The next day as I walked along the north side of the Wetlands, I saw a Common Green Darner (Anax junius) sailing over the water. Luckily, the big darner came flying right over my head and landed on a Wax Myrtle not 15 feet away. I was able to get close enough to it, without spooking it, to grab a shot for the Journal.

A fresh looking Common Green Darner clings to Wax Myrtle at the edge of the Wetlands.

As I’ve mentioned many times in this Journal, green darners move south with the weather. This one looks fresh and may have emerged (eclosed) locally due to the spring-like, mild weather.

Monday night into Tuesday morning the mild weather was pushed out of our area and replaced by much cooler air, by no means cold, but cooler, closer to 50 than 70 degrees. Yet, as I walked the path around the Wetlands this morning there in the water was the familiar face a frog staring up at me from the below, a bullfrog.

An American Bullfrog (11/28/11).

See you in the wild.

A Common Green Darner rests between flights over the asters to hawk insects.

The Common Buckeye is a local breeder. They move south each fall, sometimes in large numbers.

Nearly everyone is familiar with the Monarch and its annual movements. This female stopped by our little patch of asters to refresh.

Have a nice flight.

The Skimming Bluets in the image at left are configured in what is referred to as the “copulation wheel.” This configuration usually looks more like a heart than a wheel, although often somewhat distorted and on its side. Perhaps researchers thought that the word heart would sound too sentimental when describing this odonate behavior. Whatever you call it, this is how sperm is transferred from the male to the female. The male attaches himself to the female by grasping her behind the head with special appendages at the tip of his abdomen. The female then moves the tip of her abdomen to the genitalia of the male which is located on the underside of the abdomen just behind the thorax. This is where the sperm transfer takes place. To see this behavior in motion, watch this two-minute video on damselfly life cycle. Although it shows a different species (Powdered Dancer), the behavior is the same.

Insect activity in general is on the increase as we move farther away from the cooler months of the year. Among grasshoppers, American Bird Grasshoppers (Schistocerca americana) are becoming noticeably more common. Typically, they’re not spotted until someone nearly steps on one and they take to the wing, like a small bird, to land in the grass far ahead or in a nearby tree. Recently, I’ve been sending quite a few of them airborne.

A Virginia Pine Borer (Chalcophora virginiensis) was seen on April 18th, the day of the Butterfly Bash. This large species of metallic woodborer (a beetle) was seen last year at this time. Spring is the time to look for them. I don’t recall seeing one at any other time of year.

Another metallic woodborer was spotted on the path in Catch the Wind a few days after seeing the Virginia Pine Borer. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to capture it and therefore was not able to put a name on it. The beetle was about half the size of the previous species with similar markings.

As I was standing in front of the Ornithopter on the 29th of April, I noticed a very tiny insect on one of the many daisies that are now in bloom. By using my binoculars as a loupe (turn the binoculars around and use one eye to look through one of the objective lenses – the big lens – and get up close to the object that you wish to look at with the other end – small lens), I could see it was a beetle with brown and white mottling. I then noticed that there were others of the same size and color on some of the other daisies. Each patch of daisies that I checked had at least one of these very small (less than 1/8th inch) beetles. A quick check in the insect field guide that I had in my pack revealed the beetle’s identity, a Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci). I don’t have a picture of one of these little beetles but you can view and read more about them here.

Some new (for the season) lepidoptera species have shown up in the past few weeks. A Hummingbird Moth was observed hovering above the Leatherleaf Viburnum in front of the Ornithopter on 4 April. Red-banded Hairstreak (4/17), Cloudless Sulphur (4/26), Red-spotted Purple (4/28), Monarch (4/24) and Southern Cloudywing (4/29) were observed, in addition to the already present Pearl Crescent, American Lady, American Snout, Mourning Cloak, and Questionmark.

Butterflies seen this period were Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Olive Hairstreak (4/9), Eastern Tailed-blue (4/3), Mourning Cloak (4/3), Silver-spotted Skipper (4/9), and Juvenal’s Duskywing.

Now bivouacked on at least two Black Cherry Trees around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop are Eastern Tent Caterpillars. One encampment is on a cherry next to the service road near the main entrance to Catch the Wind. The other is near the entrance to Explore the Wild on the back side of the loop. The caterpillars’ white, silken tents are still in the early stages of development. Although the leaves of the cherries are just beginning to sprout, these communal caterpillars are poised to assault.

Tent caterpillars prefer cherry leaves but will eat the leaves of other trees after defoliating their host tree, which is often the case. However, the caterpillars have little choice in what they’ll munch on for their first meal. It’s the adult female, a small nondescript brown moth, that makes that decision for them. She’s the one who seeks out and lays the mass of some 150-350 eggs on the twigs of the cherry tree. Soon after hatching, the caterpillars begin to erect the “tents” for which they are so well known. The caterpillars crawl out to the leaves, chow down, then scurry back to the safety of the tent to rest and digest, adding to the tents as they go.

A day-flying moth caught my eye as it rapidly flew by, investigating several small flowering plants along the way, at the Wetlands Overlook near the Lemur House on the 10th of the month. It was an Eight-spotted Forester (Alypia octomaculata), a small black moth with two white spots on each of its four wings (8 spots). Both the common and Latin names refer to the number of wing spots on this moth. The larvae feed on Virginia Creeper and plants in the grape family.

The first Six-spotted Tiger Beetle of the season showed itself on the 5th of April. As expected, it was seen on the boulders that line the path between Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild on the back side of the loop. These brilliant green beetles are very common and can be seen on just about any path, road, or open area in or near woodlands throughout our area. The adults are creatures of spring and are difficult to locate after June, so look for them now.

The name Six-spotted Tiger Beetle comes from the fact that there are 3 white spots on each forewing (elytra) of the beetle (see image at left). Two forewings x three spots on each wing equals six spots. The Latin name (Cinindela sexgutata) also refers to the spots although the number of spots can vary from two to six. They have white mandibles and a white upper “lip” (labrum).

The tiger part of the name comes from the fact that they are swift and efficient predators. They move quickly and pounce on smaller insects, making short work of the unfortunate prey with their large pincing mandibles.

Male Fragile Forktails emerge before the females. It may be a week or two before we see females, which are less colorful than the males. The image of the male at left labeled “Fragile Forktail (male)” is what the damsels look like after taking on the mature male coloration. The process can take several hours. The male pictured happens to be eating a small insect, perhaps a leafhopper (photo is from a previous season).

Three Common Green Darners were seen in the Wetlands on March 22 with one female and a pair in tandem. The male attaches itself to the female, transfers sperm to the female and both of them fly off together, in tandem, ovipositing (laying eggs) at suitable locations around the pond. The image at left is a rear view of a male in flight, quartering away.

Several Eastern Tiger Swallowtails were seen on the last day of the month (3/31) in Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind. These were the first-of-the-season sightings for this species.

Falcate Orangetips continue to be seen in small numbers. I’ve yet to see a female of the species this season (images at left). Like the Fragile Forktails above, male Falcate Orangetips emerge prior to the females. Falcates don’t sit still for long, most are seen while in flight so you often get only a quick glimpse as they flutter by. They are early season butterflies and are only seen in our area from mid-March to about mid-April.

Also observed during the last half of March is what appeared to be a Juvenals’ Duskywing. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a sufficient look to confirm its identity. These relatively small butterflies are overall dark brown to black and belong to a group of look-a-like species which can be difficult to differentiate. They perch on the ground which is where you’re most likely to find them, low to the ground, even while on the wing.

One Sleepy Orange and one Common Buckeye were the only butterflies observed during the latter half of November.

So far this year I’ve tallied 25 species of dragonfly. I expect that number to increase by at least one before the fall ends. Meadowhawks are late season fliers and I suspect that there will be a few Autumn Meadowhawks about in October and November. Stay tuned.

For three consecutive days during the third week of September I observed a Carolina Mantis perched amongst the bright yellow flowers of Goldenrod growing alongside the Wetlands. At some point each day the mantis held a Bumble Bee tightly in its grip, chewing away on the unfortunate bee. Goldenrod is a good place to look for mantids at this time of year as the flowers are visited by many insects, which is what a mantis eats.

The Carolina Mantis is the native mantis in our area. The rather large (up to 4”) Chinese Mantis that most folks are familiar with was introduced to help control insect pest species. Of course, Chinese Mantids will snatch up anything that comes within reach: pest insects, beneficial insects, even hummingbirds. The Carolina Mantis only gets to about 2.5” in length and can be either mottled gray or green like the one in the image at left (munching on a bee, of course).

Orthoptera species, that is, grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets, are abundant. Grasshoppers of various species can be seen on the paved path, in the grass along the path, and on the various inanimate objects around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. I’ve seen adult Red-headed Meadow Katydids (photo below) on the tall grass lining the paved path around the Loop as well as many nymphs of that and other katydid species. Pass your hand or your foot over the clover or mowed grass along the path and you’re likely to see crickets of various sizes scatter.

I picked up a beetle near the vending machines in Catch the Wind. It was a longhorned beetle although I didn’t know the species; wasn’t even sure of the family in which it belonged. I got a clue when I placed the beetle on an oak leaf with the twig still attached in order to videotape the still unknown insect (images at left) . The beetle soon crawled off of the leaf and onto the twig. It began to girdle the twig.

Thanks to Michael C. Thomas and BugGuide.Net, I discovered that the beetle is a Twig Girdler (Oncideres cingulata). These beetles lay eggs under the bark of a twig. They then girdle the twig which dries and falls to the ground, the larva developing inside the twig on the ground.

While walking the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop I came upon a very strange looking creature ambling across the paved surface of the path. It appeared to be some kind of larva, a beetle larva, either a soldier beetle or perhaps a firefly (Lightning Bug). What first struck me about the insect was its tiny head which could extend and retract much like a turtle’s. Another odd thing was that it used the tip of its abdomen as a kind of 7th leg in moving along the path. Thanks again to BugGuide.Net. This insect appears to be a firefly larva, Photinus pyralis, a common species in our area (photos below).

Several Two-lined Spittlebugs (adults) were observed at the Wetlands Overlook near the Lemur House. The nymphs of this attractive insect are the critters that form masses of “spit” on vegetation to hide in while they mature during the summer.

Cloudless Sulphurs continue to fly through to the south. In fact, I’ve seen more of their caterpillars on the Partridge Pea around the Loop (see Cloudless Sulphur Caterpillars, Explore the Wild Journal, September 1-15, 2008).

The most consistently seen butterflies have been Eastern-tailed Blue and Pearl Crescent. A Red-banded Hairstreak was seen on Goldenrod next to the Wetlands. Gray Hairstreak, Monarch, Viceroy, Hackberry Emperor, and Fiery Skipper and other skippers were also seen.

Caterpillars. Besides the Cloudless Sulphur larvae mentioned above, the list of caterpillars seen munching on leaves and crawling around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop continues to grow. More Red-humped Caterpillars were seen on Redbud (see Red-humped Caterpillars, Explore the Wild Journal, July 16-31 & August 1-15, 2008). A Contracted Datana was seen hiking across the paved path as was a Sycamore Tussock Moth larva. And finally, a Pine Sphinx.

Pine Sphinx larvae are in the same group of caterpillars as the familiar Tobacco and Tomato Hornworms (Carolina Sphinx and Five-spotted Sphinx respectively). Unlike the other two sphinx caterpillars, Pine Sphinx larvae don’t have a horn on their rear ends. They’re not quite as robust or as long either, about 2 inches in length. And, again unlike the other two sphinx larvae, they wear longitudinal stripes along their sides, which seems more appropriate attire for life in the pines (image below).

After the rains of the 24th & 25th I came upon a large wasp (about 35 mm) in a small pool of water. It was clinging to a cluster of pine needles in an attempt to climb out of the water and get airborne. It was a horntail. As best as I can determine it’s a Pigeon Horntail (Tremex columba), also called Pigeon Tremex (image below).

The intimidating looking projection on the horntail in the photo below (see arrow in image) is a sheath that houses an ovipositor. These insects drill through the bark of a dead or dying tree and deposit an egg into the wood. A fungus is also injected into the wood which softens the wood, allowing the larva that hatches from the egg easy going as it tunnels through the wood. These insects don’t sting.