I had also written a chapter for the book on two of my favorite outdoor areas in our incredibly diverse state – Mattamuskeet and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuges (no surprise there to any of you that read this blog regularly). I enjoyed watching the Cafe and learning more about the book from April. Melissa had written a chapter on one of her favorite places, the Lower Roanoke River. She joined a couple of other staff that had been authors of chapters in a book released this spring entitled, 30 Great North Carolina Science Adventures, edited by April C. This past Thursday evening, Melissa participated in a Science Cafe hosted by her workplace, the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want. The abundance and variety of our mini-beast neighbors continues to fascinate and amaze us. I wrote about seeing one laying eggs in the yard last week and here are the fruits of her efforts. The highlight was definitely the last thing I found on my sweaty yard tour – several rolled leaves made by early stage caterpillars of a Long-tailed Skipper. I think this one is a Short-winged Green Grasshopper, Dichromorpha viridis This is probably a male Short-winged Green Grasshopper (males are generally two-toned, green and brown) The splayed leg Clipped-wing Grasshopper, Metaleptea brevicornis One of several skipper species frequenting the yard now, a Clouded Skipper, Lerema accius Always one of my favorite yard finds, a Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar with its glorious fake eyes After mowing yesterday, I walked the edges and noticed some rolled leaves on this legume (I think it may be a Naked-flowered Tick-trefoil, Hylodemum nudiforum) I held up one of the rolled leaves and this little guy came out – a new species of caterpillar for me, a Long-tailed Skipper! The jagged dorsal surface mimics the serrated edge of an elm leaf Grasshoppers and katydids are larger and more noticeable now. This one is on one of several Viburnums on our property Melissa found this Purple-crested Slug larva on the underside of a Redbud leaf Double-toothed Prominent on elm. Black Swallowtail larva on Golden Alexander (click photos to enlarge) Variable Oak Leaf Caterpillar Rose Hooktip Moth larva, the only Eastern caterpillar with a long unpaired “tail”. Here are a few of our tiny neighbors enjoying the jungle of native plants in our slightly sunny hole in the canopy. And though I feel sapped of all energy every time I try to do anything outside, nature (especially in the invertebrate world) seems to be in high gear as we get ready to turn the calendar page again. The house seems suddenly shrouded in orb webs and a yard tour quickly turns up a host of caterpillars. The butterflies that so many thought had forsaken us this year are now everywhere and the hummingbirds are squabbling over the feeders and flowers in preparation for their departure in a few weeks. Though the temperatures sure don’t seem like it, I’m seeing signs that Summer is coming to a close and Fall is just around the corner. When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and, like a dream, glides away.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |