Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

I’m not particularly thrilled with my pictures from the beach this year. I got some nice pictures from the Green Swamp and from Brookgreen Gardens but the pictures I actually took on the beach are not really much to speak of. The sunrises and sunsets this week were not very colorful and during the day it was hazy and the light was harsh. Also, the girls didn’t play in the sand too much or they did it when I was in the sand with them, so there are not pictures of that. Pictures of them out in the water are fine but they aren’t fine art.

I did go out specifically to take bird pictures at one point. These two make me happy and have very different feels. They are both of a Willet (the same Willet, in fact). I like the first of them because it feels calm and ready for something to happen. The bird is a watcher. The second one, though, has a fair amount of tension and action already happening. He’s ready to move in either direction, depending on the wave that’s rolling in.

Hummingbird

Dragonfly #1

Dragonfly #2

One thing I always enjoy about Brookgreen Gardens is the variety of insect, reptile, and amphibian wildlife I see there. Because it is on the water there are always a lot of different dragonflies darting about. We saw a little tree frog as well as two different types of lizard (a Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis and a Southeastern Five-lined Skink, Eumceces inexpectatus). There are huge Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers, Romalea microptera.

Pictured here, though, are two of the dragonflies and a hummingbird. I can identify the bird as a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) because that is the only hummingbird found on the east coast. This one was darting around the white blooms of this Cleome-like flower (I’m not actually sure what it is) near The Fountain of the Muses (by Carl Milles). I managed to get a few photographs before it darted off.

As for the dragonflies, Albert and Brady are the experts so consider my identification tentative until they confirm or correct what I’ve said. I think the first, which looks to me like it is wearing a flight helmet, is a Red-tailed Pennant (Brachymesia furcata). The second, perched on basil leaves, looks like an Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis). This picture makes me happy for all the green in it, as well as its symmetry.

Nephila clavipes (Golden Silk Orbweaver)

This is the third of three pictures I’m posting for July 30. If you don’t like spiders, you may not want to click on this image. This is probably the biggest spider I’ve seen outside of captivity. It isn’t as big as some tarantulas I’ve seen but they were in terraria. The body of the female golden silk orbweaver can be up to nearly two inches long although this one is probably not more than 1.5 inches. With the legs it’s more like six inches. The male, who was on the web nearby, is less than an inch across including his legs and is not nearly as fearsome looking.

In past years we have found sundews on the ground near the banks of a small pond as we enter the Green Swamp. This year the pond had more water and where we had seen them was covered. I was walking through the trees to the shore of the pond when I nearly walked through this spider’s web. She would not have been happy with me if I had not seen her. Then again, I wouldn’t have been all that thrilled to have her climbing on my head and neck. Fortunately I saw a glint of light on the web just before I hit it.

Sphex pensylvanicus (Great Black Wasp)

As it gets hotter and hotter, the bees seem to get thicker and thicker on the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum). The great black wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus is a bit hard to photograph well. In general, it’s easier to photograph something with a bit of contrast in it but the great black wasp is pretty much a uniform black. It’s also not an insect that you can take a lot of time with. It’s constantly on the move. For a huge, dangerous looking wasp, it also seems to be relatively shy and doesn’t like to be approached. Still, I’m reasonably pleased with this shot.

Chlosyne nycteis (Silvery Checkerspot)

This is a cute little butterfly that’s appeared in our garden the last few days. It is a silvery checkerspot, Chlosyne nycteis, one of a genus of 20 to 25 species. It’s a smallish thing, between 1.5 and 2 inches across and seems quite fond of the black-eyed Susans, although they are on the mountain mint, as well, with about a jillion bees and wasps. The mountain mint has really come into full bee-attracting mode. There must be hundreds on that one small patch at any given time, especially in the heat of the day when the sun is shining on it.

Epargyreus clarus (Silver-spotted Skipper)

It’s another insect! Aren’t you excited? This one is a skipper, a silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus) to be precise. It’s a fairly large skipper and quite common, although I’ve only seen a half dozen or so of them so far. We have dozens upon dozens of smaller grass skippers (subfamily Hesperiinae). It’s a busy time in the garden right now. This skipper is on the buddleia, as you can clearly see.

Mantis religiosa (European or Praying Mantis)

This isn’t a great picture but I was competing with a 10-year old who was trying to get a better view of it while I was trying to get a photograph. Actually, she was trying to “help” me get a clear view and she was moving the leaves around. Of course, the mantis didn’t stay in one place very long and I was lucky to get two pictures, both reasonably sharp. This is a small mantis, about two inches long. Metamorphosis in mantises is called hemimetabolism. The larval stage looks basically like the adult, only smaller (and without wings). As they grow, they shed their exoskeleton a number of times.

Halictus parallelus (A Sweat Bee)

I’m pretty pleased with this picture of a leaf-cutting bee. It could be better, to be sure, but I’m pretty psyched with it. The best part, in my view, is what it shows about bees’ eyes. Most people are familiar with the fact that most insects have compound eyes. These compound eyes are called oculi (singular oculus) and are made up of up to 9,000 ommatidia, the individual components of the eyes. What you may not know is that many insects have three additional simple eyes, called ocelli (singular ocellus) on the top of their head, arranged in a triangle. That’s right, they have five eyes, not two.

If you enlarge this image you should be able to see the three “additional” eyes on this leaf-cutting bee’s head. You’ll also get a nice view of the mandibles that she uses to cut pieces of leaf (thus the common name) to use as separators between cells of her nest.

Update: The good folks at BugGuide.net have identified this as Halictus parallelus (A Sweat Bee) (and a male, at that) rather than a Megachile (Leaf-cutting Bee). I have change the title and the caption on the photograph to reflect this.

Cotinis nitida (Green June Beetle)

I saw a new insect today. Well, not technically a new insect, but one I haven’t photographed before. This is a fairly large beetle, about an inch long. It was up on the buddleia bush and I was able to get a reasonably sharp picture, although not as sharp as I’d like. It’s a little like a giant Japanese beetle, but it’s a green June beetle, Cotinis nitida, a North American native. They are generally considered to be pests, because their larvae eat the roots of many plants including grasses and ornamentals.