markings, although not glaring, are certainly enough to be definitive. Thanks, Albert.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Anisoptera, Dragonfly, Eastern Amberwing, Insect, Insects, Perithemis, Perithemis tenera
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Lopidea
Lopidea
I’m not sure which one but I’m fairly certain that this is one of the 50+ Lopidea species, possibly L. media. It’s posing for me on an unopened stock flower. No more than 3/8 inch long (not counting the antennae).
Variegated Lady Beetle
Variegated Lady Beetle
This is a Variegated Lady Beetle (Hippodamia variegata), a non-native species that has only relatively recently (since the 1980s) been found on this side of the Atlantic. Like all the lady beetles, they are predaceous on other insect pests and are welcome in the garden or (as here) the farm.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Beetle, Coleoptera, Hippodamia, Hippodamia variegata, Insect, Insects, Lady Beetle, Variegated Lady Beetle
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Free Range Hens
Free Range Hens
Do you know where your food comes from? This is where we’re getting our produce and our eggs. http://www.rocklandsfarmmd.com/. Thanks, Shawn and Greg.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Chickens, Eggs, Free Range, Free Range Hens, Poultry, Rocklands, Rocklands Farm
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Variable Dancer
Variable Dancer
These little damselflies don’t stay put for very long and they don’t like you to get too close. Also, it was on the warm side today, especially in the sun, which made it harder. I did manage to get two shots of this one. Argia fumipennis violacea
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Argia, Argia fumipennis, Damselfly, Insect, Insects, Odonata, Variable Dancer
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Garden Spider
Garden Spider
The wind was whipping this little fellow around and I could only get at him from behind, so this isn’t as good as I’d like but still, it’s reasonably sharp and kind of cool. If you like that sort of thing — I understand not everyone is crazy about spiders.
Tiny Fly
Tiny Fly
This little fellow is only about 3/8 inch long but he’s as busy as any bee you’ll find. I originally labeled this as a bee but noticing that it only has two wings, I’ve changed the title to Tiny Fly. I’m guessing that it’s a diptera (di = two, and ptera = wings) — a true fly.
Male Ebony Jewelwing
Male Ebony Jewelwing
Without the white spot on the wing, this is the male Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly (Calopteryx maculata). Handsome fellow, too, but fairly shy.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Calopteryx, Calopteryx maculata, Damselfly, Ebony Jewelwing, Insect, Insects, Odonata
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What Is It?
What Is It?
Anyone have a guess as to what this is?
Baltimore Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
As an illustrative photo this isn’t much but seeing an oriole (Icterus galbula) is rare enough that any photo that catches the color is pretty cool, in my book. I got two others of it on a branch but it’s mostly hidden by the branch. I could hear it singing after it flew to a different tree so I have hopes of seeing it again.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Baltimore Oriole, Bird, Birds, Icterus, Icterus galbula, Migratory Birds, Oriole
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Tiny Green Damselfly
Tiny Green Damselfly
These little things are quite shy and wouldn’t let me get very close so this is cropped from a larger image. It could be a little sharper but I’m pretty pleased with it.
Harvestman
Harvestman
There are over 6,400 species of harvestmen which together make up the Arachnida order Opiliones. They aren’t spiders (which are in the order Araneae) but are cousins. I’ve always thought they were cool. Their eyes are on either side of a little turret on their heads — the little black blob in this picture.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Arachnid, Daddy Longlegs, Harvestman, Opiliones
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Lady Beetle
Lady Beetle
I found a lady beetle today. She was nice and bright and crawling around on garlic mustard and mile-a-minute vine. Cute little thing, isn’t she?
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Beetle, Coleoptera, Insect, Insects, Lady Beetle
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Buckeye
Buckeye
his is a common buckeye (Junonia coenia), posing for me on a garlic mustard. An uncommonly beautiful butterfly, I think.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Buckeye, Butterflies, Butterfly, Insect, Insects, Junonia, Junonia coenia, Lepidoptera
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Jumping Spider
Jumping Spider
After the heavy rain this morning I wasn’t sure I’d get out but it was a beautiful afternoon. I took more butterfly pictures but my favorite of the day is this spider I found. I think it may be a tan jumping spider, Platycryptus undatus.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Arachnid, Jumping Spider, Platycryptus, Platycryptus undatus, Spider
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Yellow Jacket
Yellow Jacket
I went out hoping to get a better butterfly picture today. I got a few but they aren’t enough better than yesterday’s picture to justify putting them here. So, here’s a picture of a yellow jacket on a garlic mustard flower.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insects, Wasp, Yellow, Yellow Jacket
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Eastern Tailed Blue
Eastern Tailed Blue
These little guys don’t sit still for long and don’t like being approached but I managed to get a reasonable shot of one today. Eastern tailed blue, Everes comyntas.
Follow-up: I have two more pictures of this butterfly taken on April 27 in my Extras gallery.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Butterfly, Eastern Tailed Blue, Everes, Everes comyntas, Insect, Insects, Lepidoptera
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Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
I enjoyed watching this little fellow for a while. I sensed rather than saw a dark shape overhead. I looked up in time to see (but not take a picture) of a hawk as it flew on large, silent wings. I suppose if I had been a rabbit I’d have been in trouble. (Picoides pubescens)
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates, Dryobates pubescens
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Ducks
Ducks
It rained all day yesterday, sometimes quite hard. When we woke up this morning there was a light dusting of snow on parts of the lawn. When I got to work, the small pond between my building and the next was much enlarged by the rain.