Looking Closer

It was a nice quiet evening at the arboretum. I was standing at the edge of the meadow just south of the pavilion trying to get at an angle where I could get a look at an oriole nest. I got a little distracted when a couple of goldfinches flew down into the grass in front of me to eat some seeds. As I watched them, I became captivated by the colors and shapes of all the grass seeds in the meadow. As I explored the ones in front of me, I noticed that they had insects on them that looked like grass seeds. Their bodies mimicked the shape of the seeds and their antennae looked like the spike coming off the top of the seeds. I was fascinated at how well they blended in and resembled the seeds. You can also see the long tubular mouth part called a rostrum used for piercing and sucking out plant juices, probably from the grass. As I was trying to take a photo of one, it reared back and appeared to be extending its ovipositor into one of the seeds to lay its eggs. I became absorbed for quite a while in the grass and found many more creatures living there. It is easy to become distracted by the abundance of life bustling about in the warmth of summer. I did eventually circle back and find the oriole nest. The parents would occasionally fly down into the meadow in search for food, and I imagine found some of these insects to take back to their hungry, begging babies.

I uploaded this photo into iNaturalist and it suggested that this was a plant bug in the genus Megaloceroea in the Miridae family.

Incense Cedar Gall

Amidst the confusion this year of trying to figure out the female flower of an incense cedar tree, I discovered what initially appeared to be a cone developing is actually a gall. I was tipped off that this growth was different because I came across an incense cedar with developing cones. I immediately realized that they were not the same.

I was walking around with a friend at the arboretum and we decided to cut one of these growths open and see what it was like inside. When we cut it in half, it was fleshy and green inside, and there wasn’t an insect or larva inside. Thinking that there had to be something inside, we cut one of the halves in half to further investigate. We found a tiny, metallic green wasp cradled inside! I mean this insect was tiny. I took a heap of photos to try and show it to you. They mostly turned out fuzzy because the insect was so small. I couldn’t zoom in close and get a photo with decent resolution. The one below is the best one of them.

I am fascinated by the world of galls, how they form, the variation of their colors and shapes, and the diversity of wasps. It is such a mysterious world to me. It seems like a whole other level of awareness to tune into these tiny creatures and observe their life cycle. It reminds me that there is a vast universe of life unfolding right before me of which I am mostly unaware.

I posted about a small, orange caterpillar I found at the tip of one of the branches in January (Incense Cedar Branch Tip Mystery) that I thought was one of the female flowers. Maybe these two phenomena are connected.

Hair-Stalk-Gall Wasp

Lately, I have been keeping an eye out for galls, and this is a good time of year to find them. Many gall wasps use the Oregon white oak as their host, so if you want to go hunting for galls, this is a great place to start. Many things in nature are small, especially insects like gall wasps. And honestly, I can’t identify any of the gall wasps themselves, mostly because they are so small and I haven’t spent much time trying to find them. That said, I am getting more into it and starting by finding the weird and wonderful galls created to house and protect these tiny insects as they begin their lives.

Recently, I found this tiny gall growing from an oak leaf and matched it with the hair-stalk-gall wasp found in Ronald Russo’s book Plant Galls of the Western United States. This gall grows along the margins of leaves and forms a smooth, pointed gall that grows from a thin stalk. In spring, the color of the gall starts from yellow to orange and turns beige by summer.

In his book, Russo writes, “These smooth galls are fully developed by April, with males and females emerging between April and June. Galls remain on host leaves until fall, even though the occupants have left. This would appear to be the bisexual generation of an as yet undescribed unisexual, summer-fall generation with its own distinct gall. Common.” Gall wasps are tricky. It appears that its summer-fall generation has not been observed or recorded. It’s fascinating that the second part of the yearly lifecycle of a common gall I can find at the arboretum, is still a mystery. There is so much to discover in our backyards!

Note: I want to go back and take better photos, which I hopefully can do this week, and update these.

Resource
Russo, Ronald A. Plant Galls of the Western United States. Princeton University Press, 2021.

Twice-stabbed Lady Beetle

I found this interesting lady beetle the other day in the redwood grove. Its entire body is a shiny, polished black, which gives it a well-armored look and feel. Its wings each have a bold red-orange spot that is kind of blotchy and not a well-formed circle.

The different species can be difficult to tell apart. Iowa State University’s BugGuide had this to say: “Several species of Chilocorus in western North America cannot be separated by external features, along with an introduced species. C. stigma is also best included in this grouping for those on the boundary of known ranges.” I wonder how they decide on a different species, especially if they can’t be separated by external features.

The introduced Kuwana’s lady beetle (Chilocorus kuwanae) pretty much looks identical to Chilocorus stigma, a native to the U.S. and Canada. Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences writes: “ Spots of C. kuwanae tend to be deep red and rectangular and located near the center of the wing. In contrast, spots of C. stigma tend to be more orange-yellow, round and oriented more toward the head of the beetle.” Again, there are very subtle differences in differentiating between the two that seem like it could be difficult to tell in the field.

My focus quickly started to shift away from the quagmire of identification to wonder and appreciation of nature. Like other lady beetles, they are beautiful and beneficial insects that help maintain the balance of nature by eating other insects, such as aphids and scale insects. See you out there!

Winter Butterfly

During the second day of winter, there was a brief period of sunshine and warmth in the afternoon. I was down by the river sitting on a log soaking up some rays and my surroundings. To my surprise, a butterfly came fluttering over and flew around me. It also decided to perch on a log and take in the warmth of the sun’s rays.

I looked it up and decided that it was a California Tortoiseshell butterfly. On Art Shapiro’s Butterfly Site, Dr. Art Shapiro, professor of Evolution and Ecology at the University of California, Davis, states: “The ‘Tortie’ overwinters as an adult and can sometimes be seen sunning itself in midwinter on mild days.” Hooray!

Where was it waiting for this warm and sunny afternoon on the second day of winter? It must find fascinating places to shelter from the cold and rain.

It was a reminder to me to be open to the unexpected, or maybe it’s better said that I need to go out into nature without expectations.

Reference
Nymphalis Californica | Art Shapiro’s Butterfly Site. https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly/nymphalis/californica. Accessed 29 Dec. 2023.

Antlions

Adult female antlions lay eggs singly in sandy or loose soil. When the egg hatches, the larva digs a conical pit and hides just below the surface at the bottom. When an ant or small insect falls into the pit, the antlion grabs its prey with its jaws (mandibles), pierces its body, and drags it below the surface. The hollow barbs or spurs on the jaws can both inject and suck. They inject poison to immobilize their prey and enzymes to break down the internal tissues. When the antlion finishes sucking the juices out of its prey, it will cast the insect out of the pit and wait for the next one. I found a couple of shriveled-up ants on the top of one of the cones.

Along some of the paths at the arboretum, you will find these pits, usually protected under the canopy of trees. I have often seen these pits in soil under the eave of a house or barn where it is sheltered and stays dry.

When the larvae are ready to become adults, they dig deeper into the soil and form a round cocoon made of sand and silk. After about a month, the insect emerges as an adult to mate and repeat the cycle. The adult has a long, skinny abdomen with four narrow, veined wings and resembles a damselfly. The antlion is differentiated from a damselfly by its prominent clubbed or curved antennae. Also, the antlion rests its wings back in an A-frame fashion, and a damselfly holds them together. I have been looking around to find one to photograph, but I haven’t found one yet.

To find the antlion larva, I took a spoon and scooped the ground underneath and around the pit. I didn’t want to hurt it or have it retreat into the soil if I tried to extract it directly from the pit. I put the scoop in a little sieve and gently sifted out the dirt. I was left with tiny stones, flecks of wood, and other debris. It took me a minute to locate the antlion larva because it blended in so well with this assortment of organic matter. I gently moved it onto a leaf and then onto the ground. I was surprised by how cooperative it was in being handled and photographed. I sat beside it and watched it, hoping to see it make its pit. After about 10 to 15 minutes, it slowly retreated to slightly below the surface. I waited for a little longer, but it didn’t move. I marked the spot and returned the next day to find that it had remade its pit and was waiting at the bottom. I love this insect! I hope to see you out there.

Resources
Antlion. https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/neuroptera/antlion/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

“Antlion Adults.” Missouri Department of Conservation, https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/antlion-adults. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

Antlions | Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County. https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/antlions.shtml. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

Yellowjackets Investigating Willow Leaves

There is a willow down by the river at the small beach where people and their dogs go swimming. It is teeming with yellow jackets crawling on the leaves. It was slightly unnerving to stand next to it record this video and check out what they find so alluring. The undersides of many of the leaves are covered with tiny aphids. So, the upper surfaces of the leaves below them are lightly sprinkled with honeydew. My guess is that the yellow jackets are attracted to this sugary substance. It was fascinating to watch the yellow jacket’s antennae sweep the surface of the leaf as they walked around foraging. I read a little about insect’s antennae and was captivating to read how they work and see all of the different shapes and sizes. Yellow jackets perceive the sense of smell, hearing, and touch through their antennae.

Another interesting thing I observed happening was that some of the yellow jackets had difficulty flying away. After moving around on the leaves for a while gathering honeydew, they would pause for takeoff, flutter their wings a few times, achieve enough liftoff to clear the leaf, and then fall to the ground. They would then crawl around on the ground, and I kept a close eye on them to make sure that they didn’t crawl up under my pant leg. It’s kind of strange, right? What was happening to them?

I also wondered why the yellow jackets didn’t forage any of the aphids. They didn’t seem interested in them at all. Aphids seem like tender little morsels that would be easy pickings.

Fishing Spider or Wolf Spider?

I was sitting along the edge of the river turning over stones, and occasionally one of these dusky, gray spiders would come shooting out from underneath one. Most of the time, they would disappear back underneath another rock as quickly as they appeared. They are lightning-fast. They could even escape by dashing across the surface of the water to another pile of rocks. It was difficult to follow one and keep up with where it went. Turning over stones to find it again was tricky. It felt like that magician’s game where a ball is placed under one of three cups, the cups are speedily switched around, and then you have to guess which cup the ball is under. The spider seemed to never be under the rock I thought it was under. I would turn over a rock and see it bolt out from the one beside it. It would disappear under another rock as it continued to play the game and give me the slip. I was very grateful when one of the spiders finally paused out in the open for a moment and kindly allowed me to take its photo.

When researching which spider this is, I narrowed it down to two similar but different kinds, a wolf spider and a fishing spider. Let’s compare them. The first area to consider is the location where they are found. They are both terrestrial, but fishing spiders are found near bodies of water and can move across the surface of water. Another thing to notice is their legs. Fishing spiders have longer legs which helps them walk on the surface of water. Wolf spider’s legs are shorter and stocker. Thirdly, is the placement of their eyes which they both have eight. Fishing spiders have two rows of four eyes. Wolf spiders have three rows—two eyes, then two larger eyes, then four small eyes. I imagine this can be difficult to discern. Color can also be a helpful clue. Fishing spiders tend to be gray or brown with banded legs. Wolf spiders are also different shades of brown or gray and frequently have a light or dark stripe running down their backs.

My spider seems to fit the description of a fishing spider more than a wolf spider. Beyond the name or category, I love the color and pattern of this spider.

Fishing Spiders
Fishing spiders don’t spin webs to catch their prey. They roam around looking for prey or they will sit at the edge of the water, place their legs in the water, and detect the movement of insects or even small fish to catch. Fishing spiders are nursery web spiders. The female carries around her egg sac and when the eggs are near hatching, she will suspend the sac in the protection of folded leaves.

Toad Bug

I was sitting at the edge of the river seeing what interesting animals might wander by, when this little creature hopped out in front of me. At first, I thought it was a frog. I leaned over for a closer look, it hopped again, and at second glance, it still seemed like a tiny frog. I slowly moved over to examine it closer again, and realized that it was… an insect? I watched it for a few minutes, and I finally saw its legs as it crawled out onto these small pebbles. What in the world is this amazing little animal?! I just had to watch it hop again, so I nudged it with a leaf. It seriously hopped just like a frog or a toad.

Meet the Toad Bug! It has a small, oval shape. It is 3/8” long and is two-thirds as wide as it is long. It could easily fit within the space of my thumbnail. It has bulging eyes at the sides of the head and the sides of the prothorax are projecting. Its legs are yellowish with brownish bands. Its mottled dark gray color blends in well with the surrounding stones and gives it great camouflage. Its diet consists of smaller insects which there are plenty of along the shore.

Seeing this interesting creature was a reminder that I never really know what wondrous lifeforms I will encounter or the inspiring experiences I will have every time I am out in nature. I hope to see you out there.

Resource
Milne, Lorus Johnson, and Margery Milne. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. Knopf : distributed by Random House, 1980.

Grasshoppers

By the River
I found this grasshopper on a stone down by the river. It seems more like a rockhopper rather than a grasshopper. Maybe I’ll name it the River Rockhopper. Along with moths, grasshoppers have superb camouflage, and most often, they are hopping away as I unknowingly walk up on them. There is plenty of grass and small forbs growing in between the rocks, so it should be easy for this grasshopper to stay on or close to the rocks to hide in plain sight.

Out in the Meadow
I have been seeing lots of grasshoppers out in the meadow and they blend in well with the dry, yellow grass. This one reminds me of a grass seed head. Notice that the wings on this grasshopper are not completely developed. Robins were scattered throughout the meadow this morning. They were scurrying about lunging for grasshoppers. They were successful too. It is hard to see, but the one in the photo just caught one and has it in its beak.

Water Penny Beetle

Lately, I have been poking around the edge of the river turning over stones, watching birds, listening to the river, and whatnot. There are many aquatic animals living and hiding out underneath rocks. My latest discovery is the water penny beetle. Along with the stonefly (posted on Aug. 1), this is another animal that is an indication of good water quality. The water penny thrives in flowing, unpolluted water that is also free from lots of sediments and algae. You will find them clinging to the undersides of rocks and logs in the water because they need to stay moist, stay hidden from predators, and are sensitive to light. That said, they will come out from hiding at night to eat on the upper surface. The larvae’s diet consists mostly of algae which are scraped off using rasps on their legs. They have dome-shaped bodies with flexible plates that allow them to hug closely to the surface and hold on. They have feathered gills under the abdomen that take in dissolved oxygen from the water.

It is interesting to realize that a larval stage of a beetle can be aquatic because I usually imagine it as a terrestrial grub underground or tunneling through the wood of a distressed or dead tree.

The adults resemble typical beetles. They are black or brown, oval, and have somewhat flattened bodies. The lifespan of the adults only lasts up to a couple of weeks—long enough to mate and for the female to lay eggs. Not only is there a short window in which to find an adult, they are only 4-6 mm long. I imagine it could be kind of tricky finding and identifying one.

As always, I hope this short post sparks your curiosity to do more research, go out to find one, and make more discoveries along the way.

Resources
Bug o’the Week – Water Penny Redux – Riveredge Nature Center. https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/bug-othe-week-water-penny-redux/#:~:text=The%20larvae%20of%20some%20species,into%20adults%20the%20next%20year. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.

Hammond, George. “Psephenidae (Water-Penny Beetles).” Animal Diversity Web, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Psephenidae/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.

“Water Penny Beetle Larvae.” Missouri Department of Conservation, https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/water-penny-beetle-larvae. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.

Skippers

Skippers are butterflies that partially resemble a moth because of their hairy bodies and small, triangular wings. They have noticeably large eyes and short antennae. When they perched, they would either hold their wings flat and parallel to their bodies or open with the forewings angled above the hind wings like a plane. The yellow-orange color of the underside of their wings was so beautiful and captured the warmth of the summer sun. It allowed them to blend well with the surrounding dry vegetation. I liked the contrast between their soft, quiet bodies and the crispy, crunchy grass. I often stirred them up from the ground before I saw them. They quickly skipped through the air and lit nearby. They were friendly and gave me a feeling of levity when I was around them. If I moved slowly, they allowed me to kneel down to get a closer look. I found them drinking nectar on small flowers like the nonnative teasel that has spread out across the south meadow.

Sources
Family Hesperiidae (Skippers) | Butterflies and Moths of North America. https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy/Hesperiidae. Accessed 11 Aug. 2023.

Stonefly Shed

Immature stoneflies live underwater (technically they’re called naiads), then crawl onto shore to go through their last molt and become a winged adult. The final molt leaves behind a beautiful and fascinating shell called the exuviae.

The naiad feeds on plants, decaying organic matter, and other insects. The nymphal stage lasts from one to four years. The adult stage lasts only for a few weeks, long enough to mate and lay eggs.

The adults are earth tones mostly some hue of brown or yellow. They have fairly long antennae, wings that fold back along their body, and two long cerci (tail-like appendages).

The presence of stoneflies in a river system is a sign of good water quality because they require clean, well-oxygenated water. A rocky aggregate bottom with high dissolved oxygen levels is often a productive area for stoneflies.

Cicada Shell

I’ve been hearing the sound of cicadas buzzing as I walk around the arboretum, and I will occasionally see one buzz by me. Hearing them buzz recalls memories of the hot, humid summers of the East Coast where I grew up. There were pine trees around my maternal grandparents’ house that always had these shells attached to the bark—the nymphs crawl out of the soil to molt into an adult, leaving this amazing papery exoskeleton behind. It is a treasure to come across one of these sheds out at the arboretum. It reminds me how nature is powerful at building connections to memories and feelings of my life.

Ants & Aphids

While hunting for acorn weevils, I came across small groups of aphids and ants on the stems of the oak trees. The aphids feed on the sap of plants and secrete a liquid known as honeydew. Ants are drawn to this sugar-rich substance and harvest it as a food source. In return, the ants will protect the aphids from predators like ladybugs. In reading about this symbiotic relationship, I found some fascinating articles. One article talked about one ant species storing the aphid eggs in the colony to protect them over the winter. Another article reported ants moving aphids to other plants to feed and clipping off their wings so they are unable to fly. One article talked about how ants will stroke the aphids with their antennae to stimulate them to secrete honeydew. As a result, some aphid species lost the ability to naturally secrete waste, and depend on ants to do it for them.

This is fascinating! I encourage you to read about the interesting research and discoveries being made about the relationship between ants and aphids. My intentions are always to pique your interest to explore, discover, wonder, enjoy, etc. the natural world. See you out there!

California Root Borer Beetle Larva

The foundation of the visitor’s center is being redone at the arboretum. Holes are being dug to pour concrete to support new beams. On one of the corners, there was a stump of an oak tree. While digging out the stump, Connor came across this huge larva boring through the middle of one of the roots, and it looks like a California Root Borer Beetle.

The California prionus beetle is 1¾ - 2¼ inches long (45-60 mm) and reddish-brown with long, deeply notched antennae. The larvae can be 4¼ inches (108 mm) and approximately ¾ inch (18 mm) at the widest point of their body.

The larva can spend from three to five years underground eating roots before reaching maturity. Based on the size of this larva, it appears to be getting close to maturity. So we found a small terrarium that wasn’t being used and set it up with soil and chunks of oak tree roots. We covered it with leaves and put a screened lid on top.

Of course, my hope is that the larva will pupate and turn into an adult beetle. I’m not sure of the survival rate of this beetle after being plucked from its home inside an oak root two feet underground. I’ll certainly let you know what happens.

Digging Up Yellow Jacket Nests

Recently, I found a yellow jacket nest from this year that a skunk had dug up. Skunks are primarily insectivores, and they will dig up nests of ground wasps to eat them and, I imagine, their larvae too. I investigated the nest debris outside the hole and inside. I didn’t see any yellow jackets or larvae. The nest cavity was only a few inches underground and roughly the size of a soccer ball. I went to the location of another nest from the summer and found that it had also been shoveled out. At the entrance, I saw what looked like a yellow jacket queen. Surprisingly, she was still alive but not very active.

I wondered when were these dug up. The digs seemed fresh, and some of the paper of the nest had not been soaked through by the rain. I thought the nests had died off for the winter, but I knew the skunk wouldn’t dig in there for nothing. We have had some frosty, cold nights when the temperature dipped into the upper 20’s (degrees Fahrenheit). Were there any yellow jackets or larvae still in the nests?

I decided to get a shovel, find a nest, and dig it up to see what was in there. There were a few nests near the White Oak Pavilion that I hoped the skunk hadn’t found. While getting a shovel, I ran into Patrick at the shop, and he came with me. We were unable to find the first one we looked for in all of the fallen leaves and grass. We went to two more locations, and the nests had been dug up already. We went to a fourth location and saw that it hadn’t been dug up yet. We started scraping away the leaves and fallen grass, looking for it. Patrick found the entrance to the nest because yellow jackets began streaming out to investigate. It was a cool day so they were only circling close the entrance. Nevertheless, we quickly backed away. I couldn’t believe it was still active! It is almost winter, and I thought yellow jacket nests wouldn’t have survived this long. If the weather is mild enough and the location of the nest is in a protected dry area, is it possible that a nest could overwinter here? I’ll be watching this one to see what happens. Will it survive the winter or will the skunk find it?

Leaf Gall Smorgasbord

Chickadees have an intimate knowledge of the trees. They never stop investigating every nook and cranny of a tree. They will explore the very top of the tree and everything in between to the base. I will even see them on the ground around it.

The other day I was watching a flock of them eating heaps of these leaf galls. Every single leaf that I could see on this oak tree had galls on the underside. Within a matter of seconds, a chickadee would pluck one, hold it with its feet, open it, and eat the small larva inside. I can’t even imagine how many insects one chickadee consumes in a day.

August Jackson at the arboretum just put together a small brochure of Mount Pisgah oak gall wasps. It is at the kiosk just before you walk across the bridge into the White Oak Pavilion. It has great photos. Check it out.

Paper Sediment

If asked to imagine a bald-faced hornet, most people would probably think of its bold black-and-white markings and have feelings of unease and wariness. If you get near their nest and they feel threatened, they will fiercely protect their home by administering a painful sting that definitely leaves a mark on your memory.

On the flip side, there is more to a bald-faced hornet than its ferocity. They are masters at crafting beautiful, sturdy homes made out of paper. An up-close look at their pendant nests reveals magical striations of chewed wood fibers. It is amazing to see all of the strands pasted together to form a fibrous mat.

So next time you see a bald-faced hornet, may you have reverence for its skill in building a home and a healthy respect for its ability to protect it.

Black-and-yellow Argiope Spider Egg Sac

I went to check on one of my spider friends to see how she was doing. She has a home close to the ground in a cluster of thistles out in the meadow. When arrived at her doorstep, I found the web collapsed, and she had disappeared. As I surveyed the area to see if she had built a new web nearby, I noticed a brown, papery egg sac suspended by silk filaments zigzagging in all directions.

After the female mates, she creates 1 to 4 of these sacs which contain 300-1400 eggs. I found another one close by hidden within vegetation about 3 inches from the ground. Interestingly, the eggs hatch in the fall, and the baby spiders will overwinter inside and emerge in the spring. The sac must be tough and well-insulated to protect them all winter, exposed to the weather out in the meadow.

I think this egg sac is so fascinating and beautiful in the way it is attached and supported. I find it interesting that she can create this tough, papery cover. From what I could find searching around on the internet, this egg case is made of silk. I am guessing is somehow made differently from the silk used to make her web, because it seems so structurally different. I want to find out more about this, and when I do, I’ll pass it along.

Resource
Hammond, George. “Argiope Aurantia.” Animal Diversity Web, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Argiope_aurantia/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2022.