Cepaea nemoralis Cepaea nemoralis Cepaea nemoralis Cepaea nemoralis A cool call today that followed up on an identification I did a few years ago. A co-worker’s husband and fellow herper, Dave Broughel, had found a land snail on the wall of his building (NYS Thruway) in Albany, and was wondering about an I.D. I had seen the snail several...
Leaf-Footed Bug One of our native leaf-footed bugs, Acanthocephala terminalis is just appearing as adults in my area. Several molts (instars) occur before they reach this adult stage. This one was on my house foundation this afternoon. It is larger and broader then the Western Conifer Seed Bug (see http://naturalistguy.com/2010/11/05/1740/) that...
The Beautiful Great Golden Wasp Turns to Check out the Camera! Posted this first on the NG Facebook blog, but wanted to get some video of the beautiful Great Golden Digger Wasp female, Sphex ichneumoneus, at work preparing its burrow for a future orthopteran (katydid, cricket or grasshopper). A solo artist, which again like other diggers- nests...
Northern Water Snake Youngster Northern Water Snake Youngster Northern Water Snake Skin Pattern Hiking in the ravine, up to Taughannock Falls, near Cayuga Lake, NY- we were surprised by the yell of “SNAKE!” Just as surprised to see in the running ice cold waters of the river, a 1 year old or so Norther Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon). My daughter...
Hairy Tailed Mole Hairy Tailed Mole Hairy Tailed Mole Tail Hairy Tailed Mole Vestigial Eye Hairy Tailed Mole Front Foot Hairy Tailed Mole Feeding Hairy Tailed Mole Feeding Hairy Tailed Mole Feeding When I was a boy of about six years old, I saw an episode of the old black and white Superman TV series, it could have been the pilot episode- called “MOLE...
American Toad American Toad American Toad American Toad This was one of the first amphibians I had ever seen as a child. Many large toads would come out and sit on a large wall near our house to eat bugs on muggy nights. It was this toad, the all American Toad, Bufo americanus. The Genus was changed to Anaxyrus in 2006 based on some new work. ...
Eastern Red Cedar (Eastern Juniper) Eastern Red Cedar (Eastern Juniper) Eastern Red Cedar (Eastern Juniper) Eastern Red Cedar (Eastern Juniper) Eastern Red Cedar (Eastern Juniper) Eastern Red Cedar (Eastern Juniper) A common tree in our area, the Eastern Red Cedar (really a Juniper), Juniperus virginiana- grows in sporadic pockets depending on conditions. ...
Hummingbird Moth Banking in for a Wild Iris Feed! Hummingbird Moth Hovers in Place on Wild Iris Love it when the Humming bird moths first appear- a member of the Sphingidae, the Sphinx moth group. These are day-time flying hummingbird mimics that astound me every time I see them. I can watch one for a long time. Just brilliant. Not 100% positive...
Phorid Flies on Green Lacewing Tiny Phorid Flies Riding Along with a Green Lacewing Lacewings are a Neuroptera, a group that includes the antlions (doodle bugs). The larvae of lacewings look a lot like antlions, and are prdatory. The adults of the green lacewing here, a Chrysopidae, are predatory as well, and often consume aphids and other small...
Ant Lion, Out of its Element I located some Ant Lion pits today, and dug up an Ant Lion, also called a “Doodle Bug.” The adult ant lion, looks a bit like a damsel fly, but has clubbed antennae. They are also in a different Order, the Neuroptera- Net-Winged insects. I have seen the adult to this specific doodle bug, but I have not...
