Wooly Beech Aphid May 15, 2012
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in insects, trees.1 comment so far
I learned about Wooly Alder Aphids a long time ago and wrote about them here. I learned this week that Alder is not the only tree that has its very own aphid. Beech trees can play host, too, to another species of wooly aphid.
Like all aphids, this variety has a piercing mouth part which it uses to get beneath the surface of the plant in order to suck juices.
Like other woolies, this variety carries waxy threads on its body.
According to one source, it is rare that an infestation is severe enough to do any real damage to the tree. I question that as it concerns our beech, already under attack by Beech Bark Disease (caused by a fungus introduced by a scale insect).
I’ve walked this woods frequently for a lot of years and never noticed this aphid before. I will be curious to see what happens.
Learn more:
Can you see me? February 28, 2012
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in insects.4 comments
Took a little walk-about at Audubon this morning. Look who I found all tucked in a bed of moss:
Not sure of the species. Isn’t it cute?
UPDATE: My very knowledgeable friends tell me it’s a striped flea beetle. Still not sure of species, because apparently there are several varieties of striped flea beetles.
Large-Medium-Small September 19, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in butterflies, insects.3 comments
I took a hike on Saturday along the Chautauqua Rails To Trails - the Nancy B. Diggs Nature Trail section from Hannum Road to Route 430. It was quite a day for butterflies. During the drive to the trailhead and all along the trail I saw dozens of migrating Monarchs.
Monarch - Wingspan 3 3/8 - 4 7/8 inches
So large when flying, I have sometimes mistaken them for small birds, Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) are pretty easy to identify. Most people know about their amazing life cycle, munching on milkweed as caterpillars, creating the most beautiful chrysalises of all the butterflies, then emerging as a large, sturdy adults. Those born early in the spring may migrate north or stay put. If the adult emerges late enough in summer, it will attempt a very long migration south to Mexico. Several generations of Monarchs are produced in a year and somehow that last generation “knows” its way to Mexico. Blows my mind.
When the trail took me into the woods, another orange and black butterfly caught my eye, not as large as the Monarch, but also a strong flyer.
Eastern Comma - wingspan 1 3/4 - 2 1/2 inches
Eastern Commas (Polygonia comma) produce two generations in a year. The adults we see at this time of year will hibernate through the winter, then emerge to fly and lay eggs in spring through the end of April. From these eggs comes the summer generation. These adults will fly from May through September and will lay eggs that become the winter form. Caterpillars dine on all members of the elm and nettle families. Adults eat rotting fruit and tree sap.
I was almost back to my car when I saw the third and smallest black and orange butterfly.
Pearl Crescent - wingspan 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 inches
Pearl Crescents (Phyciodes tharos) produce several generations throughout the summer months. As winter approaches, third stage caterpillars will enter hibernation. Adults sip nectar from a wide variety of wildflowers. Caterpillars munch on asters.
In preparing this post, I found a wonderful website – Butterflies and Moths of North America. Check out these links:
Goldenrod Soldier Beetle August 21, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in insects.11 comments
I took several pictures of this fellow while doing my Day Camp Counselor gig, but had no time during the week to look him up. Today I searched the internet for “goldenrod beetle” in hopes of finding something relevant. Turns out, he’s called Goldenrod Soldier Beetle, also known as the Pennsylvania Leather-wing (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus).
While the larvae are carnivorous, the adults prefer pollen and nectar. Birds, mice, mantids, assassin bugs and others avoid eating this soldier beetle because of an acidic secretion which issues from pores along its side when it is disturbed. (Hmm… I’m tempted to disturb one to see that… but what will happen?)
One of the more fascinating things I ran across was at the (AMAZING) site BugGuide.
Click to go to the full account on Bugguide.net.
There is, apparently, a fungus that attaches itself to the exoskeleton of certain insects as they pass by along the forest floor. After burning a hole through the armor, the fungus proceeds to attack the “non-vital” organs, while injecting antibiotics and other “medicines” to protect the host for a bit longer. Eventually the fungus makes its way to the brain where it manipulates the behavior of the insect causing it to climb high into the tree-tops. There, it devours the rest of the brain, after which the insect body explodes releasing the spores of the fungus.
(I SOOO wish I had known about this when the kids were still at camp… They would have loved such a zombie-esque story!)
This is another example of a story that makes me ask, “How do they know that?” Do you know of a book that explains how we know what we know? I’d like to read it! Send me the title and author, please!
Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (a.k.a. Pennsylvania Leather-wing)
Learn More:
Modeling Appropriate Behavior August 19, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in insects, kids.11 comments
I’m a day camp counselor this week. I have a small group of 5 children. One of my duties is to “model appropriate behavior.” To that end, I like to gently handle critters we find in the field, and observe them carefully. Sometimes I end up learning things I never knew before!
For example, take this Katydid (a.k.a. Long-horned grasshopper).
(I apologize for the quality fo the pictures, but it’s hard to take your time when five kids are all calling, “Jennifer, Look at this!”)
If you look at that photo above, you will see that this katydid did what all grasshoppers are wont to do. As a defense, he has spit “tobacco juice” on my finger. Apparently when they do this inside the mouth of a would-be predator, the taste causes said creature to spit him out again.
I was quite surprised at what happened next:
The katydid drank the dark liquid back up again! Perhaps he decided I was not a threat after all and wanted to conserve the dark stuff for a real emergency?
And then, he proceeded to wash up. I wish I had video:
My finger was as clean as can be when I eventually released him back to the grasses.
Try it! Catch a grasshopper and hold it gently in your fingers. See if it regurgitates, then reingests the juice… Report back here. I’m curious how common a practice this might be…
After the Rain… June 13, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in birds, dragonflies, insects, photography, reptiles.8 comments
It rained this morning. As the clouds thinned, the light became perfect for photography, so I headed down to Audubon to see if the adorable Yellow Warblers were out by the overlook again (and to practice using my 100-400mm lens). They were… taking inchworm after inchworm to a nest that was hidden from view.
I watched for quite a long time and was also treated to a Swamp Sparrow singing his little heart out.
The Red-winged Blackbirds who are also nesting in the shrubs would not pose nicely for pictures. Other wildlife along my path did, however…
Twelve-spotted Skimmer
Eastern Garter Snake in one of the Woodpecker Holes in the Dead Elm Tree
Tadpoles in the pond along the maintenance road
And, back at the building:
An adorable Eastern Chipmunk in the Bird Garden
Bees June 8, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in insects.2 comments
Audubon has an indoor, glass-walled demonstration bee hive.
It’s pretty cool. You can watch the worker bees tending the hive, doing the waggle dance, living their lives. Sometimes you can find the Queen and watch her lay eggs.
You can see the honey stores they build up to help them survive through the winter.
There is a tunnel that goes through the wall to the outside, so the workers can go out to get nectar and pollen.
Tunnel to the Outside
Exit Hole on Outside of Building
OK, so that’s the background… Here’s the coolest thing ever: Walt Dahlgren, our beekeeper, told us a week or so ago that our hive was getting very large and that he had identified two queens. When this happens, one queen will leave and about half the workers will go with her… Today was the day! At around lunchtime, a mass exodus from the hive occurred. The bees congregated on branches of the locust tree just outside the building.
Jeff called Walt right away but he was not able to come until 3 or 3:30. In the time it took him to get to Audubon, the activity of the bees lessened and the ball became more compact.
While we watched the bees, we noticed a few dragonflies coming through. We joked that maybe they were there to eat the bees… not believing it could be true. Then one landed on my sleeve with a bee in its mandibles. We watched it chew… I tried to get a shot with my camera… but the lens I had on was not great for this close range! (Hopefully one of Jeff’s pictures came out better.)
Jeff’s photo of the bee-eating dragonfly on my sleeve!
Most fascinating of all was when Walt arrived and set up a shop vac to suck the bees into an empty hive.
Vacuuming the Bees
Vaccuming the Bees – Closeup
For the most part, the bees were quite calm and put up with this process with no agitation. Toward the end, though, one found me and decided I was a threat. I got stung twice on my face, and Jeff got stung once. But it was so fascinating, it was all worth it.
Caterpillars and Flies June 6, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in insects.4 comments
No one attending the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage this year could have escaped without noticing hundreds and hundreds of Eastern Tent Caterpillars AND hundreds and hundreds of very large and rather attractive (if annoying) flies called Friendly Flies.
A fellow naturalist mentioned that there is a correlation between these two… but didn’t have the exact details, or we got interrupted before he could finish his explanation… so, I googled it… (Have I mentioned how much I love the internet?)
It turns out that the Friendly Fly lays its eggs on the pupa of the Tent Caterpillar which the fly’s larva will eat. While you may find Tent Caterpillars in the woods every year, the population gets very high in cycles of about 10 to 15 years. When their population is high, so is the population of Friendly Flies.
There’s an explanation for everything, I guess!
Read more by clicking –> here.
Still Waiting April 9, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in amphibians, insects, spring.14 comments
It had been so warm for so many days. Finally, rain. But when the rain came, the temperatures dropped… into the 40s… too cold, according to the experts, for the Spotted Salamanders to migrate to the pools. I knew there was little hope of finding them, but I ventured out anyway with camera, flashlights, cell phone, and the list of people who are as anxious as me to see them.
The sound of the peepers ws deafening as I passed the ponds along the old farm road.
When I got to the pond, I heard plenty of Wood Frogs… but they stopped singing when I shone my flashlight into the water. I searched and searched for salamanders, but saw nothing. Just the eggs that the Jefferson’s had left a week or more ago… and a few Wood Frog eggs. The frogs stopped singing when I turned on my flashlight.
After searching, I decided to turn off the flashlight and get quiet so the Wood Frogs would sing some more. I planned to get out my camera and capture their songs, as I had the Spring Peepers. But they wouldn’t sing.
Then I heard a rustling in the leaves near the path. I thought there was an animal visitor… perhaps a deer, or a raccoon. A strange noise came from that direction – like the noise people make when they are “talking to” red squirrels… I decided to get my cameral out so I could try to capture this strange sound…
Then it turned into giggling and a flashlight went on. Pat and Denny! Together we searched the pond and finally saw a few Spotted Salamanders… probably males that made it to the pond a while back… Denny captured one so I could photograph it.
Not much activity in the pond on this cold night. On the way back, though, we saw plenty of Glowworms:
Hard to believe this critter will turn into a Firefly, isn’t it?
Annual New Year’s Day Tromp January 1, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in hiking, insects, trees, winter.2 comments
I love waking up late on New Year’s Day with thoughts of where I should take the dog for a romp. Usually Emily joins me, but she was off at a friend’s and so I headed out into a snowy, blowing day without her.
I’m not sure she was very happy with me. Sorry, Em.
As is often the case with a winter walk, the low temperature combined with wind made me feel very cold in the beginning, but as I walked, it didn’t take long for me to warm up. I headed down into a protected ravine at the bottom of which runs a creek. There are hemlocks and yellow birch all along the way… beautiful.
On the bark of one of the yellow birch trees, I found gypsy moth eggs… and also a gorgeous Stonefly nymph. I couldn’t really tell if it was a dead nymph, or if the back had cracked open to allow the adult to fly free… Here’s another picture I took a while back of a living stonefly nymph we found in the creek at Allegany State Park:
I played around a bit with slow shutterspeeds to try to capture the essence of the wind. The orange-brown leaves on the Ironwood tree were dancing up a storm…
Even though I have billions of pictures of Witch Hazel, I can never resist another.
Emily finally arrived home shortly after I did. We may go out later this afternoon or evening and see how our cross country skis are working after a long summer in the garage…
Happy New Year, everyone!
