I was moving some plants around on my porch yesterday when I noticed these weird blobby things on a small leaf. What in the world??
OK, so despite what appear to be puppy-like eyes and noses, I guessed these weren't actually tiny blob monsters. Since I didn't see any legs or movement, I figured these things were probably eggs of some sort. And indeed, after a little online searching, these "creatures" turn out to be the eggs of a Leaf-footed Bug, probably the species Acanthocephala terminalis, which I see around the yard pretty frequently. From some angles, you can even just make out the little bug nymphs all folded up inside the eggs:
Well that was an unexpected and delightful discovery! Insects never cease to amaze.
OK, I'm hooked. Who knew there were so many interesting creatures roaming around at night, waiting to be drawn into sight by my porch light? My foray into the night-creature world earlier this week turned up several different types of insects (and one amphibian -- more on that later), and I've been checking the light every night since then. Here's a brief overview of some of the widely disparate creatures I've found since Wednesday.
First is some species of crane fly, a huge and harmless member of the fly family (order Diptera) -- when I was little, I had many, many arguments with my friends about whether these are mosquitoes or not; they're not:
Speaking of mosquitoes, though, this next creature should be familiar to most people. I don't know exactly what species of mosquito it is, but from what I've read, I'm pretty sure it's a female -- males tend to have "fuzzier" antennae. Thankfully, she didn't try to make a meal of me:
This tiny creature may look like a moth, but in fact it's a fly (order Diptera again, so more closely related to the crane fly and mosquito above than to actual moths) -- moth flies like this Filter Fly (Clogmia albipunctata) are apparently very helpful for cleaning sewage pipes and the like, and are often found near buildings and especially bathrooms (yay?):
Here's a Leaf-footed Bug (Acanthocephala terminalis), the adult form of the blue-butted nymph I found in my garden earlier this year:
This rather large leafhopper (Coelidia olitoria, my goodness but the people at BugGuide.net are helpful) looks positively alien, staring at me as it hangs upside down from the ceiling:
Bugs don't get much more alien than this next creature, though, a completely new one for me -- it's a Long-necked Seed Bug (Myodocha serripes), appropriately named for its long "neck" (look for the eyes to help orient you to this creature's anatomy) and the fact that it eats seeds:
Also visiting were a few different types of caddisflies (order Trichoptera), which somewhat resemble moths with their feathery wings, but which are actually a different type of insect altogether. Here's a rather large caddisfly which I thought was quite pretty with its auburn shading (I don't know the exact species):
Beetles apparently like the lights, too. I've seen quite a few of this species of beetle over the past few nights -- it's some sort of click beetle or false click beetle, I think, although I haven't been able to make an exact identification:
This lovely green beetle I was able to identify, and it's probably a good thing I did. It's a Northern Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica barberi), a pest insect on corn. We're thinking about trying to grow corn next year, so I guess I'll be keeping my eye out for these guys in the future:
I was a little surprised to see this mayfly (order Ephemeroptera) hanging around, since they're supposed to stick close to water -- but then, we do have a stream across the street from our back yard, so I guess that counts:
Moths are always fun to look at, and even in shades of brown and gray they often show such interesting and intricate patterns. I especially like the pattern on this Yellow-striped Armyworm Moth (Spodoptera ornithogalli):
And this geometrid moth (genus Hypagyrtis) has some pretty cool wings as well, and nice feathery antennae to boot:
Here's a small crambid snout moth (genus Diathrausta), with its slate-gray wings and decorative white spots:
Finally, a happy observation: The Spring Peeper (dubbed "Kristoff"; I can only assume it's the same frog) is still hanging around! I took the opportunity to snap a photo of him/her on Wednesday next to my lens cap -- the cap is ~2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, so that should give you an idea of how dinky this frog is (and I didn't use flash this time, to spare the little guy's eyes):
Update (8/22/11): I just now thought to compare the pictures of this frog to the previous pictures I posted, and it turns out they're not the same individual after all -- the patterns on the two frogs' backs are subtly different, but different all the same. I saw yet a third peeper on the porch last night, again with a different identifying pattern, so rather than a single frog hanging around, it looks like we have a population of peepers who stop by every once in a while. That's perfectly fine with me. :)
I looked away for a few minutes, and when I looked for Kristoff again, he wasn't on the step anymore... but scurrying up the railing instead. Those padded toes really do their job!
I'll continue checking the lights for as long as creatures keep coming to them, but I'll refrain from making a post until I see something really cool. I'm holding out for a super awesome moth!
Today I made my triumphant return to the Naugatuck State Forest (after a week and a half away), and I even got up extra early to beat the heat. (That was pretty much essential.... It was already getting unbearable by the time I left at 10:00.)
The birds were quite active, especially at the beginning of my walk. I got stuck for a long time watching some smaller birds and a warbler I didn't know (and still don't, because I couldn't identify it). And then I heard some loud calls from the top of a tree across the lake:
There were three Northern Flickers up there -- that's a type of woodpecker -- and these birds were flying up and down, back and forth, calling and displaying to each other, and fanning their impressive tails. At least two of the birds were males, so I'm guessing there was some sort of territorial/nesting dispute going on, but I couldn't say for certain. All I know is they were putting on quite a show, and I only wish I could've had a closer view. (I do really like this picture, though, even if it's lacking some detail.) Also, flickers are awesome.
Next to the birds, the most active animals were the insects. Dragonflies were everywhere, as usual, and I was even able to identify two new species. Here's a lovely Slaty Skimmer:
And a Banded Pennant (what a cool pattern on those wings):
I recognized these tiny spiky creatures (they're like aliens!) as some sort of leaf-footed bug nymph:
Out of curiosity, I posted this picture and an ID request on BugGuide.net, and within an hour someone had replied with the species: Euthochtha galeator. Behold the wonders of the internet! :D
This dainty butterfly is a Little Wood Satyr (I'd never heard of such a thing before today, and it's quite elegant):
I snuck up on this grasshopper mid-buzz -- I think the sound it was making must have something to do with its wings, but the exact mechanics are unclear to me:
There were so many wildflowers blooming today that I'd never seen before, each beautiful in its own way. Large patches of Spotted Wintergreen were scattered across the forest floor:
This Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba, complete with a foraging longhorn beetle) was blooming along a bank:
And nearby, another member of the same genus, Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa):
Right at the end of one of the lakes, I found a single Swamp Milkweed plant:
I really like this Yellow Loosestrife (also called Swamp Candles):
And this Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens) was putting on a nice show, with quite a few big sturdy plants growing together in a wet area next to the path:
It was a nice rambling walk, and I even got to stop and snack for a bit in a large Black Raspberry patch. Yum. :)
As I was leaving, a passing lady saw my binoculars and gave me a tip about another part of the Naugatuck State Forest, where there are shrubby fields, with warblers and woodcocks (boy, I'd love to see one of those funky creatures someday), among other birds. I believe her words were, "you'll be in heaven." I think I know where I'll be exploring next!
It's been a very rain-filled week -- soggy, I believe, is the word. This morning we had a brief dry spell, but rather than risk getting caught in the woods in the rain, I decided to bring my camera out into the garden to see what kinds of creatures I could find there. I found cool bugs!
(By the way, I was only able to identify these creatures to any extent at all by turning to the enormously useful BugGuide.net -- this site has lots of pictures and is pretty easy to navigate. I'm glad I recently found out about it.)
Anyway, bring on the bugs!
Here's a particularly cool one, a treehopper of some sort (in the genus Ceresa, I think). Check out those awesome horns, and the swirly black-and-white eyes (is it going to hypnotize someone?).
There are almost always leafhoppers in the garden, and they're usually more colorful than this one. In fact, I almost overlooked this guy (probably Pagaronia minor), but I'm glad I didn't -- I'm enjoying those yellow eyes.
I grew up calling these large arachnids (they're not technically spiders) "daddy longlegs," but apparently they can also be called "harvestmen" (to help distinguish them from other creatures with the name "daddy longlegs"). Who knew? In any case, this large whatever-you-want-to-call-it was staking out a bean leaf, possibly waiting for a meal to come along.
This fancy fellow is a nymph (i.e. juvenile) of a Leaf-footed Bug (Acanthocephala terminalis, I think). Nice blue butt, baby bug!
OK, this isn't a bug, but it is a wild thing in the garden. It's an Asiatic Dayflower, a non-native but now naturalized species. I let a few of these plants come up as weeds in a corner of the garden because I think the flowers are quite pretty, but I might pull them up before they go to seed.
All of these creatures are free to live in my garden and do what they will -- treehoppers, leaphoppers, and leaf-footed bugs all eat plants, but not to an extent that would be harmful to a garden. But of course I can't let every visitor come to stay, and that's the weird contradiction between enjoying wild things and keeping a cultivated, food-producing garden. Before I brought the camera outside, I smushed a decent number of aphids, as well as a squash beetle that was making a meal of my squash leaves. Maybe the next time I do a post like this, I'll take some pictures of the undesirable bugs as well. Everyone deserves equal treatment... before I smush them!
