Squirrel's View

Land Snails

2012-01-03T13:38:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I picked up a few land snail shells that I found on the side of the road and I thought I would share those. I have been collecting them for a few years and they offer a good winter identification challenge. No killing is involved because I find the empty shells where they have washed down the sides of mountains and hills often landed just next to roads. Here is where I collected these.

I photographed a few before I picked them up. Once you see one and have a search image they are pretty easy to spot because they are usually white and round unlike the sharp edged shale and other rocks.

This particular spot is very good because I found several different species. I have found it is best to place them in a hard container like an old pill bottle so they don’t get crushed or lost in my field bag.

To identify them I have been using “How to Know the Eastern Land Snails” by J. B. Burch but that is hard to come by these days so I most often recommend going to Dan and Judy Doursons pdf at: http://www.clemson.edu/public/naturalist/2011_upstate_master_naturalist_class/pdf/snails_smoky_mtns.pdf

The Dourson's use the same features as Burch to determine the species.
First off I look at the shell and determine several factors such as the shell shape and lip type. The shapes are Pupa Shape, Beehive Shape, Heliciform Shape, Depressed Heliciform. Since I didn't find all of these shapes I thought I would identify the big one with the reflective lip. I didn't take a photo of the shape but the one on the left that I will identify is a Heliciform Shape.

The lip shape is easy.

Then I count the whorls, this one looks like it is what they would call five and half. I wanted to call it five but I couldn't find anything that fit the other features so I relented.

And measure the width. The tiny one on the right fell out when I cleaned off the big one so I thought I would include if for comparrison.

The Umbilicus is also important to know and there are basically 4 types, Imperforate, Perforate, Umbilicate and Rimate.

Then look for the teeth but these aren’t really teeth for chewing but they look like teeth. The ones I found that day didn't have any teeth so I included this one (below) from a previous time to demonstrate the teeth.

Using Doursons’ key I was able to determine that my big shell with the reflective lip is Mesodon normalis (Grand Globe). It is 21-38mm wide, five and half whorls, imperforate and has no teeth. Here it is in my hand.

Mesodon normalis (Grand Globe)

There is a little more involved than what I have shown here but it really is pretty simple, I just didn't have samples of all the possibilities. Anyway it is a fun winter activity.

Water Springtails (Podura aquatic)

2011-12-28T11:05:00.001-05:00

I found a really interesting insect during the Christmas Holiday. I was walking down a fire road in the woods when I spotted something different in the road ruts and puddles.

I took several photos as you can see.

What I was seeing were Springtails (Collembola). At first I thought there were springtails that had landed in the water by mistake but I kept seeing them in every puddle as I continued walking. I contemplated rescuing them and putting them ashore but they didn’t seem to be trying to get to land so I refrained. It was a good thing too, because when I later researched them at home I discovered they are Water Springtails (Podura aquatic). Arthur Evans in his field guide says they are semiaquatic. They feed on decaying plant and animal matter. I have also read that toadlets eat springtails but I am not sure if they eat these or the land variety.

They are actually kind of cute in their Michelin tire rolly polly bodies that are just over 1 mm in length. I haven’t been able to get a really good close up since they are so small but I love this description of springtails from “Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity” by Stephen A. Marshall, “Some are covered with scales, like those of a butterfly, many are brilliantly colored and all are morphologically bizarre, starting from the long, forked tail used to make Herculean leaps, and ending with the deeply pocketed mouth that makes springtails look like they have lost their dentures and then sucked on a bunch of lemons.”

Visit Watery Wednesday for otherother interesting sites around the world.

Wonders of the Far Off Lands

2011-12-27T09:34:00.000-05:00

Many creators of Cabinets of Curiosity added inspiring items from their travels often focusing on a single culture. My focus, just by chance has been the Massai People of Kenya. Even though I have never been there I have collected a few things from museums and gifts from my family. Their semi-nomadic lifestyle is full of challenges and hardship yet they retain many of their traditions. One ritual in particular I find disturbing is clitorectomy (female circumcision) which I read about in the early days of the feminist movement but I don't think they performe that in todays tribes. It is this along with other stark differences from my culture that I find both curious and fascinating.

My first purchase was a Maasai milk gourd from the San Diego Zoo store in the early 70’s. Traditionally, the Maasai diet consisted of meat, milk, and blood from cattle. Now days the mixing of cattle blood, obtained by nicking the juglar vein, and milk is done to prepare a ritual drink and therefore not as common as in the past.

PIctured above is a Maasai cow bell that was given to me by my brother.

Wonders of Minerals

2011-12-21T08:23:00.000-05:00

Last winter I took time to visit the Smithsonian Naturalist Center in Leesburg, Virginia. I had been there before but on this occasion I looked into the Mineral cabinets where I found Micro Mounts of minerals. I had read about them but this was my first real life look and they were enchanting and wonderful. Really big things and really small things are fascinating and can give one a sense of awe so I think that is why sometimes the early creators of Wonder Cabinets included miniatures or things found in nature or man-made.

When I first looked through a microscope to view a mineral micromount my first thought was WOW. Then I looked at the box that was less than an inch square and back again through the scope. I couldn’t believe my eyes, these miniature structures were so beautiful and yet so hidden without the aid of a lens.

Each box is a little less than a one inch square.

Being the collector that I am I had to make some of these mounts for myself. It just so happen there was an Annual Mineral Micromount show near Baltimore Maryland, so off I went to ask the experts how it is done. Like most people who have a hobby they love, they were generous with their expertise and even gave me some chunks of minerals to begin with. Below are some of the ones I isolated and mounted.

You need a hand lens or microscope to really appreciate them. The way crystals form into different shapes is fascinating and to see these tiny perfect examples is a delight to the eyes and worthy of a place in the Wonder Cabinet.

My Cabinet of Wonder: Wonder of Plants

2011-12-17T19:32:00.000-05:00

Since it is winter and I am recovering from a sprained knee I thought I would hobble around the house and photograph some things that are in my own Cabinet of Wonder.

Several years ago, while traveling through the southwest, I purchased a curiosity called a Resurrection Plant. Seleginella lepidophylla is the scientific name for this interesting primitive plant in the Lycopod group (ground pines and club mosses). Unlike the lycopodiums I find in moist regions of WV this one comes from the desert, Mexico to be exact, and has adapted to the dry conditions. When the soil dries the Resurrection plant contracts into a tight ball and enters a state of dormancy that can last for years.

Then when the rains return it rehydrates and opens up to a flat rosette that is soft and pliable. Even when it is dead the plant will unfold if given water. The photo above and below show when I first placed it in a bowl of water and then a few minutes later.

This one first inspired a sense of magic and I wasn't even curious how it worked. I now know what makes it open but the magic is what I love the most. Cool, uh?

Cabinets of Wonder "Wunderkammer"

2011-12-15T10:38:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month I visited the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland where I had the joy of being in a replica of an old museum that contained Cabinets of Wonder. It was the first time I had actually seen one in real life. I have been intrigued by these cabinets for a long time and in fact my house almost looks like a cross between a Wonder Cabinet and Nature Center.

Originally Cabinets of Curiosities as they are sometimes called were really rooms of collected objects, manmade or from the natural world that inspired or were fascinating. Some things that could be found in a Cabinet of Curiosity were objects brought back from foreign lands, art work, religious relics, tusks, feathers, skeletons, shells, minerals, and sometimes just weird things like animal deformities. My favorite name for these collections is the German “Wunderkammer” (wonder-room) because most of these objects inspire wonder and awe in me. It is those moments of awe that I seek while hiking and looking at nature, art, music, stories, and people. Fortunately we now have photos, books, cds and DVDs to capture some of those moments yet these old collections really touch my heart and become a wonder themselves.

Later some of the rooms were pared down and became cabinets as you can see in this photo. I think this eventually evolved to be the “curio cabinet” such as the one my grandmother used to display her collection of tiny jugs or maybe the ceramic dog collection of your aunt.

Ultimately the fad died out and some collections became the basis of early museums where the objects were catalogued and separated into scientific groups. The fake and suspect objects were sent to the basement or not saved at all. There is a Museum in Los Angeles call the Museum of Jurrassic Technology that I would love to visit which has some of those strange and weird things that were rejected by the respectable museums.

This is the Wonders of Nature.

Some of the collections were actually studies of one type of objects such as those collected by Thomas Mütter such as medical oddities, tumors, anatomical and pathological specimens. His collection began as a teaching tool for physicians and eventually became to the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now you can find web pages that are virtual Wonder Cabinets that link to sites that others find interesting and inspiring.

Bristletails

2011-12-05T12:11:00.000-05:00

Bristletails are the other species I added to the Winter Terrarium. I know I put at least two of them in there but they are very difficult to find. They are called Jumping Bristletails from the order Microcoryphia. In the wild they are very difficult to photograph because they just won’t stay still and have the annoying habit of jumping out of sight just as I get them in focus. I have actually done better with them in the terrarium except that the sides of the tank are not clean so there are specs in the photos. Darn.

In Ken Kaufman’s Field Guide to Insects of North America, Eric Eaton describes them as having a shrimplike “broken-back” appearance, with three streaming “tails”.

I think I have all they need for their dietary requirements because the terrarium is well stocked with algae, lichens, mosses and decaying plants. What more could a bristletail want!

I’m not sure if you can tell but they are covered with slippery scales that make them hard to catch.

I hope to learn more about them this winter.

Millipedes

2011-12-04T08:51:00.000-05:00

I wasn’t paying much attention to the millipedes when I added them to the terrarium and later discovered that I have two different types. The smooth glossy smaller one that was feeding with the Camel Cricket I believe is in the family Parajulidae (order Julida). It is one of the most common type found in the U.S.

The other one is larger, and more textured and I think it is in the genus Abacion (Callipodida: Abacionidae) maybe Abacion magnum. To me it is by far the most interesting one and I find it crawling about all the time. It seems to always have a place to go.

They are both in the class Diplopoda and most of their body segments have two pairs of legs. Look at the underside of this one as it crawled along the glass and you can see how the legs are paired up. The name “millipede” is from the Latin “mille” meaning thousand and “pes” meaning foot, thus a thousand foots. But in reality they only have between 36 and 400 legs that become a blur when they walk.

They generally do not bite and just scavenge around for food. Some, however, do release noxious or toxic fluids when handled but I’ve never experienced that. It is the centipedes that bite and I try to stay away from.

Their diet consists of decaying leaves and dead plant matter. When the leaves are moist they scrap it with their jaws. And as we now know they also eat fresh mushrooms.

I had a difficult time finding information on millipedes so they could be a good species to study.

Be sure to check back later for more from the winter terrarium.

Camel crickets and friends

2011-12-03T08:27:00.000-05:00

A few weeks later after my winter terrarium was set up I found two cave crickets on separate days. One is a male and the other a female. I am hoping they will mate and I can watch their young. Cave crickets along with camel crickets are in the family Rhaphidophoridae. I found my two in the garage which is a typical location. They also live in animal burrows, caves, under stones and in wood. They like damp dark places. Each evening when I come home I love to hunt for mine and usually find them hiding under the leaves. I believe they are Ceuthophilus maculates and their common name is Spotted Camel Cricket.

They have large drumstick shaped hind legs and long slender antennae. Since they mostly live in dark places like caves they use their long antennae to find their way and to sense food. If I leave the lights low I can seen them moving their antennae about like fingers in search of something. But the moment the lights come on they are frozen in a stance that children playing that old game of statue would envy. This is great because it allows me to get a good photo.

Often I catch them in the act of feeding on the mushroom. I read that the those living in caves have periods when food is scarce and they are capable of devouring their own extremities, even though they cannot regenerate limbs. I’m not going to test that theory so I have been buying regular store mushrooms and they seem just fine.

Last night I took one of the meals worms for the wild birds and cut it in half and place it in on the moss. Almost immediately one of the crickets was feeding. The other half was gone this morning. I decided to try that after reviewing a book I had read many years ago by Sue Hubbell called Broadsides from the Other Orders: A Book of Bugs. She had said that she fed hers dead bugs so I thought I would give it a try and add variety to their diet. Her book was also the inspiration to grab the cave crickets in the first place. After reading it I always wanted to raise them. She also raised Daddy Longlegs (Harvestmen) but it is too cold outside to find any now.

Since they have limited vision, cave cricket will often jump toward any perceived threat in an attempt to frighten it away. Most people seem to be frightened just by the sight of one but they are completely harmless. But you do have to ignore the creepy factor. In all honesty I haven’t touched one yet. I bumped the side of the tank with the camera and this one immediately hunkered down and stared in my direction. It knew something was out there and it was ready to pounce.

They don’t have wings but with legs like that who needs wings.

The other critters I find on the mushrooms are the two millipedes. Here is a photo of one eating along with the cave cricket. That must have be an especially good spot on the mushroom. Check back later to see more about the millipedes.

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Winter Terrarium

2011-12-02T11:14:00.000-05:00

This year I set up a last minute winter terrarium and stocked it with things I found in the yard and woodpile while I was stacking wood. So it is random with no clear road of investigation. I found red back salamander while stacking the wood but decided not to include it because of the food issue. I captured a small snail, a couple millipedes, a large worm and some bristletails to add to the mix.

I created a habitat of top soil, leaves, moss and stuff found in the leaf litter. The snail was what caught my attention first. I had recently read The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey and snails were on my mind. I had raised some in previous years. Like the author I used a sea shell to create a pool of water for my critters. I also have been adding fresh mushrooms as a food source. You can see in this photo the snail really liked the mushroom and sunk its head deep to feed. I guess it was tastier at the bottom, who knows.

One day I noticed that I had two crane flies! The eggs must have been in the soil because I didn’t knowingly add them to the mix. After a few days I realized that I had to let them go or they would get loose in the house when I added more water. Fortunately the weather was still warm so I trust they survived.

I never see the worm on the surface but occasionally I can see it along the side of the tank just below the leaves. I took this photo by looing under the terrarium and to my surprise I found 2 worms. One is in the upper right corner and the other is spread out on the bottom. It looks strange because the view is from the bottom and not the top like we normally see worms.

Check back later to see the other critters I have been observing is this small environment.

Surprise Visit

2011-11-23T09:57:00.002-05:00

I have a large white oak tree in my yard that produces big fat acorn every year but this year. Nada, not a one. I feel sorry for the squirrels but they are steeling my bird food so there is nothing to be done but to feed them as well. So this year I bought some deer corn in hopes that they would eat that instead. It is sort of working. But now I have a new visitor that has never come on the deck before and probably not into the yard either. When I came home from work a few nights ago this is what I saw!

I grabbed my camera and tried to snap a few photos but neither one of us could believe what we saw.

This happen three nights in a row until I realized that I would need to bring in the feeders each night. The following is a compilation of the photos I took during that time. I apologize for the blurriness but we were both in a hurry.

From Wikipedia I read some interesting facts I want to share. The raccoon, (Procyon lotor) is pretty smart and studies have shown that they are able to remember the solution to tasks up to three years later. Darn I’m going to have to bring in the feeders for three years.

The home range size can vary from 7 acres to 20 square miles and their life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. Hunting and road kills are what mostly does them in.

You can’t tell it by these photos but their top speed over shot distances is 10-15 mph. They can swim with an average speed of about 3 mph and can stay in the water for several hours.

For climbing down a tree headfirst—an unusually ability for a mammal of its size—a raccoon rotates its hind feet so they are pointing backwards.

The most important sense for the raccoon is its sense of touch. The “hyper sensitive” front paws are protected by a thin horny layer which becomes pliable when wet. They also have a broad auditory range and can hear quiet noises like those produced by earthworms underground. So why it is eating my bird seed!?! Go find some worms or the neighbors garbage!

Bye bye.

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October Snow

2011-11-02T14:34:00.000-04:00

By now everyone has probably heard that there was an unsually early snow along the east coast of North America. West Virginia was a part of the area covered and my house was no exception. Here are a few of the photos I took the day it snowed from 8 until 6 p.m.

It was very strange to see snow on the green, gold and red foliage and it was very beautiful.

It just so happened that that day was the first day of the West Virginia Winter Bird count so I had my new feeder up along with suet cakes and was watching the snow and counting the birds. You can see a slightly blurry Titmouse on the shepherds hook just in front of the feeder.

This was the view from my deck into the woods below.

View of side yard.

The snow was coming down very hard.

Throughout the day limbs were crashing all around the house. This one came crashing down onto the deck destroying my new bird feeder. Lucky for the birds I had bought two because the squirrels chew them up so I had a spare. My neighbor heard the crash and came over to help me push it over the rail down into the yard below.

By this time I was without power. I stayed the night but left the next day to stay with friends in the DC so I could go to work. The power was off until Tuesday.

This was my favorite photo of the whole event with the cardinal waiting it's turn to come to the feeder. The top of this red maple had come down on the deck but the lower branches were still in tack and survived partly because I was able to knock some of the snow off.

The next moring the sun came up as usual.

This is the few of the road in front of my house and my escape route to electricity and warmth.

Staufers Marsh

2011-10-26T13:34:00.004-04:00

I stopped at Staufers Marsh last weekend to show a friend where it was and to tell her a little of what could be expected. The morning mist was still over the water enhancing the emptiness or so it seemed. We were looking for birds but instead we found insects.

This time of year Praying Mantis are full grown and ready to ensure their gene pool carries on. We found several eggs cases attached to the small trees just inside the fence, most of which had been hacked into and emptied of eggs. From the looks of them I think they are made by European Mantis (Mantis religiosa).

So when I spotted this mantis hanging on by one leg I concluded it too was a European Mantis. The morning was still cold and I think she was just hanging out until it warmed up. I did notice a little movement as I took photos but I didn’t want to disturb her. Later in the day we returned and she was gone. This one was tan but usually they are green. They were first introduced to our continent from southern Europe in 1899 on a shipment of nursery plants.

On the same small evergreen we spotted these sawflies. My friend recognized them right away because she has a dwarf evergreen collection in her yard and they are a big pest for her. I believe these are Neodiprion lecontei (Redheaded Pine Sawfly).

The best way to tell if they are sawflies and not moth or butterfly caterpillars is to look at the prolegs. The sawfly prolegs almost fill up the full length of the body because there are six or more pairs and butterflies and moths have five or fewer prolegs. I’m not sure what that bubble of liquid is at the tip of its mouth. They all had it but when we came back later in the afternoon the bubbles were gone.

Next we drove up to Sleepy Creek WMA to explore some more starting at the lake where I was last week. Most of the trees had turned yellow but some of the leaves at the lake were so red they almost didn’t look real.

My friend pointed out this nice clump of fruticose lichen. It is similar to British soldiers but the caps are pinkish tan instead. One of my fellow bloggers said that she finds these lichens in New York and that they are Pink Earth Lichen (Dibaeis baeomyces). She is an excellent naturalist and I'm confident she is correct.

The fungus of the day was a tiny tooth fungi called Irpex lacteus (Milk-white Toothed Polypore). At least that was our best guess. I don’t often see toothed fungi so I was grateful that my friend tramped through the weeds to get a sample.

The next odd thing we found was Wolf’s Milk Slime mold (Lycogala epidedrum). Often they are more pinkish but these had the more mature color of dark tan. We squeezed one open and it was a pinkish gray paste inside that will eventually turn to spores.

The last photo I took at Sleepy Creek was of this beautiful Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia). They have been very common this year but still I was pleased to see one so late in the season.

I was trying to take a photo of the dorsal (top) side and was slightly disappointed to get this one of the ventral (underside) side. Now I am glad I did because after reading more about them I discovered that they exhibit seasonal polyphenism; a new term for me. So in the summer they are light yellowish on the underside and that version is called “linea”. This fall morph has pink ventral wings and is called the “rosa” morph.

I just never know when I am going to learn another cool fact. Natural history is great isn’t it!

Shenandoah River Walk

2011-10-19T11:01:00.004-04:00

I love to walk along the Shenandoah River this time of year. The leaves and reflection in the water are stunning.

Of course I am still looking for spiders and I found this one from the genus Tetragnatha. There are 25 species in North America to choose from I think this one is Tetragnatha straminea. Also notice how long the legs are; they are about ten times the length of the carapace.

It is a long-jawed orb weaver and you can see the large chelicerae in this photo. They have long, slender abdomens as well. They make orb webs but I didn’t see its web. They catch prey using the web in the traditional sense but they also capture flies and other insects without the aid of a web.

They often can be seen stretched out on a twig or leaf and are almost impossible to see. The egg sac is a tightly woven sac sparsely covered with threads of beadlike, greenish silk attached to twigs and other objects. I looked but didn’t see anything like this nearby.

The walk along the river was really nice. Spice bushes are always good places to search for insects and it smell so nice as I turn over leaves.

To my surprise I found this fun looking colorful caterpillar out in the open. It is a Spicebush caterpillar (Papilio troilus) pretending to look like a snake. I think Disney should make a movie about caterpillars. This one could be one of the main characters. When it is in the early stages of growth it looks like bird poop so there could be a lot of fun teasing about that in the movie.

I have this whole cast of caterpillar characters in my head and maybe later this winter I will do a blog featuring them. For now I just want to show this one.

Here is a photo of two adults taken at an earlier time.

When I turned around to go back to my car I spotted a Praying Mantis eating a couple of bees.

Hello, do you want to join me? I have two bees.

They are very yummy.

Most of the flowers were gone and I didn’t see any mushrooms but these three insects were great finds on such a beautiful day.

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Neoscona crucifera

2011-10-14T22:21:00.000-04:00

Neoscona crucifera is a member of the Araneidea family. She is an orb webweaver and likes to sit head down in the middle of her web waiting for prey.

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Ringneck Snake

2011-10-13T09:14:00.003-04:00

While stacking wood for the winter I noticed this little Ringneck snake trying to sneak into the garage. It was all kinked up for some reason. Monday was a warm day so maybe it was coming out of an early hibernation to catch a bite before the real cold sets in.

Northern Ringneck snakes like this Diadophis punctatus are fairly common in West Virginia. According the Dr. Pauley in “Amphibians and Reptiles in West Virginia”, they are usually found in woodland habitats near water. I have a small creek at the edge of my property so that fits. He also says they can be found under the cover of rocks, bark, logs, leaves, or other debris. That fits too because this one crawled out from my last year’s wood pile.

I had been taking some of the old wood from the stack to bring into the garage when I spotted a redback salamander that skittered away. I hope this snake doesn’t eat it, even though it is one of their preferred foods. You can see how tiny the snake is compared to the oak leaf.

They are very docile but they will secrete a foul smelling musk when roughly handled. I used a stick to encourage it to go back into the old wood pile so I wouldn’t get musked. Dr. Pauley mentioned that “a single female may lay from 1 to 7 eggs, and a dozen or more females may use the same nest.” Now that is a good use of resources and labor saving as well.

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Full Moon

2011-10-11T22:37:00.001-04:00

Larinioides cornutus (Furrow Orbweaver)

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Outdoors at Sleepy Creek

2011-10-11T22:08:00.000-04:00

Sleepy Creek WMA is one of my favorite places to visit in the fall. It is just a little higher up and fall comes a few days earlier than it does at my house. As I drove into the area I was greeted with a scene full of changing leaves. Most of the flowers were spent and only a few insects were flying. I drove on and stopped to hike a birding trail I had not taken for years. I thought that I might find more interesting mushrooms but no such luck. But I did find this wonderful orb web weaver called, Araneus marmoreus, Marbled Orb Weaver Spider. I saw the web first and traced one of the silk threads to a couple of folded leaves in the upper right corner. Opening it up a tad I discovered this beautiful spider. The adult spiders build hide-a-ways like this one but the immature make retreats of silk only. Marbled spiders are polymorphic, meaning it has many color variations. This one is bright yellow but some are pale tan or pale yellow.

The habit of the Marbled Orb Weaver Spider is to hide and keep one foot on a “signal” line to the main web. When a flying insect is caught, it races out and grabs the victim. I took that photo using a flash and I think it scared her and she dashed out and ran to the center of the web and just hung there without moving. I hated flushing her but I was glad she was out in the open and I could get a better look.

Leaving her in peace I drove down to the lake and found this Eastern Box turtle in the road. My second one this week! The pattern on the back reminded me a little of the spider.

I love to take photos of critters faces to catch their expressions and anthropomorphize a little. Doesn’t it look like it was eating ice cream with chocolate dripping down the front of its chin? Well, maybe not. Anyway I picked it up and moved it off the road and we both went on our way.

The lake was beautiful as you can see.

There were lots of Odonata (Dragonflies) flying around, adding to the fall colors and activity of the day. Autumn Meadowhawk, Sympetrum vicinum, is in the family Libellulidae and very common this time of year, as the name suggests. The females lay their eggs by dipping the tips of their abdomens on the surface of the water. There were lots of males around defending their territory.

As I was taking this photo of a male I noticed some movement in the background and investigated. What I saw was a Walking Stick just lumbering along. They are really not very graceful as they walk. I believe this one is a Northern Walking Stick, Diapheromera femorata in the family Phasmidae. The ancient Greek phasma means apparition or phantom and refers to the resemblance to sticks or leaves. They are certainly the masters of disappearing before your eyes. They feed at night on the leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs such as oaks and hazelnuts. This one is heading down the trunk of this small tree.

After finding that walking stick, because of its movement, I now had a search image in my mind so when I walked by a bush, a few feet down the trail I noticed this.

Had I not seen the first one I doubt I would have seen these. And even as I looked at them it was hard to distinguish the female. She is missing one of her front legs and it looks just like part of a twig. It is amazing how she blends in, her head is at the top and she is much longer than the male. The antenna is almost at the top edge of the photo. Her eye is almost in the middle of the photo where the top leaf is attached to the stem. The male is about 3 inches and the female below is 3 ¾ inches.

And look at the end where all the mating is going on. He is using the claspers to hang onto her. They can stay like this for hours and days. I thought seeing the spider was thrilling but this really made my day. The female drops her eggs singly onto the ground where they overwinter in the leaf litter and hatch in the spring. The eggs resemble tiny seeds that have a structure called an operculum at one end that pops open like a lid when the nymph is ready to emerge. Wouldn’t that be cool to see?

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Colorful and odd shaped Mushrooms

2011-10-11T08:03:00.003-04:00

Last weekend my friend Jane came up from DC to explore and look for mushrooms. When we started out it began to drizzle rain but we went ahead with our plan. What’s a little rain to stop naturalist! I must admit I was a little concerned for my camera but off we went.

Our first good find was a colony of Clavaria pyxidata, Crown-tipped Coral mushrooms or they could be Ramaria stricta, I just can’t decide. There must have been 30 or more in very large clumps. Roody in Mushrooms of West Virginia writes that they are edible but I’m just not ready to taste these just yet. He claims they taste mild to peppery. I think they are pretty and that’s enough for me.

I was thrilled when Jane pointed out these earth stars. I believe they are Geastrum fimbriatum. The rain has made them glossy looking and they almost sparkle don’t they. I asked Jane to squeeze one so I could get a photo of the spores coming out but I didn’t get the photo and she got a face full of spores. I don’t think she will do that again even if I begged.

We saw many other mushrooms that we didn’t identify before the rain began to really come down and we had to leave.

Then last Friday after work I drove back up to see if I could find more and I was blessed with these two bright orange ones. I believe they are Hygrocybe cuspidate, Candy-apply Waxy Caps. With that red color you would think they were poisonous but they are not.

There were plenty of regular shaped mushrooms all about but I was going for the more exotic looking ones such as this Clavulinopsis aurantio-cinnabarina. That’s a mouth full isn’t it? The common name is Orange Spindle Coral. I found some twice the size of this one but I’m showing you this because I have my hand there for scale. They can get up to 5 inches, but I think I only saw some up to 4 inches. At first it seemed like there was only one but once I started looking I could see them all around.

I was also going for the colorful when I photographed these Lemon Drops, Bisporella citrine. They are one of the most common cup fungi in my area. This log was covered with them.

I walked on up the hill to find the earth stars again but found this box turtle instead. He seems to have all the fall colors of the mushrooms in his face. He doesn’t look too happy but I suspect he has inner peace if not a joyful face.

I didn’t find the earth stars but I did find this Pestle-shaped coral, Clavariadelphus pistillaris. If you look closely on the left side you can see the teeth marks of something that ate its way along. I think it was a tiny snail.

As I was getting back into my car I saw some movement and followed a chipmunk to its hideout. I guess it thought I couldn’t see it and was very still and watchful. I was rather surprised because there are so many squirrels about that I rarely see a chipmunk at this end of the mountain.

It was getting late so I took this parting shot before I drove home. It was truly a perfect and colorful day.

Caterpillars – Common Pug and Snowberry Clearwing

2011-10-07T14:21:00.000-04:00

Spiders aren’t the only thing I have been seeing lately. When I found the Garden Spider Egg case I also found two interesting caterpillars nearby. The first one is a Hermaris diffinis, commonly called Snowberry Clearwing moth.

Hermaris diffinis larva

Snowberry Clearwing moth adult

This is the less common brown form and I found it where I had seen adults earlier this year. It likes fields, woodland and forest edges. This one was on a fence row next to a field for cattle.

Hermaris diffinis larva

Isn't that horn at the end interesting? I suspect some of it's enemies are taken aback when they see this. I suppose I would be too if I sat down next to someone on the subway with a large horn.

The other one I found was a Eupithecia miserulata known as a Common Pug. The moth is really not much to look at and hard to identify from other Pugs but this caterpillar is pretty darn cool.

This is the adult Pug found at my porch light in early March.

Wagner in his book Caterpillars of Eastern North America says, “It’s coloration frequently blends with that of its foodplant --how the caterpillars come to match their background in coloration is deserving of study”. Is that amazing or what! It took me a while to find it in the book because mine was a bright yellow to match the yellow flower. Finally I just focused on the herringbone pattern and found it. The one in the book is brown.

Eupithecia miserulata larva (Common Pug)

You can see how it has been eating the petals of the flower.

Eupithecia miserulata larva (Common Pug)

When it was first spotted it was near the center of the flower and blended in but as I began to take photos it moved out and eventually took the position of standing up straight and stiff. I guess this normally works to ward off preditors but for me I was gratefull that it finally stood still so I could get a good photo.

Nursery Web Spider (Pisaurina mira)

2011-10-05T09:04:00.001-04:00

Pisauriana mira (Nursery Web Spider) are very common and often seen scurrying along the forest floor. They are in the Family Pisauridae and about the same size as Wolf Spiders.

Nursery Web Spiders are often found in gardens and you can see below one in my leaf lettuce that looks fat and full of eggs. I read that they eat a lot of those tarnished plant bugs and other garden insect pests.

Here is a link to an earlier blog I did on spider egg sacs: http://squirrelsview.blogspot.com/2010/11/spider-egg-sacs.html You can scroll down and see the Pisauriana carrying her egg sac to a good location.

The interesting thing about Nursery Web spiders is, well, the nursery. After carrying around the sac of eggs she finds a good location and begins by tying leaves together with silk. She then suspends her egg sac within and waits nearby for them to hatch. I believe she stays on guard at least until after their first molt, about a week. I find this interesting because most insects that lay and abundance of eggs don’t protect their offspring. The thinking is that there are so many, so they play the odds that enough will survive but not Pisaurina mira, she hangs in there to ensure survival.

Here is an addition to my previous post on spider eggs sacs. This is not a large furry egg but rather a large group of spiderlings huddled together. When I approached they all scattered. You can see the recently molted skins.

When the male Pisaurina mira come courting he brings his intended a fly as a gift. He is planning on having his way with her while she is eats and not be interesting in eating him. I would love to see this in action but so far no luck.

Check out Nature Notes.

Unusual spiders

2011-10-03T11:41:00.001-04:00

Today I decided to write about some other interesting spiders I have seen recently and in the past. I thought I would just put up a photo and write a little about each one.

First is a tiny spider I found last week on a spider hunt with my Nature Reading Group. It is a Cyclosa turbinate (pronounced Sy-clo-sa . ter-bin-ate-ah) and the common name is Trashline Orbweaver. Below you can see how appropriate that name is. If we didn’t already know about this spider we probably would have missed it thinking the stuff in the middle of the web was indeed just trash. But upon closer inspection you can see the spider at the bottom of the line just hanging out. That line of trash was deliberately made for hiding. The female ¼ inch in length and rarely leaves her web. However, if disturbed, she can shake the web so violently it is hard to focus. Out of all the photos I took only the first one turned out. I thought I was the one shaking but it might have been her.

I didn’t notice at the time but later when looking at the photos I notices two egg cases at the top of the trash line.

Cyclosa turbinate

Spintharus flavidus is an interesting looking spider in the family Theridiidae or cob-footed spiders. They are mostly found on the undersides of leaves with each food supported by a silk thread. The make cobwebs to catch their prey. When a victim is caught in the net the spider runs out of hiding and throws silk over it, wraps it up in a tight package and then bites and sucks it dry. Common House Spiders and Black Widows are members of this family. The male has poor eyesight even for a spider and plucks the threads of a female web to get her attention. I guess they follow the vibrations to find each other. Puts a whole new slant on “Good Vibrations” doesn’t it? Anyway this is a colorful spider and fun to find.

Spintharus flavidus

Micrathena mitrata (White Micrathena) is similar to the Spined Micrathena but it only has two spines at the end. I don’t see them as often in the WV Eastern Panhandle. They have a distribution that is further north than the Spined Micrathena and can be found in Maine and Wisconsin. The adults mature in summer. It is an orb weaver as well and in the Family Araneidae. They are about ¼ inch long.

Micrathena mitrata (White Micrathena)

Verrucosa arenata (Arrowhead spider) is a just shy of half inch long and had a yellow triangular pattern on the abdomen. Sometimes that patch can be lighter or darker. Like the Micrathena they build their webs at our face level mainly in the middle or late summer. They rest in the middle with their head up which is the opposite of the Micrathena spiders. Another common name is the triangulate orb weaver. It looks similar to the Spintharus flavidus but when you look at the legs and very close you can see the differences.

Verrucosa arenata (Arrowhead spider)

Hope you enjoy these new additions...I will be working on more between now and Halloween so be sure to visit again.

Spined Micrathena

2011-10-02T13:54:00.001-04:00

“Oooooh Yuck, I ran into another one!” These are common words in the hills of West Virginia as hikers explore during the fall months. “I’m getting a stick to wave in front so I don’t walk into another of those darn spider webs.” You’ve heard it, you’ve said it, but hang on a minute and take a look at what you are knocking down. The spider that builds that web is called the Micrathena gracillis pronounced my-cruh-THEE-na grah-SILL-us. The common name is Spined Micrathena. In doing research about these spiders I learned how remarkable they are and now I will be reluctant to wave my hiking stick out in front. I hope to find them before they find me and take a closer look.

You can see the angle of the web and the spider in the middle.

They build their webs 3-7 feet off the ground and give them a vertical or up to 45 degree horizontal slant so they are perfect for catching flies going up and down and people walking the trails. They like the larger Diptera but they are not too excited about people. According to J. Michael Biere and George W. Uetz they orient their webs in such a way to optimize the solar radiation requirements it needs to regulate its body temperature. The female M. gracillis builds her web at sunup and when the sun goes down she eats her web leaving only the strong main lines. It is only those tightly coiled lines that are sticky and feel yucky on my face and glasses.

Most of the time when I find these spiders I see them hanging upside down in the middle of the trail, the web is there but not always visible because of the angle. Perhaps if I was a creature looking for a spider to eat I might not see it from the top because the darker brown/black color would blend in with the leaves if I was looking down. And if I was looking up from the group I might not see the spider because of the white back that looks like an opening in the tree canopy. I’m not sure if that is a true adaptation but it is something to think about.

Spined Micrathena are in the family Araneidae (orb-weavers). The females are 7-10 mm and the males 5 mm. The specie’s range is the eastern U.S. from Massachusetts south to Florida and west to the Rocky Mountains.

On the internet I read that these spiders make a stridulating sound that is said to be a low-pitched buzz and is audible to us if we are nearby. I’m not sure I believe it since I have not been able to verify the source but it is worth listening for next time I am out.

Another thing to look for is the male. He is supposed to be nearby and ready to mate. He is half the size of the female and has no spines. His body is elongated and dull colored. He doesn’t build an orb web but does build a “mating thread” that links him to the female’s web. That might be a way to find him if you see a single line going off in another direction. The female has been known to kill the male for food. Speaking of food, I wonder how the male catches prey; perhaps he steals it from the female’s web, I don’t really know. There is still much to learn and observe about this spiny little lady.

Argiope (Garden Spider)

2011-09-30T07:36:00.005-04:00

Lately a few people have asked me about the big black and yellow spiders in everyone’s garden. It is usually an easy question to answer because there aren’t too many others like it but there is one I have seen in the Blue Ridge Mts. where I live. But let’s start with the Black and Yellow Garden Spider whose scientific name is Argiope aurantia pronounced Ar-je-oh-pe . ar-an-te-ah.

Argiope aurantia (Black and Yellow Garden Spider)

They are around 2.5 inches, including the legs, so they are not easy to miss. The female is large and has silvery-white hairs on the carapace. The male is about one-fourth the length. The photo below shows both the male and female with the male on the left (underside view) and female on the right (top view). If you look closely you can see he has very large palpi.

Argiope aurantia male (left) and female (right).

You can sometime see the young in June or July but it isn’t until the fall when they are full grown and most obvious. The web she makes is an orb web with zig-zags called a stabilimentum in the center.

Stabilimentum of Argiope trifasciata (Banded Garden Spider).

The males make a small imperfect web of their own near the females. You should look for him next time you see the large female. In September she lays eggs in a tough tan pear-shaped cocoon (about the size of a grape) hung among the grasses and limbs of bushes. Then she dies shortly after the first frost in October.

Argiope aurantia (Black and Yellow Garden Spider) egg sac.

Today after work, after I had already posted this blog I went out looking for spiders and found this egg sac of the Argiope aurantia. I actually found two of them near each other but one was among some leaves and I couldn't get as good of a photo. I was so excited!!! I love to learn about things and then find then in the wild.

Here is a photo of the underside of one that got nervous and ran to the side when I was taking photos. You can see the orange spinnerets.

Argiope aurantia (Black and Yellow Garden Spider).

Now the other Garden spider I have seen is the Banded Garden Spider which I found in the swampy section of woods where I often explore. It is a Argiope trifasciata and like the A. aurantia it is a member of the Family Araneidae. The underside looks very similar.

Argiope trifaciata (Banded Garden Spider) sucking on a wrapped up insect.

But the top is totally different. During late August and September, a male and female can be seen together in the same web. I looked but didn’t see any others. The A. trifasciata is a little more skittish and drops to the ground at the slightest disturbance. I was lucky that this one put up with me as I circled to take photos.

Argiope trifasciata (Banded Garden Spider)

They are normally a little thinner than the A. aurantia but I think this one was about to lay eggs. The egg case is usually grayish and flat on top like a kettle drum. I went back later to look for an egg case but it was impossible to find.

Argiope trifasciata (Banded Garden Spider) egg sac.

The other cool thing I found today was a male Argiope trifasciata and yes he was on the same web, up on the top left corner. I could only get a photo from the underside but you can still see he looks very different from the female.

Reference and egg sac drawings from How to Know the Spiders by B. J. Kaston and Elizabeth Kaston copyright 1953.

Here is a good link to Camera Critter for more interesting and fun critters. Click HERE.

Jumping Spiders (Salticidae)

2011-09-28T11:21:00.000-04:00

As promised here is some information on Jumping spiders. They are in the Family Salticidae and there are over 300 species in North America. So far I have only photographed eight; I guess I have a long way to go. Mostly I see them at my porch light when I am looking for moths. They feed on the insects that show up and tend to stay put while I snap a picture. They are considered diurnal even though I can find them at night.

Platycryptus undatus eating a cranefly

When I have found them during the daytime they run and jump away too fast for me to focus but I have managed to catch a couple such as this Hentzia palmarum (Longjawed Jumping spider). They are capable of jumping as high as 25 times their own size. Somehow when their blood pressure rises in their limbs their tiny bodies leap by way of released pressure. Gee, I wish my high blood pressure worked that way, I could leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Hentzia palmarum (Longjawed Jumping spider) on moss.

They also have superior eyesight, four eyes in the front or face area and four on the highest part of their carapace. They are arranged in three rows called the ocular quadrangle. The two big ones (medial eyes) in the front that look like headlights and make them so cute have limited perspective and high resolution. The other eyes have a wider field of view. Combined they have good vision up to several inches, color vision and some depth perception.

Platycryptus undatus

Jumping spiders do not weave webs but they do use silk to mark retreats and to protect eggs. You can see how this one has a line of silk just in case it wants to leap onto an unsuspecting insect.

Platycryptus semilimbatus

While I was photographing this Platycryptus semilimbatus it kept waving me off. The photo is blurry but you can see what it was doing with its front left leg. As the camera would approach it would wave. Is that cool or what! Some of them also do a similar waving action when they are courting a female. If you want to really see that in action just search YouTube for jumping spider courtship and watch. It is very impressive and reminded me of Birds of Paradise courting rituals.

Platycryptus semilimbatus

I’m not sure if this female Peppered Jumping spider was catching prey here or if the web was for the babies but I think she was hunting.

Pelegrina galathea (Peppered Jumper female)

The life expectancy of a jumping spider is around 2-3 years. They do engage in combat to claim a female during mating season and as a result the females generally live longer and mature first. It takes about a year for them to mature.

One interesting thing I have noticed about them is that the carapace can be pivoted 45-degrees. The first time one turned and looked at me it was a little startling.

Thiodina sylvana female

Some jumping spiders can be very colorful such as the Phidippus apacheanus and the female Eris marginata seen below.

Phidippus apacheanus

Eris marginata (The Bronze Jumper) female

Crab spiders

2011-09-23T15:53:00.002-04:00

About the middle of September I was out walking and hunting insects as I often do and came across this beautiful crab spider. I have seen crab spiders before but this one seemed especially elegant and has inspired me to do some research on them.

Misumenoides formosipes

Crab Spider is a common name for a group of spiders that actually look a little like crabs and act like them as well. The first two pairs of legs are longer than the rest and are normally held out from the side like a crab. They walk forwards, backwards and sideways like those little fiddler crabs I see on most Atlantic beaches. They primarily use their third and forth pair of legs to walk. But unlike those crabs that scurry about, these crab spiders sit and wait and wait and wait. They are masters of patience and camouflage. Besides being a good technique for not getting eaten up it is also a good strategy for attack.

The above Misumenops asperatus (Northern Crab Spider) is still very small.

Below are a couple example of where they hide.

I believe the spider hiding below is a Tan Crab Spider, Xysticus transversatus.

Xysticus ferox (Brown Crab Spider)

Some, such as a Misumena vatia, can actually change colors to match their surroundings but this usually takes a few days. Like I said they have patience.

Bees seem to be a favorite food and are easily captured while they are focused on searching for pollen. This is a Misumenoides formosipes and indicated by the prominent white ridge about and below the front row of eyes.

If I am actively searching for crab spiders they are pretty easy to see on the flower heads and among the petals but if I am just casually walking along what usually catches my eye is a bee or other insect that is in a weird posture and most importantly doesn’t fly off as I approach.

As you can see here a crab spider has grabbed a honey bee and injected its potent venom into the victim and is sipping away. Once they are feeding they are very reluctant to run and easily photographed. I spent about 5 minutes taking photos of this one and I was just about an inch away for most of the time. I even tested its patience by using my flash and it was not to be deterred.

Most of them are in the family Thomisidae and can also be referred to as “flower crab spiders” and the most common. I believe the one above is a Misumenoides formosipes. Please correct me if you know I am wrong or can identify any of the others. The

They don’t use their spinnerets to produce silk for webs but they do use it for drop lines for safe free falling.

Unlike Jumping Spiders and other hunting spiders they don’t have large eyes. The Thomisidae anterior and lateral eyes and posterior lateral eyes are closely placed and are mounted upon elevations that look a little like horns. Their eyes are small and work like motion detectors. They just wait in a prime spot until an unsuspecting insect lands nearby. Location, location, location is the name of the game and they usually pick the freshest flowers to rest on since these are the ones full of pollen and nectar that attract prey.

I think crab spiders are the easiest of all the spiders to find and photograph but for plain cuteness you can't beat a jumping spider. I will try to gather up some photos and information and feature them. Have fun searching while we still have flowers in bloom.

Spider Anatomy

2011-09-15T15:03:00.000-04:00

Here is the wolf spider that found dead in my basement. Who knows how it died but I saved it and took these photos. You can see the eye arrangement of a row of one small eye, two large and one small on the top row and the 4 small on the bottom row. The ones for main vision are the two larger ones as you might expect and the smaller ones called ocelli are used mostly for sensing light and dark. I definately get the sense that this spider could see me very well if it were still alive. Wolf Spiders activelly search for prey and need the good eyesight. Jumping Spiders have the best eyesight, even better than dragonflies.

Turning the carcus over you can see the fangs (Chelicerae) which are very large. They are like needles that pierce the prey and inject venom for the final kill and turns the insides to liquid. Spiders' guts are too thin to take in solid food, and they liquidize their food by flooding it with digestive enzymes and grinding it with the bases of their pedipalps, since they do not have true jaws. The two furry short looking feet on each side are pedipalps.

Here is another view of the pedipalps and the female genital opening, known as the epigyne on the underside of her body.

Below is a good view of the spineretts that contain the many spigots, each of which is connected to one silk gland.

Hope you enjoyed this simplied spider anatomy. I only mentioned a few of the parts that are unique to spiders, I figured everyone would recognize the legs and body parts.

Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata) Camouflaged looper

2011-08-19T11:29:00.003-04:00

What is that?

It's not part of the plant yet it looks like one of the buds coming out of the side.

It's moving!

Oh cool. I think it is a caterpillar or a sawfly larva. These were my thoughts as I took photos of this interesting tiny caterpillar. When I returned home with the photos and had a chance to sit down and thumb through David Wagners Caterpillars of Eastern North America, the best caterpillar book for my area, I was able to find it on page 200. Camouflaged Looper (Synchlora aerata).

As it kept crawling I realized that it was not a sawfly larva because they have legs the full length of their bodies and this one only had prolegs in the front and the rear. This caterpillar type of caterpillar and that way it moves gives it the common name "inchworm". The scientific family is Geometridae. They stretch out their bodies, grip onto something with the front legs and then pull the back up to form a loop. They look like they are measuring as they loop along.

Loopers like this one are essential to birds in my forest because they are the main diet of our nesting population. They is probably why so many of them have gone to such lengths to disguise themselves and stay hidden from the sharp eyes of birds.

Here's a good view of this one. Most of the loopers have smooth bodies and sometines look like leaf stems. This one has spine-like projections, sort of like the spines on the Buck Moth in my last post but these arn't as big. I would love to see how the caterpillar picks up stuff and puts it on its back. I think this one needs to refresh its foliage because I was able to spot it because the flower and leaf parts are dead. Had they been fresh I probably would never have seen it. Wagner says overwinter as a middle instar larva.

Below is an adult that I found at my porch light in July of 2004. They are pretty impressive as well.

Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata) is the name of the adult.

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Late summer walk in the woods

2011-08-17T15:36:00.003-04:00

My latest trip up to Sleepy Creek WMA was one of variety. It was like I was finding one of everything. At the hair pin turn I stopped to see what was on the Joe Pye Weed and was rewarded with this Great Spangled Fritiliary (Speyeria cybele). I have photos of it showing the back side but I liked this one showing it's eyes the best. They are a member of the Brush-footed butterflies, family Nymphalidae. It lookes like it only has 2 pair of legs but that brisly looking stuff under its face is the 3rd pair that it gets it's name from. You can also see it's proboscus dipping into the nectar of the flower. This is a large butterfly sinilar in size to a Swallowtail.

Along the side of the road I spotted some early blooming asters. These are Aster schreberia at least that is what I think they are. It is a light purple flower with a yellow center that turns redish and that is how my field guide described them. This one had one of those little green sweat bees (Halictidae) feeding on it.

Crossing the road was a Buck moth caterpillar (Helimeuca maia). I usually see a couple of these a year, in fact I see the catpillar more often than the moth. This is definately a caterpillar you don't want to pick up. In David Wagner's book, Caterpillars of Eastern North America, he wrote, "Stings that I received on the back of my hand from a Buck Moth caterpillaer were visible 10 days later...." You got to give them credit though, they do give fair warning.

There were lots of yellow composits but for the life of me I cannot really tell one from another. But I did see Dogbane that was old and beginning to go to seed and of course it had this lovely Dogbane Beetle (Chrysochus auratus) chomping away. That reflective color is really amazing isn't it. It is missing one of its beaded shaped antennae, a type that is common to beetles. Day flying insects have shorter antenea because they can also see well, unlike the night insects that need to "feel" their way in the dark.

Speeking of night flyers I found this moth hanging upside down, I guess it was trying to look like a dead leaf but not really succeeding. It is female Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis). Looks like she had a rough night.

I thought it was dead and when I touched it she dropped to the ground which was really a better hiding place because she just blended in with the few old and dead leaves.

As I walked up to this large mushroom I noticed the nauceous odor and the insects buzzing around it. I guess they thought it was rotting meat. I had seen this one before but for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was so I took this photo and went back to the car to look it up.

It looked similar to a few others but still I wasn't sure so I got out a small trowel I use for collecting mushrooms and trotted back to dig it up and sure enought there was the answer: Carrot-foot Amanita (Amanita daucipes). It even had the ring that had fallen off the stalk laying at the bottom near the base just as describe in my field guide. With a root like that it was easy to stick back into the ground.

Of all the species I saw that day this one was my favorite. Like Luna Moths, the Praying Mantis seems special to me. There are several species of mantis in my area but I think this one is a young European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) the one that the common name comes from. I say it is young because you can see it's wings are not fully developed. I imagine it saying, "Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to bite your head off". I think that would make a nice card don't you?

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Flowers of Roadsides and Fields

2011-08-03T13:10:00.002-04:00

Hot days of summer (100 degrees) like we had last weekend do not often draw me outside but I thought if I just stay near the car, an ice chest and AC if needed I would be just fine and dandy. So off I went in search of wildflowers, in particular roadside and field varieties. I drove down off the mountain, into the valley and country side.

I was looking along the way but my destination was a familiar intersection in the middle of the county with a creek and wetland nearby. It turned out to be a fabulous place because of the variety.

Blue Vervain (Verbena hastate) is one of the flowers that really liked this wet bank along the stream. Like a lot of the flowers I found this one is used for a variety of ailments none of which are approved by the USDA.

Another moist loving flower is the Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnate). This plant is also a host plant for Monarch Butterflies and looks much nicer in home gardens.

Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is one of the mints that were at this corner and it likes moist soils as well but will tolerate dryer times. I tasted some and it was yummy.

Catnip (Nepta cataria) was also here but it has a much larger and fatter flower head. It is called catmint or catnip because cats just go bonkers for it. If you have a cat I’m sure you know what I mean. Nepetalactone in this plant binds to the cat’s olfactory receptors and puts them in a state of euphoria.

I was in a good location because there wasn’t much traffic and everyone waived as they drove by. I imagine they thought I was a fool to be out in this heat on the black top road. There was one place in the road where the tar was bubbling up but my photo didn’t turn out so I can’t show you. It was just at the bottom of this hill in the middle of the intersection. When I was a kid I used to love to ride by bike through those bubbles and hear them pop.

Just along the fence there were lots of Queen Ann’s Lace (Daucus carota) and Chicory (Chichorium intybus).

I once had Queen Ann’s Lace fritters and they were OK. They mostly tasted like the batter.

Chicory is one of those flowers that have a million uses but you know I have never tried one. It is one of my favorite flowers and is a sure sign of summer.

Speaking of food take a look at the Butter-and-eggs (Linaria vulgaris). There is a lot of sweet nectar stored in that long calax.

I squeezed one open, like a snapdragon, so I could see the inside where the long tongued bumble bees dare to go. It was fun to make it open up like a mouth and make it talk.

Another flower that is fun to squeeze is Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens). The common name comes from the fancied resemblance of the flower to a monkey's face when it is squeezed by the fingers. I didn’t know what it was when I took this photo so I didn’t get the monkey face. Sorry.

And Jewelweeds (Impatiens capensis) don’t they look squeezable also.

It would talk a long tongued insect to take nectar from this one. They say jewelweed is good to take the sting out of nettles and they usually grow nearby.

I found this Carolina Horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) but it is not a true nettle, it is a member of the nightshade family. Nevertheless it can cause a bit of pain if one of the spines on the stem pokes into your legs and breaks off. OUCH!

Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) is a pretty plant but not one you would want in your yard since it can be toxic and invasive.

Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) is a rather large plant but it is mostly leaves. They have a wrinkled look. The story is that they were used for bandages for broken bones because the joined leaves gave the idea that the plants would be good for rejoining broken bones. Go figure.

Of course it you were going to do surgery on broken bone you might want to lather up with come crushed Soapwort also called Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis). This location is practically a drugstore! If you crush the plant it is supposed to be good for cleaning. The scientific name Saponaria is from the Latin sapo meaning “soap”. I’m not sure what Bouncing Bet refers to.

New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) was in abundance, especially along the swampy area on the opposite side of the road from the creek. It is really pretty.

I also found Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), Burdock (Arctium minus), Common Mullen (Berbascum Thapsus), Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria), Fleabane, Yellow Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon pratensis), Red Clover (Trifolium pretense) and Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea). The Burdock was especially attractive to the insects.

Zabulon Skipper (Poanes zabulon) feeding on burdock.

Germander Wood-sage (Teucrium canadense)

Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia) is an interesting plant with side wings on the stem as the name suggests. I alway find intersting insects on these.

On my way home I found some Tansy (Tanacetom vulgare) just 4 blocks from my house. It is good to plant in an organic garden to keep insects away, especially the Colorado potato beetle. Wikipedia said that in England it is placed on window sills to repel flies; springs are placed in bed linen to drive away pests, and it had been used as an ant repellent. I think I should get some of this.

Be sure to visit the Today's Flowers for many more beautiful flowers.

Balanced Rock Trail

2011-07-31T13:39:00.001-04:00

The day after the Mushroom Foray my nature buddy and I took a walk out to Balanced Rock. It had rained that morning until about 10:00 and the trail was like a small stream and the footbridge we crossed the previous day was now partially under water. But that didn’t deter us and soon we were at Balanced Rock.

In the next photo you can see where the water partially covered the bridge and the tannin stained water that Blackwater is named after.

Below are some of the many Indian Pipes (Monotropa uniflora) we saw. They are often seen when looking for mushrooms but they aren't a mushroom. In fact they are a parasite to mushrooms, most commonly the Russula and Lactarius mycelia. Since Indian Pipes have no chlorophyll they tap into the mycleia to take up the needed nutrients.

Here are a few interesting mushrooms that we saw on the second day.

Amanita flavoconia (Yellow Patches) is a do not eat mushroom.

Entoloma salmoneum (Salmon Unicorn Entoloma) is another one you don't want to eat.

Balanced Rock was created by a difference in the rate of weathering. Sceintifically it is called Differential weathering. The top rock has with stood the elements better than the rock on the bottm and left them in this precarious position called a table rock.

Here is a close up of the conglomerate sandstone from the Pottsville Group that makes up the Balanced Rock.

My nature nerd buddy, Trillium, pointed this Velvety Black Earth Tongue (Trichoglossum hirsutum) to me. Once I saw it and had a search image in my head I could see it everywhere. We were surrounded! These are in the group commonly called Club Fungi.

Velvety Black Earth Tongue (Trichoglossum hirsutum)

This next one is a Coral Fungi and you probably think I did something to it to make it this orange but believe me I didn't, the light was just right and it almost glowed.

Orange Spindle Coral (Clavulinopsis aurantio-cinnabarina)

Velvet-foot Fairy Fan (Spathulariopsis velutipes). They do look like tiny little fans don't they!

The Rhododendron maximum, or “great laurel,” is the state flower of West Virginia.

For the first time I really took note of those green markings on these flowers. Actually Trillium pointed them out to me but we weren't sure what they are used for. Do any of you know?

From there we drove over to see how the rain had effected the falls. It was the fullest that I had ever seen. All in all it was a wonderful day in a Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

To visit other outdoor places online see Outdoor Wednesdays by clicking here.

Mushroom Foray

2011-07-29T09:21:00.001-04:00

During the heat wave along the east coast, thankfully I was in a cooler part of WV. I had planned the trip earlier in the year but totally lucked out that it occurred when it did. The WV Mushroom Club had their Mid-Summer Mushroom Foray at Blackwater Falls where it is about 15 degrees cooler. The previous few days and the days we attended it rained each morning which created perfect mushroom hunting weather.

Amanita fulva (Tawny Grisette)

In the morning we were treated to a short introduction and they we gathered into groups to go out and collect. There were about 80 participants but we had a number of experts so each group was small. Everywhere we looked there were mushrooms, I have never seen so many in such a small area.

This coral mushroom is one of my all time favorites Clavicorona pyxidatus (Crown Tipped Coral).

Amanita sp.

Bill Roody, author of Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians, led the group I was with. We not only collected but he taught us about each find as we slowly progressed through the rich forested area. The trail had a rich, loamy, woodsy smell of a healthy forest.

Bill Roody

Just before we turned back I took this photo of a slug on a mushroom and one of the top showing where it had been eating. They seem to prefer bollets just like we do.

Signs of slug chowing down. Below you can see one of the culprits on the underside. Slugs make large, irregular pits where they feed.

My friend showed me this polypore with the marks of a snail. Both snails and slugs use a radula for feeding instead of teeth like mammals. The radula is a chitinous ribbon with tiny teeth that is pushed against a mushroom or polypore to feed. The radulas can "rake" to comb algae from a surface or "rasp" to feed dierectly on a mushroom. These marks look very similar to those made by the snail Stylommatopora as it moves its head side to side feeding along the way.

Everyone had baskets or paper bags to carry our finds. With mushrooms you don’t want to put them into plastic bags because they will begin to rot and you also need to keep them from getting squashed or broken. Here is the inside of Ryan’s basket and you can see he had a good variety and this was at the start of the search.

Our goal was to take our finds back to the lodge where we sorted them and the experts began to identify and place labels on them. Later that afternoon after a potluck lunch Bill and our other expert Gary Linkoff, author of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrroms and the Complete Mushroom Hunter, told us about each of the mushrooms we found. They pointed out identifying characters and some of the history and lore associated with them.

After lunch the main speaker, Gary Linkoff, gave a talk on Polypores which was both entertaining and educational.

Gary Linkoff

Chantarellus minor is a choice muchroom for eating.

Deer Fly eggs

2011-07-28T09:27:00.000-04:00

If you have been reading my blog this spring and summer you will have noticed that I have been looking for tracks and signs of insects and my afternoon at Sleepy Creek WMA was no exception. While I was down by the lake in one of the coves I was looking for dragonfly exuvia and was rewarded with these deer fly eggs.

They are in the family Tabanidae, genus Chrysops but other than that I don’t know the species of these. I did happen to see a fly laying eggs but by the time I moved closer and focused my camera it had flown, leaving this very white mass of freshly laid eggs. They lay the eggs in tiers which contain a few to several hundred eggs. The eggs are cylinders measuring from 1 to 2.5 mm long. Their choice location is on vegetation which hangs over water so I was in a prime spot along this lake where the vegetation is not too dense. The eggs first appear white as in this photo and later turn brown as in the first photo and then almost black as in the last photo. I thought myself lucky to have found all three stages in the same area.

After about 4-5 days the eggs hatch and the larvae drop down and burrow into the soil. They will overwinter and mature in late spring.

Like mosquitoes the female requires a blood meal before laying her eggs. The bite can be very painful so if you see a large fly ¼ to ½ inch long with yellowish markings, clear wings with black or brown pattern that look like bands, shoo her away before she bites you. The males are probably feeding on nectar or protecting territory and could care less about the blood running through you veins.

In the past when I walked through the woods I would see stuff like this and keep going. Now I have learned to stop and really look at new, odd and strange things and I have found them quite intersting. It gives me more of a connection and appreciation for the lives of other creatures on our planet.

Afternoon at Sleepy Creek

2011-07-26T13:04:00.003-04:00

The heat dome over the east coast was getting to me so I drove up to Sleepy Creek Wildlife Management area. It is about 5 degrees cooler and at that point every degree counted. Besides I hadn’t been up there for a while and I was hoping to find some butterflies.

Great Spangled Fritiliary

Driving down the dirt road toward the lake I was finding a lot of flowers in bloom but not as many butterflies as I expected. So since I am trying to learn summer wildflowers I took the opportunity to look at them without being distracted. First up was Spotted Knapweed.

Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea maculosa)

Goldenrod (Solidago juncea) and

I also noticed this goldenrod bunch gall. Usually I don’t notice them until the fall.

Below is Yellow stem Agrimony (Agrimonia gryposepala)

Agrimony (Agrimonia gryposepala)

St. Johns Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria)

But most impressive of all was this tiny flower called Yellow Goat's Beard (Tragopogon pratensis).

It doesn’t look impressive here but take a look at the seed head below. It was like Gulliver in the Lilliputian world of dandy lions only it isn’t a dandy lion.

Here is a few of the seeds.

As I drove on down toward the lake I passed a lot of White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba) at least I think that is what this is.

White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba)

Finally at the like is where I found most of the butterflies.

Spicebush Swallowtail

Of course there were some nice Odonata as well.

A couple of damselflies mating.

The female is in the back and lifted her ovipositor up to collect the sperm from the male.

I'm not sure what this dragonfly is because it just hatched and in a stage called "teneral". The wings are shinny and still soft which makes them very vulnerable at this time because they fly so slow.

Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa)

Dogbane Beetle (Chrysochus auratus)

Here is a delightful youtube video about Dogbane beetles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dtUXO90MHA

On my way home I stopped to pick some wineberries. Yummy!

Stop by Outdoor Wednesdays for more adventures outside. Click here.

Treehoppers – Membracidae

2011-07-20T08:20:00.001-04:00

Glossonotus univittatus (Hump Back)

For a while I was lumping these treehoppers in with my leafhopper photos but after reading about them and trying to identify my photos I have learned that they are in the family Membracidae which is also in the order Hemiptera. Once I started looking at the Membracidae it became obvious which was which. The treehoppers have an enlarged and ornate pronotum which sometimes look like thorns, seeds and other items to help in camouflage. I did read rhR they think this is really a modified third set of wings. They have the general appearance of a little insect wearing its most spectacular helmet.

Entylia carinata

There are about 3,200 described species and many more are being discovered in the rainforest and some of those are really bizarre. Like the leafhoppers they live only for a few months but they have been on our planet as a species for at least 40 million years.

Cyrtolobus tuberosus

Some lay their eggs in the plant or deposit them on the surface of the plant. The one I found below has eggs on top of the plant and she is guarding them. It is a Publilia modesta and you can see she is being attended by a few ants. As pay for their guard duty they collect sweet honeydew from her and her young. This is very similar to ant’s relationship to aphids.

Publilia modesta

You can see the mother on top and the nymph at the bottom. It looks like the nymph has all the attention.

The relationship between animals is fascinating isn't it, especially when they both benefit.

This little nymph was found on one of my friends arms after a day in Panther State Forest during the BBC foray. It was in a big hurry to get away and would not sit still for a good photo, even though it is blurry you can get an good idea of what it looked like. It probably landed on her cloths while we were out looking for bees.

Ceresa Treehopper nymph

They are often attracted to lights where I took most of these photos.

Atymna querci

Perhaps a Cyrtholobus

Cyrtolobus dixianus (Tyrtolobus Treehopper)

Leafhoppers -- Cicadellidae

2011-07-18T07:46:00.000-04:00

I thought I would share some of my photos of a very abundant (approximately 20,000 species) insect that has very little press coverage, leaf hoppers. They belong to the family Cicadellidae in the order Hemiptera and like other members of that family they have piercing-sucking mouth parts. Those awful brown marmorated stink bugs that have been invading our homes are also Hemiptera. The leaf hoppers are much smaller and not as harmful to plants and don’t invade our homes.

Colladonus clitellarius (Saddled Leaf hopper)

They are attracted to lights and that is where most of these photos were taken. They are very small and hard to focus in my camera. When they see the big of my camera lens they take off in a run or hop to who knows where.

Draeculacephala zeae (Cicadelline Leafhopper)

Occasionally I have found them on plants like this Sharpshooter. Is is about twice the size of the others on this page and had the habit of running to the other side of the stem just as I had it in focus and before I took the photos.

Paraulacizes irrorats (Speckled Sharpshooter)

Oncometopia orbona (Broaded-headed Sharpshooter)

They can be found in nearly every habitat that has vascular plants. The adults live for only a few months while they mate and lay eggs. The eggs are inserted into the tissue of the host plant where they are dormant for a while, often overwintering. The young nymphs feed on the plant sap and have about 5 moults before they are mature adults.

Ponana pectoralis

I found it interesting that they have an organ at the base of their abdomens called “tymbals” that are used to make sounds. Fortunately they are too faint for us to hear otherwise we would go crazy because there are so many of them.

Tylozygus bifidus

They are very tiny and range in size from 2 to 30 mm in length. The one below is about 3 mm long.

Typhlocyba apicata (Typhlocybine Leafhopper)

Crane Flies -- Tipulidae

2011-07-12T10:15:00.004-04:00

“What’s this?” asked one of the young men at the Brooks Bird Club Foray, as he held this in front ofm y face. “Well, it’s a a uh”, then my friend piped up with “Crane Fly Larvae”. I just looked at her in awe when I realized that this large fat creature, almost the size of my little finger, turned into a delicate long legged crane fly. This one was found in the stream that was nearby. The larvae live in a variety of moist habitats such as fast moving steams, marshes, tree holes, decaying plant debris and decomposed wood. They feed on decaying plant material and some smaller insects. Most are beneficial decomposers.

The larvae have thin, tough skins and a head (left) than can be withdrawn into the thorax. The shape, length and lobes found at the posterior end can often be used to identify species. Had I know that at the time I would have taken a photo but I think you can see the lobes on the end at the right.

I am far more familiar with the adult crane fly, a member of the Tipulidae family, having just rescued my friend from the sight of one in my house just last week. They look like giant mosquitoes but they are vary harmless and do not bite at all. The can be just over 2 inches but when they fly slowly by with its long legs dangling it seems like it is out to get you. Like all true flies (Diptera order), carne flies have only two wings.

The males have blunt abdomens and have an erratic flight pattern of ups and down and rotations. See below.

The females fly in a more direct route and have pointy abdomens used to lay their eggs. See below.

The life cycle is one of complete metamophosis with eggs, larval, pupal and adult stages. The adults live about 15 days, just enough time to mate and lay eggs.

I have not read about eye shine in crane flies but it looks like they are different in my photos. One is green and the other blue. These photos were taken at my porch light while I was photographing moths. As you can tell I was not focusing on identification characteristics so I’m not sure what species these are. Lesson learned: always take the time to get those identifying marks because you just never know when you will want them.

I have barely touched the surface on what is known crane flies and I hope your curiosity is piqued to learn more.

My first close up experience with adult crane flies was at the Leadership Training Camp in Terra Alta, WV. Chen Young, an international expert was a member of the teaching team and he showed me how to preserve them without breaking the fragile legs. He has a wonderful web site, and I recommend that you give it a look. There are more than 1,500 species in North America and over 300 are known from Pennsylvania. This is probably because Dr. Young lives and does most of his collecting in that state. Crane fly study is an area where still little is known and there is room for amateurs to make a lot of contributions.

Naturalist Field Notes

2011-07-09T14:22:00.000-04:00

I was a part of a team who taught a Master Naturalist class on "Collecting, Preserving and Sharing". It is a 4 hours core class and required for certification. Most classes are 3 hours but because of it's importance it is given 4 hours. The majority of the class room time was spent on Field Notes and Nature Journaling where we went over the various styles and our own experiences and development. Then wouldn't you know it about a month later I learned about a new book that had just come out called "Field Notes on Science and Nature" edited by Michael R. Canfield with a forward by E. O. Wilson. I wish I had read this book before hand because it is so informative and inspiring.

It sounds like a dry subject but contributors like Bernd Heinrich, Kenn Kaufman and Anna K. Behrensmeyer giving me their tips, it is anything but. Each of the 12 contributors told their own story of finding the "right" format for themselves and how that developed. They told a little about what they study but most importantly to me as a naturalist they told me "how". Each one discussed the new technology and how the had written word fit in with those aides. The book even has photos of pages from their own journals.

I have been reading just a chapter at a time to savor each one and think about how I can use some of their techniques.

When we taught the class I brought in my own current method to share which is using the Rite in the Rail Journal No. 390NF. This one has the numbered pages but you can get the less expensive one and number them yourself. I have leaved that those numbers can come in vary handy when writing up an index in the back for future reference. They also make a plastic covered one but it is stiff and just not comfortable to write in. I found a tab to hold my pen from Staples that I attached to the inside back and this has been very handy. Rite in the Rains books are expensive but they are brightly colored and easy to find and will last in all kinds of weather. As I told the class maybe your notes won't be published after your death but they will become valuable to you and you are worth the expense.

Inside I taped half of a small envelope to become a holder of business cards of people I have met in the field. I also started a section in the back for contacts. Another section in the back is devoted to locations with the full name, directions and coordinates along with my abbreviation. That way I don't have to write it all out each time I return to a new location and can just use my abbreviation.

This year I started a phenology notebook (Rite in the Rain field No. 353N) for the places I visit on a regular basis. You can see the first page on wildflowers. To the right I have the month with the day below. Then in the columns opposite the flower I have entries such as "SS" "B" which means "Shannondale Springs" "Blooming". Of course there a key at the beginning of this book as well.

Here is an example of an entry in an earlier book that is not weather proof and part of it is falling apart but it had a good drawing and the format I currently use. It try to leave a margin on the side for, well, side notes. These come in handy when thumbing through the journal.

One thing that all the contributors to "Field Notes on Science and Nature" had in common was their recognition of the value of a personal narrative in their journal. Time and again they said that was what tied everything together and helped in making new discoveries as well as writing articles and books later on in their career. I know I have certainly enjoyed reading back through my notes and often they have inspired me to go back to the same place and take a more studied look and something that I had only remarked on in passing the first time. As my own experience and knowledge grow it is good to revisit with new insight and skills. I also reread my own blog as a reminder of where and when I observed things and while I love the blog as a way of sharing I treasure my notes even more because the blog is written from the field notes.

Please feel free to comment and share your experiences, I would love to hear you. I also read some of your blogs and have enjoyed them and your own journeys and observations.

BBC Foray - the flowers

2011-07-06T07:49:00.001-04:00

While attending the Brooks Bird Club Foray I had the opportunity to see a few flowers I had never seen before. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

I found this pretty flower at Olson's Bog. I believe it might be a Pogonia ophioglossoides.

Also in the bog there were many Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia purpurea).

Poke Milkweed, Asclepias exaltata. Notice how the flowers are on long stems and not tightly packed like the Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. The leaves are very different as well.

You can't tell very well but this flower is really big, the entire plant is about 4-5 feet tall. It is a Canadian Lily, Lilium Canadense, and yes it is a native plant.

This Greater Purple Fringed Orchid, Habenaria grandiflora, was the flower highlight of my trip. It is a member of the Orchidaceae family and a perennial. It is very tall and I just noticed it at eye level on the side of the bank. Each individula flower looks like a tiny lavender angel.

Be sure to visit other great flower blogs at Todays Flowers by clicking here.

BBC Foray 2011, Tucker County, WV

2011-07-05T10:12:00.001-04:00

The Brooks Bird Club Foray is an annual event but this year was my first time to attend. It was a little like the Sortie the previous week but included more people and more activities. The usual morning bird walks happened along with plant identification. I focused on Lepidoptera and Odonata as my contribution, searching for, identifying and recording finds.

Early morning near the campsite in Parsons.

We stayed in Tucker County, WV near Parsons. Our travels included Canaan Valley, Blackwater Falls, Dolly Sods, Olsons Bog, Fernow Experimental Forest and well just about everywhere in the county. Below are photos of Olson's Bog near Canaan Valley.

View from Pendleton Point in Blackwater Falls State Park. We took a side trail that lead us under the rock at the base of this photo and found the fossil pictured below.

It is a tree fossil and I believe someone said it was a Lepidodendron. It wa about the length of my fore arm.

Antother day we drove up along one of the ridges to find invasive species. We had just had a class on them and were competing in a invasive species scavenger hunt. Above you can see windmils in the distant. They are very common in this part of West Virginia.

I took this photo to have a good example of the ridge and valley formation.

While we were up on the rigde we stopped at his house to pick some invasive plants. Below is the out house.

The owners of this house obviously have a good sense of humor as well as a fantastic view.

My last day on the foray I spent at Fernow Experimental Forest. It had rained the night before so this stream was full of water and there were land snails all about. I have never seen so many in one location.

There was just so much to see and experience that I decided to post flowers in another blog.

Be sure to visit other places at My World Tuesday.

Zelus egg cluster

2011-07-01T10:52:00.001-04:00

Most of the time when I take walks in the woods or along the river I spend a great deal of time looking under leaves in search of caterpillars and insect eggs. As I walked along the Shenandoah River a few days ago I paid particular attention to spice bush because, frankly it just smells so good and I love to touch it to release its spicy scent. It is also a particular favorite of Spicebush Swallowtail and a few other insects.

I was rewarded with this eggs mass that looks like a bunch of eggs shellacked together.

Sometimes I can use my hand lens and take a photo through it to get good close ups.

It is a Zelus egg cluster from the hemipteran order. I think more specifically it is a Zelus luridus in the Reduviidae family, commonly called Assassin Bug.

Panther WMA Brooks Bird Club Sortie

2011-06-28T15:47:00.007-04:00

Brooks Bird Club of WV has a sortie each year for a week round about Memorial Day. This year they went to Panther Wildlife Management Area in McDowell County. This was an opportunity I jumped at because it is down in coal-county and it seemed best to go with a group who knew where to stay and where to visit. The facilities were very nice at the park as you can see below. We stayed in the group camp building where we ate and made plans for each day.

One the side of the building I found these old Dobson fly egg cases. They reminded me of the shell fossils I have found in the eastern panhandle.

We spent mornings on 10 mile bird runs, afternoons and evening on breeding block bird surveys. The Brooks Bird Club is in the middle of a 5 year survey to revised the breeding bird atlas of WV. We also recorded reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, moths, dragonflies and bees that we saw. Another large part of the observation was spent on plants in an attempt to record at least everything we saw blooming. It was like a mini bio blitz. Here are the highlights for me, not in any particular order.

There was a stream along all of the roads with steep mountains in each side and with a little imagination I could believe that if I stood in the stream with my arms outstretched I would be able to touch each side. At one location there was room for only a one lane road yet the traffic went both ways. Below are views of one of the mosses that I found on the dripping outcrops.

Apple moss (Bartramia pomiformis)

And liverwort

One evening back at the camp I found this Gray Petaltail dragonfly resting on the side of the tree. They are very docile and not easily frightened so I was able to get very close for the photo.

A new butterfly for me was Northern Cloudywing – Thorybes pylades. This one I had to catch and then release after identification.

One evening went down the road and briefly stopped at an area where a beaver had made a nice pond. You can see the view of the dam from the road. It was about 4-5 feet high and made a nice place to look for dragonflies.

A Tulip Tree Silk Moth flew in and I took this photo. It is a little blurry because it just wasn’t used to posing. Later another camper interested in insects and I returned to look for bees and dragonflies.

Fire Pink (Silene virginica) isin the Caryophilacea commonly called the pink family. There are two recognized varieties of fire pink. Most plants of this species are classified as Silene virginica virginica var. virginica, however and endemic subspecies occuers in West Virginia called Silene virginica var. roobusta and I believe that is what I have here.

On the way back we found this Snapping Turtle on the side of the road.

The leaves were out and the undergrowth was abundant so actually seeing birds was difficult. Most were just heard and I learned a new way to describe the call of a Swanson’s Warbler: “Sweet, sweet, SISTERSVILLE”. I will be sure to remember it because I grew up near Sistersville, WV. They seemed to prefer the mountain laurels for hiding

Tiger Swallowtails were every where and at time I felt like I was about to trip over them.

The ten mile trips to identify birds began early each morning and for me they were a good way to see the country side before it woke up. We stopped every half mile for a total of 20 stops and listened for 2 minutes.

One trip led us to a community that was raising roosters. You can imagine what the sound was like with each cock sitting atop its home crowing with all its might getting ready for the fight that night. Needless to say we didn’t stop in front of those houses to listen for birds, dogs were on guard and we just moved along, thank you.

Someone gave us the idea to drive up to the fire tower on the abandoned road. Of course we birded and botanized our way up from rut to rut. We had only two trucks so some up had to ride in the back.

The American Toad (Bufo americanus) is a common species in this area. One of the fun things to see an American Toad do is eat. It closes its eyes when it swallows and will readily take a mean worm from your hand it you hold still and the worm wiggles.

It was wonderful trip and I look forward to going on the sortie next year.

Be sure to visit Outdoor Wednesdays for other Outdoor adventures.

Day 2: Blackwater Falls Wildflower Pilgrimage 2011

2011-05-25T10:43:00.000-04:00

Day two was just a much fun as the first day. Again we headed up into the mountains, this time to Bickle Knob. Our first stop proved fruitful with the following finds: Clintonia umbellulata, Panax tribolius (Dwarf Ginsing), Streptopus amplexifolius (White Mandarine), Tiarella cordifolia (Foamflower) and many more.

Streptopus amplexifolius (White Mandarin)

Tiarella cordifolia (Foamflower)

Trillium undulatum (Painted Trillium)

And then onto Otter Creek.

On the trail we found this birds nest. Inside is lined with deer hair. I wondered if the hair came from a live or a dead deer, there are probably plenty in the area. We suspected that it came from a cavity we found on the side of the hill and replaced it. It probably won’t be used this season but one never knows. Maybe a mouse will find it has all the comforts of home.

I know this was a flower walk but that is one of the good things about naturalist, they stop for everything. This Blister Beetle caught our attention. It is in the family Meloidae and I believe it is a Meloe impressus. You can observe its dark violet color. They are called blister beetles because of their defense mechanism of secreting a blistering agent called cantharidin, a poisonous chemical that will cause the skin to blister. When we first found them there were three and two were getting on top of this one. Mating was suspected but this one was having none of it and ran away leaving the other two confused. The adults feed on pollen. I read that in May to June the female digs into the soil about 1 inch deep where it places about 2,000-10,000 eggs.

Back to the cars and on up to Bickle Knob, we stopped to see the highlights of this trip. First the Stair Step Moss (Hylocomium splendens), a perennial clonal moss. Each year a new feathery frond starts and produces the stepping effect you see below. This makes it possible to estimate the age of the moss by just counting the steps. It is the only moss with this stair step arrangement.

Stair Step Moss (Hylocomium splendens)

The next highlight was another moss called Knight’s Plume Moss (Ptilium cristacastrensis). Ptilium means “plume-like” and crista-castrensis from the Latin is crista, “plume”, and castrensis, “military”, referring to the similarity between the moss and the plume on a knight’s helmet.

Knight’s Plume Moss (Ptilium cristacastrensis)

Knight’s Plume Moss (Ptilium cristacastrensis)

At Bickle Knob we found a blooming Halberd-Leaved Violet (Viola hastate). As you can see the leave is long and triangular in shape an apparently reminder early botanist of the halberds weapon in use during the 14th and 15th centuries. The halberd looks like a long pole with a pointed ax on the side.

Halberd-Leaved Violet (Viola hastate)

Bickle Knob is the home to one of the few remaining observation towers in the Monongahela National Forest. I climbed to the top were I was 4,000 feet in elevation and had a great panoramic view of the mountains.

Driving back down the mountain we stopped to see a large stand of Wild Columbine (Aquilegia Canadensis). The wild columbine in my area are not as lush and frequent as these.

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia Canadensis)

Another of my favorites was the Wood-betony also called lousewort. Both the red and the yellow form were on the bank beside the road.

Pedicularis canadensis (Wood-betony)

This was just a small sample of what we found along the road. I would have to write about 5 more blogs to show everything but these were the highlights for me that day.

Stop by Outdoor Wednesday to see how others spent their time outside this week.

Blackwater Falls Wildflower Pilgrimage 2011

2011-05-23T21:01:00.002-04:00

Last year I had such a wonderful time at the Blackwater Falls Wildflower Pilgrimage in West Virginia and I decided to go again this year. Instead of focusing on moss and ferns I went on the mostly wildflower walks and saws many that had never seen before. One of the best parts about this event is that everyone in very interested and have field guides open and are discussing the plants. There is plenty of time for photos and plant discussion.

The event last for two days and each day has a choice of 12 tours each lasting a day. This year I chose tours at the higher elevations and really enjoyed the cool mountain streams that we drove through.

Here are some of the highlights.

Shooting Star

The star of the trip was seeing the “Shooting Stars” for the first time. I saw one and was excited and then as I looked around I realized I was surrounded by them…they were everywhere. Dodecatheon gets is common name from the shape of the flower as you can see below and imagine this flower falling across the sky. It is a member of the Primrose family (Primulaceae). They can be found here in North America and northeastern Siberia. I found it interesting how the flowers are pollinated by bees. According the Wikipedia the bees “grab hold of the petals, and gather pollen by vibrating the flowers by buzzing their wings (buzz pollination). The vibration releases pollen from the anthers.

On the way up the mountain we stopped at this small shale barren alongside the road where we found Twist Flower. It was a nice unexpected sighting.

The name come sfrom the twist as seen above.

Also shown is Yellow Pimpernell (Taenidia integerrima) a member of the Carrot family (Apiaceae). There were right at home on the dry sloping bank. The umbels were about 4-5 inches.

Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis)

We returned to our cars and drove on up the mountain where I spotted Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis). Again back to Wikipedia where I learned that the Cherokees used it as a source of blue dye, which the Europeans settlers copied. They also used it as a medicine for various ailments. The scientific name comes from the Greek word bapto, meaning “to dip” or “immerse” and australis from the Latin for “southern”. The seed pods are often used in flower arrangements but did you know that once the seeds are mature, the stems break off from the roots and with the pods still attached are blown to another location. Now that is a form of wind dispersal I had not heard of before.

Other wildflowers we saw included: Bladder Campion, Emarginata violet, Wake Robin Trillium, Solomons Seal, Pipestem, Jack in the Pulpit, False Soloman's Seal, Yellow mandrake, Ginger and Wild Colombine. Below is a photo of the Bladder Campion.

The other highlight of this particular tour was the opportunity to see Gay wings (Polygala paucifolia). It is also known as Fringed Polygala for Flowering wintergreen. It is a perennial about 6 inches tall. The two “wings” are sepals. The fringed part made me think of a star nosed mole going to a Mary Kay convention.

It looks like a bee has cut a hole and robbed this flower of its nectar without taking the pollen. I have seen that before on Dutchman’s breeches.

The road we were taking was a gravel road through free range cattle farms. The cows stared at us like they had never seen a car before.

When we stopped for lunch I found what looked like nice log to sit on but it is was a little too high to be comfortable so I got up to move to the one next to it. When I did I noticed a snake right behind the spot where my feet were just a minute ago. Calling “snake, snake, snake I got the attention of the Herpetologist with us and he ran over and pulled the reluctant snake from its hide out. As you can see it was around 6 feet long. The eye clouded over is an indication that this Black Rat snake was going to shed within the next 24 hours. It was a very old snake, possibly 20 years.

As we descended the mountain we stopped for a rare view looking down onto Seneca Rocks.

Be sure to stop and check out other flowers on Today's Flowers. Click here.

Pachysphinx modesta Sphinx moth

2011-05-20T12:01:00.001-04:00

Last night a very large sphinx moth came to my porch light. It was on the screen door and when I tried to take a photo its first reaction was to drop to the ground and there it stayed. After taking the photos I came in and identified it as a Modest Sphinx (Pachysphinx modesta).

Pachysphinx modesta

I tried to encourage it to crawl onto my finger like the large silk moths do but it would have none of that and just began to flutter endlessly. Not wanting to stress it more I came back inside and turned the lights out and it flew away probably to mate. It was very fat and the largest sphinx moth I have seen, this one had a wing span of about 4.5 inches.
A couple nights ago I found this tiny (4 – 8 mm) spider on the leaves of a Sassafras tree. Its little white abdomen really stood out. From “Spiders of the Eastern United States” by W. Mike Howell and Ronald L. Jenkins I learned that it is a Arniella displicata from the family Areneidae. The common name Sixspotted Orbweaver comes from the three pairs of small black spots on the top of the abdomen. They said they found them in the month of May and well, I guess that holds true for me as well. It had started making a rolled up leaf to lay its egg case and was not on a sycamore as the authors suggested.

Arniella displicata

She was a brave little soul and did not drop down or run away as I took her photo.

Arniella displicata

Planaria to Phantom midge in the Pond

2011-05-14T12:19:00.002-04:00

Update on me: It's been awhile since I last blogged, I have still been active and out and about seeing the wonders of nature but I have not been writing. I needed to give my writs a rest.

To take up where I left off I wanted to show some more of the critters I found in the water. While there are a lot of microscopic animals that live in the water and can only be seen with a compound microscope, today I want to focus on those that can be seen with a simple magnifying glass and even without the aid of such devices.

Planarian are one of those animals you read about in text books, study in school and then forget about them but I found one in my sample and was fascinated watching it. Its crossed eyes made it even more endearing. Actually they are ocelli that detect the intensity of the light since they don't like to be in the spot light and prefer the dark side of things.

I think this one just ate.

Planarian are a non-parasitic flatworm in the Turbellaria class and are common in many parts of the world. It reminded me of a snail as it glided along the side of the tank, with ear like projections (auricles) similar to the snail that shares this tiny tank. They are famous for the extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body parts and even a whole other self when cut in half. I didn't have the heart to experiment on it.

This one is next to a scud.

Next up is Hydra shown below. This one is stretched out get grab some food swimming by but they can also go from this half inch long size to the size of a pin head. The tentacles surround the mouth and bring the food to it. Attached to the tentacles and parts of its body are tiny stinging cells used in defense and killing its pray. The other end is a foot with sticky secretions used to hold it to twigs, the underside of the water surface and in this case to the side of the tank.

They reproduce by sex and by budding like a plant but usually during different seasons. The buds appear when it is well fed. You can see one on the side of the hydra below. Eventually it will break away and have it's own independent life. There has been much written about hydras and I encourage you to find some to observe. Collect some pond water with a few plants and wait. Usually they will appear in a day or two. You can see them without a hand lens and are good things for kids to see.

Hydra

I noticed the critter below one afternoon when I saw a lot of wiggling in the water. I suspect it was trying to break free and go on to it's next stage of life. I have not confirmed what it is but I believe it is the pupa of the midge Chironomus. I don't know what happened to it because I never saw it again after I took the photo. Perhaps it just flew away.

Midge Pupa

The next two photos are of Daphnia, members of the order Cladocera commonaly called water fleas because of their jumping motion swimming style. They are between 0.2mm and 5 mm in length; very tiny indeed yet I could still see them without a hand lens and take these photos with my point and shoot Cannon G11. Like other insects this one is divided into segments but they are almost invisible. The head is fused and bent down towards the body and the rest of the body is covered by a carapace. You can see the brood-pouch in this one.

Daphnia

Pictured below is a Phantom midge larva commonly called a glassworm because of its transparency. It will eventually pupate into a small non-biting midge. They feed on other small aquatic larvae such as Daphnia. This one is facing left and the dot farthest to the left is one of its eyes. The next set of dark spot are air sacs that they use to enable it to migrate up and down the water column in response to atmospheric pressure. When it is low (during the night), they move to the surface. They are fairly common and can be found in lakes all over the world. They can grow up to 2 centimeters in length.

Phantom midge larvae (Charborus sp.)

So that is it for the pond water, I had a fun and learned a lot from this late winter activity.

Check out the other critters at Camera Critter by clicking here.

Plants and other green stuff in the pond sample

2011-01-23T17:12:00.002-05:00

In order for my pond sample to be healthy I included some green stuff to provide oxygen. I had no idea what they were at the time but they were green so I figured, like vegetables on my plate, they are good to include.

Lemna minor (Lesser Duckweed)

The floating tiny Lilly pad looking plants are Duckweeds from the Lemnaceae family. They float on the surface of the water with a single root hanging down.

When I collected the water from Altona Marsh, my jar and hand was covered with them. I have seen them so thick on some ponds that you cannot see the water below. In situations like that they shut out the light and the plants below die along with the herbivorous insects that feed on them. Yet, they can also be a good tool for filtering and cleaning water. From what I read there is still a lot of research going to find ways to use them to clean up the environment.

I think what I have in my sample is Lemna minor (Lesser Duckweed). The common name Duckweed comes from observing ducks feeding on these tiny plants. They are high in protein, more than soybeans and are eaten by people in some cultures. Since they stick so well to my fingers I imagine that they stick well to ducks feet and are thus transported from pond to pond.

Another plant I think I have identified in the water is a Liverwort called Riccia fluitans. They grow just below the surface as you can see here. The branched thallus is darker green and thicker than the duckweed. They will also grow on damp soil and in that case, according to Ann Morgan (Field Book of Ponds and Steams), they can be reddish or purplish. Her book was written in 1930 so I wouldn’t swear by it but you can bet that the next time I go to Altona Marsh I will be looking.

Riccia fluitans

A third plant I have in the jar, I believe is a green alga species in the genus Chara called Chara vulgaris. What I’m talking about is the plant that has a defined stem and a whorl of leaf like structures along the stem as pictured below.

Chara vulgaris

There are lots of algae in the jar as well. The long stringy algae might be Zygnema species.

Zygnema species

Desmids are green algae cells that are often found in bogs similar to Altona Marsh where I found these. This crescent-shaped one is a Closterium.

Closterium

Below are some other shapes of algae that I found. Even though I don’t know what they are now I find them totally fascinating to look and loads of fun to find.

You can see some Diatoms in the photo above as well as algae.

Damselfly nymph in winter

2011-01-19T21:10:00.002-05:00

At the end of October I took a walk to Altona Marsh and collected some of the water along the track.

I just filled up two plastic peanut butter jars and made sure I had some duckweed, algae, sediment from the bottom and bits of other stuff. I didn’t really look to see what I had. With two jars I was sure to get something interesting.

Sure enough, after the water settled for a few hours I was able to see an Odonata nymph. The three leaf-shaped gills extending from the hind end of the body indicates that it is a damselfly. I haven’t a clue what species this is. They overwinter as nymphs and emerge in late spring. They are very predacious and eat every kind of aquatic insect, small crustaceans and snails so I think there will be plenty of food in this one jar for a while. I have actually seen a few things disappear since March and I suspect this is the culprit. Most of the time it just sits and waits for a victim to come by.

I soon realized that I was going to get distorted photos from the jar so I bought a small rectangular plastic tank which made it easier to get close up with my camera. Just recently I took the photo below. I think it must have molted because it is so clear and you can see the insides. Earlier it was emerald green. They molt between 6-15 times. With each instar the nymph get darker in color. Now you can clearly see the tracheal gills and tracheae and lines with the consequent flowing of the blood throughout. I think the darker part in the middle is its heart.

You might be able to make out the labium that looks like its chin. When it is ready to catch something the labium flies out with the swiftness of a frogs tongue and grabs it’s pray and snaps it back into its mouth. I watched it stick part of it out and place its front legs up as though it were cleaning the tip. I wasn't quick enought to get a photo but here is another view.

When I turned the container around it would bend its body to move the tail in my direction. I wonder if that was some sort of defense action. It did it several times.

They move about slowly by crawling or swaying like a fish by sweeping their tail from side to side. It has been really fun to watch especially as the snow falls.

Check out other blogs about water at Watery Wednesday.

Poecile carolinensis window strike

2011-01-14T13:27:00.000-05:00

This year I have been participating in the West Virginia Winter Bird Count so I have been very good about keeping my feeders full of goodies. When I checked on them the other day I noticed a little Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) was laying face down on the deck just outside the glass door. My heart just dropped but when I picked it up I could tell it was still alive. I folded its wing back in place and held it cupped in my hand for a few minutes.

The chickadee looked stunned and in a daze. I checked the door and sure enough there were a few feathers stuck on the glass.

As it sat in my hand, it's mouth opened and closed as if calling but nothing came out. My first thought was that it was trying to catch its breath but in truth I have no idea what was going on with it's mouth. I brought it into the house with me to get my camera so I could take these photos. Back outside, I placed it on an old bird house I had sitting at the side of the deck and took lots of photos.

That seemed like a safe place and it could see the other birds and have the freedom to fly. It;'s foot was a little crumpled but eventually straightened out.

Once I went back inside a couple other chickadees flew to the feeders. You know how they are always the first to return, besides I had meal worms spread out for them. I noticed the stunned chickadee began to look in their direction so I could tell it was coming back into awareness. It sat there for a while but each time a bird would fly to the feeder it's awareness increased.

Soon it few off with the others and probably returned for a meal worm but since they all look alike I can’t be sure. The whole recovery took 20 minutes.

Although I regret that the bird was stunned, I did enjoy holding it in my hand and getting a very close up look. If I hadn’t seen it on my palm I would not have know it was there because it was so still and weighed hardly anything. The books say 9-12 grams.

Where I live we only have the Carolina Chickadees. They were named by John James Audubon when he was in South Carolina. The Black-capped Chickadees are more north of the eastern panhandle of West Virginia or at higher altitudes within the state. They are in the order Passeriformes and the family Paridae.

I am really enjoying the winter bird count program and the self imposed time to sit and just observe.

About 1 billion birds are killed by flying into windows each year. Most of these are flying into large buildings. You can read more about it at

http://birding.about.com/od/birdconservation/a/preventwindowcollisions.htm

I have been lucky and haven't found any dead birds, just the stunned chickadee.

Enjoy more Camera Critters at http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Moths

2011-01-13T14:27:00.000-05:00

Io Moth

I know I haven’t been blogging lately but I have been busy catching up on labeling and organizing my photos. Specifically, I have been working with Curt Lehman and the website Butterflies and Moths of North America. He has confirmed my identifications and named photos when I was clueless. The records of what I have been seeing will be entered on the web site database. So far I think we are at around 300 species of moths.

Painted Lichen Moth (Hypoprepia fucosa)

We have been doing about 10 a day for at least a month now. I have photos of moths that have come to my porch light from 2004 through 2010. Last year I took photos every night that I was home when the weather cooperated.

Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia )

After we figure out what they all are, I hope to contribute some of my photos to the web site but for now he is just entering a record of what was found in my county in West Virginia. It doesn’t seem like much but who knows, there could be one in the lot that extends the range for that species or showed up before it was supposed to.

Pyrausta bicoloralis

Besides I love to take photos of them and enjoy their subtle beauty

Horrid Zale (Zale horrida)

and sometimes no so subtle.

Ailanthus webworm moth (Atteva punctella)

Some are just plain strange.

Common Looper Moth (Autographa precationis)

Some don’t look like moths at all.

Yellow Collard Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis)

It is a good project for anyone with a camera and I wish to encourage everyone to take photos and send them in to add to the records. It is good citizen science. The web site is: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/

Spongillafly (Sisyridae)

2010-11-27T11:33:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago about the middle of November I took a walk along the Shenandoah River on my way home from grocery shopping. I had my camera with me so of course I took it along. I was looking for spider egg sacs for my post on those interesting tiny things so I was looking very closely at the trees and rocks. To my surprise I found this interesting web structure. It is about the size of a quater.

At first I thought it was a spider egg case and I had seen a photo of it on the cover of my current favorite book, Tracks and Sign of Insects by Charley Eiseman and Noah Charney. If you are a naturalist and don’t have this book you should put it on your Christmas list this year, you won’t be disappointed. Anyway I began taking photos like crazy.

When I returned home and looked it up I realized it was a Spongillafly in the family Sisridae. They are related to lacewings but to my mind the adult looks more like a caddisfly. The larvae live in the stream and feed on fresh water sponges. I was hoping we had sponges in the river but I have never seen them. Anyway the larvae move up onto the side of the bank when they are ready to pupate. So this isn’t an egg sac after all, it is a pupa. This larva crawled out of the water and up onto the underside of this rock where it built this elaborate cocoon.

Find more interesting creatures at Camera Critter.

Spider Egg Sacs

2010-11-25T10:33:00.001-05:00

Finding the Ray spider eggs this summer captured my attention and I began to seek out other spider egg cases and take photos. Below are the results of my finds so far.

The first one, Theridiosoma gemmosum, ray spider, was pretty much in plain sight hanging from a couple of branches on the side of the trail. It was a golden brown color but was hard to focus on and take a photo of because the silk reflects the light and the breeze kept it in motion. Eiseman and Charney in “Tracks and Signs of Insects” state that “the top of the sac is a separable cap, which is partly pushed off when the spiderlings emerge”. They also say that there are often many nearby but I didn’t know that at the time and didn’t think to look for others. They are in the family Theridiosomatidae and for an orb web that doesn’t have a hub but it tied together in the center and pulled together like an umbrella. Didn’t see that either but you can bet I will be on the lookout for it from now own. The shape of the spider is the typical fat round body like a Black Widow that most people are familiar with.

So when I came home from that trip I looked around the house and found these Common House Spider, (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) egg sacs and the spider to go with them. I have them all over the garage and deck so they were pretty easy to find. I just never paid them much attention before. The sacs look like little rolled up balls of brown paper bags. They hide during the day but can be found pretty easily in the evening. Most of the time I see one or more eggs sacs together. Their webs are messy affairs and the male often share the same web.

This a also a Common House Spider egg sac and some of the eggs hatched. Out they were near the screen door and I had to move them to another location. She didn’t seem to mind too much. I placed them on a paper towel in a safe location.

This next group was found on the side of the house and they look like they are made by a meshweb weaver (Dietnidae). They look right but I’m not certain of the size.

The Long-jawed orbweavers (Tetragnathidae) make an egg sac like the one above. It is fluffy and has green color silk added to it making it look like it has bits of moss and leaves added to it. I also found some on the side of a rock at Valley Falls State Park.

I am certain of this one. It was made by a Neospintharus trigonu, a cobweb spider in the Theridiidae family. Problem was the wind was blowing too hard to get a good clear photo but you can still see the distinctive lantern shape. It is white when first made but then turn brown later.

These next two spider egg sacs I found along the river a couple weeks ago.

I believe they are from antmimic spiders (Corinnidae). Esieman and Charney say that Phrurotimpus can be brown to bright red. These along with several others were found on the under sides of over hanging rocks and mostly this color.

These next two can be confused but if you pay attention to where the egg sac is being carried you can identify it right away.

The Nursery Web spider carries the sac in her jaws until she finds a good place to to hide it just before the spiderlings emerge. The Nursery Web spider, in the family Pisauridae, is a good mother and is noted for protecting her offspring. She builds a nursery web around the egg sac before they emerge.

Above is the Wolf spider (Lycosidae) and it carries it egg sac attached to the spinnerets. It is made up of two halves. Lays down a flat layer of silk and lays the eggs, next she covers it with another layer of silk forming a ball. In this one you can see the two layers, one is darker than the other. She will open the sac when the young begin to hatch. Then they all crawl up on her back for 2-3 weeks until they are big enough to fend for themselves.

I once disturbed on in my basement and they all fell off. She waited for a few seconds while they all crawled back on. The one pictured above was in my flower box a few years ago. You can see the tiny spiderlings hanging on her back as she poses for this photo.

Visit other interesting blogs at ABC WEDNESDAY.

Valley Falls State Park, West Virginia

2010-11-24T11:30:00.001-05:00

Valley Falls was once the site of one of the largest Cherokee village in the area. They called the falls “The Evil Spirit Falls” and then later when explores came they called it “Hard Around Falls”. Then it became “Falls of the Big Muddy” and “Great Falls of the Tygart Valley River”. Now it has been shortened to just “Valley Falls”. It used to also be a saw and later a grist mill but now it is a popular visitor attraction and I must say one of the more beautiful ones in WV. I was staying at Tygart Lake and was a little disappointed because the water at the lake was so low and it just looked so barren. This river by contrast was soothing to the soul and music to my ears. I don’t know what it is about water rushing down a stream that is so mesmerizing and calming at the same time but that is how it is for me.

Around the time of the civil war this place was booming with all sorts of business and a railroad. But alas the river was to take it all back. In 1886 a fire hit the area and the town was only partially rebuild.

Two years later a flood swept away the bridges, many homes and the grist mills. Three million saw logs, thirty feet high, swept away most of the town. They say it sounded life 4-5 freight trains at the same time.

In 1964 Valley Falls became a state park and a beautiful place to visit. I only spent a short afternoon there but everywhere I looked there was another postcard view.

Be sure to visit Scenic Sunday for more beautiful places to visit.

Potter Wasps and others that use mud to build nests

2010-11-05T09:29:00.001-04:00

After finding this potter wasp nest.

I became interested in the potter wasp and began to look for other mud builders. Looking around my own home I found these Organ Pipe wasp nest made by Trypoxylon politum. They build their egg nest in sheltered locations such as under eaves or the insides of abandoned buildings. In this case they are under my deck. I think the previous owners were afraid of them and knocked them down. But actually they are harmless and not really aggressive as are most solitary wasps. You can see how they get the common name “organ pipe” because of the shape.

The female starts the nest by rolling small bits of mud into a ball which she carries to the site. I suspect in this case they found the mud at the creek just below the house. When the tube is the right size she finds a spider, stings it and stuffs it into the tube. After enough of them are packed in she will lay an egg inside and seal the tube with more clay. Then she starts another chamber and the process begins again. There are tons of spiders around my house and probably yours as well so there is no problem running out of larva food. Once the larva hatches it begins eating the spiders until it is finished growing. Next it spins a cocoon and changes into a pupa where it spends the winter and emerges early the next summer. As adults they mostly eat nectar.

Last summer a friend of mine gave me a Mason Bee block to provide a place for them to lay their eggs and thus help protect our native bees. These too use mud to seal up the entrance to their nest. The block has several holes but only a few have been used.

I find it interesting how once I am aware of something then I begin to see it everywhere. That has been the case with the mud building wasp. When I was stacking wood this fall I found some odd looking cocoon like structures made out of mud. I took photos of course as you can see below.

Researching in “Tracks and Signs of Insects” by Eiseman and Charney page 284 I discover what I had were spider wasp nest (Pompilidae: Auplopodini). They describe them as being found between logs in a wood pile. Whoa…that is exactly where I found them! I love this field guide. They do pretty much the same thing as the other wasps that use mud but the shape is different. So now I am on the lookout for other interesting wasp nest.

Visit other informative sites at ABC Wednesdays.