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. ...
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/)...
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...
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. ...
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...
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...
Dung Beetle Dung Beetle I promise I’ll only use the “also known as” thing this one time. Only some of the “also known as” used in advertising, rock band, or book title are funny.  LOL. I found my first DUNG beetle in Connecticut last weekend!! What? No RAH!!!  But that’s right. ...
A Pseudoscorpion A Pseudoscorpion A Pseudoscorpion A Morel Mushroom, the Pseudoscorpions Fungal Ecosystem My friend Dan certainly likes nature. It takes a good eye to notice a pseudoscorpion, most are under 4mm in length (biggest is 12mm). Dan was washing off his morning take of Morel mushrooms, which are booming here in...
categories: ARACHNIDS, Pseudoscorpions
Fairy Shrimp, E. bundy, male with claspers Had some recent posts at the Facbook NG site, with 2011 E. bundyi from a new Vernal Pool. Some of them had a greenish tinge, and this might be an algae that is either a symbiont, or the pigments are being incorporated into the shrimp. I finally got some good video of them swimming,...
categories: CRUSTACEANS
Moon Moth Larva A lot of time is given to the gorgeous adult moths of the Actias genus, in that the adult Saturnidae moths are usually universally gorgeous.  In the Luna group, many are a lime green, or pastel green, with huge tails on each wing. Some of the Actias sp. can even hybridize with other species. Medium to large...
