The Days of Summer - Day Fifty-two through Day Fifty-eight

It's a little late, but here is installment eight of my Days of Summer photo project.  This project started on the Summer Solstice (21 June 2018) and will continue until the Fall Equinox (22 September 2018).  The intent of this project is to get outdoors every day and photograph something in nature.  I am picking one photograph from each day to share as part of this project.  To see the previous installments click here.

On to the photos!

Day 52 (11 August 2018) - My what big ears you have!

This image of a fawn was taken at Forest Hill Nature Area.  While photographing bees and butterflies among the wildflowers of Forest Hill's native grassland restoration I noticed a pair of fawn watching me.  Sometimes, if you move slowly and carefully, you can walk right up to a deer without scaring it away.  Over the course of several minutes i was able to walk to within about 20 yards of this fawn.  This picture was taken when it turned to watch a car pass on nearby Rich Road.  I picked this image because of the pattern created by the veins on the back of the fawn's ears.  They remind me of a butterflies wings.  Check the picture for Day 58 (below) if you don't believe me.

Day 53 (12 August 2018) - Perseid Meteor

On August 12, Shara and I went back to Forest Hill to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower (and hopefully to get a few photos).  We saw several spectacular fireballs crossing the sky, but unfortunately they were no in the direction that my camera was pointed at the time.  I did manage to get several lesser meteors on camera.  To see the meteor in this image click on the photo to enlarge it.  The meteor is just above the band of clouds near the left side of the image.

Day 54 (13 August 2018) - Lunch

This picture of a Black-and-Yellow Argiope spider (Argiope aurentia) was photographed in its web at Mill Pond Park in Mt. Pleasant.  I was actually photographing a different Argiope when I glanced to the right and spotted this lady less than a meter away.  This picture shows the underside of the spider as she perches on her web near a silk-wrapped insect that she will make a meal of later.  Again, this picture is best viewed by clicking on it.  If you look close you can see a line of silk emerging from her spinnerets.

Day 55 (14 August 2018) - A Different Kind of Grasshopper

This is my second grasshopper image that I have shared as part of this project.  I photographed a Carolina Locust at Chipp-A-Waters Park on Day 41.  This grasshopper was also photographed at Chipp-A-Waters park, but this grasshopper belongs to a different species.  This is a Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis).  This grasshopper allowed me to creep very close and photograph it with my longest lens from just under a meter away (the minimum focusing distance for this lens).

Day 56 (15 August 2018) - Gotcha!

While working on this project, there have been days when I have had a difficult time selecting a picture to share.  Sometimes I don't like any of the pictures all that much; other times I have too many photos that I like.  On other occasions, I have known right away which photo was going to be the "winner" for the day.  This picture of a Jagged Ambush Bug with a European Honeybee was an easy choice.  I captured this image at Forest Hill Nature Area late in the day.  The sun was almost on the horizon and I was heading back to my truck to meet Shara when I glanced at this Lance-leaf Goldenrod as I was passing it by.

Day 57 (16 August 2018) - Rainy Day Boxelder

This picture was also taken at Forest Hill Nature Area.  It is easy to stop here on my way home from Mt. Pleasant.  August 16th was kind of a "blah" day for photography.  It was cloudy all day and threatened rain while I was at Forest Hill.  I probably would have been better off photographing something up close rather than landscapes, but I thought this image of a Boxelder (Acer negundo) against the gray sky best represented the day.

Day 58 (17 August 2018) -  Monarch on Rosinweed

The final image in this set was taken in our home native pollinator garden.  It seems to be a very good year for Monarch butterflies here in Mid-Michigan.  We have repeatedly had one visiting our plants.  In the past we have noticed maybe one or two Monarchs in our garden each year.  This year they are an almost daily visitor.  We do have some milkweed plants (the Monarch's only larval host plant), but right now the main attraction is nectar especially from Cup Plant and Rosinweed.  These two plant species are attracting dozens of bumble bees and hundreds of honey bees in addition to the butterfly visitors.

Mantis, Mantis, Mantis!

Yesterday, Shara (Mrs. LeValley) stopped at my office to go to lunch with me.  When she came to the office door, she waved at me to grab my camera and follow her outside.  She found a praying mantis just outside the entrance to the building.
 

We decided to move the mantis to a better location - a nearby garden.  Although the mantis probably could find plenty of food on the side of the building, it was a little conspicuous right next to the door.  We figured a garden full of green plants would be a better place for its long term survival.

There are two species of mantis that can be found in Mid-Michigan - Chinese Mantis, and European Mantis.  Both of these species were introduced to North America for pest control.  A third species, Carolina Mantis, has been recorded in southern Michigan and appears to be expanding its range.  This one is a European Mantis (Mantis religiosa).  It can be identified by the dark spot on the inside of its upper foreleg.

 

This individual is a nymph.  It will pass through approximately ten stages of life (instars) before it becomes an adult, molting its exoskeleton each time.  I can tell this is a nymph because it lacks wings; adults of both sexes will have wings, but large females are often too heavy to fly.

Praying mantids are ambush predators.  They will sit motionless in one place waiting for their prey to appear.  Alternately, they may slowly stalk their prey.  Prey includes insects such as bees, butterflies, flies, and some moths; other invertebrates such as spiders; even hummingbirds!

The Days of Summer - Day Ten through Day Sixteen

This is the second installment of my Days of Summer photo project.  To read about the project and see the first installment click here.

Day 10 (30 June 2018) - Wheatfield

Agriculture may not be the first thing that you think of when you hear the word Michigan, but it is one of the leading industries in the state.  This image of a ripening field of wheat was taken along the border of Isabella County and Gratiot County.  I spent the morning at Forest Hill Nature Area photographing wildflowers in a restored grassland.  Deciding to take a different route home, I passed by this field a couple of miles from Forest Hill.  I've been admiring wheat fields for the past several weeks, but never found one that I could easily photograph.  Stopping here was a no-brainer.

Day 11 (01 July 2018) - Ragged Fringed Orchid

This photo was taken at the Williamston Township Community Park in Ingham County, MI.  I stopped at this park to revisit an older grassland restoration that I have photographed several times over the years.  A pair of Ragged Fringed Orchids (Platanthera psycodes) was my reward.

Day 12 (02 July 2018) - Moss Sporophytes

Mosses are small; thus they are easily overlooked.  For those that take the time to notice them, they are well worth the effort.  One of the best books I have read in recent years is about moss.  These white balloon-like structures are reproductive bodies known as sporophytes.  When conditions are right, they will each release hundred or thousands of spores into the world.  We often associate mosses with shady woodland habitats, but these mosses were growing on bare sandy soil on land owned by Shepherd Public Schools.

Day 13 (03 July 2018) - Last of the Brood

This Days of Summer project means that I have to photograph something every day.  It means I have to get outdoors and away from my desk.  Fortunately Isabella County has lots of public land within a short drive of my office.  This picture of a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) with a single poult (chick) was taken at Chipp-A-Waters Park in Mt. Pleasant.  Seeing a hen with only a single chick raises so many questions.  Was this the only egg that hatched?  Were the other eggs stolen by predators such as raccoons? Did predators get the rest of its nest mates?

Unlike most of my photographs, this image has been edited.  It has been cropped from the original size (about 50%) and the highlights have been toned down to bring some of the color back into the image.

Day 14 (04 July 2018) - Curious Fawn

The Fourth of July found me exploring the Maple River State Game Area.  This curious White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn wanted to check me out up close.  Unlike the previous picture, this one has not been cropped.  The fawn was that close and approaching closer.  It probably would have allowed me to touch it if I hadn't shooed it away into the woods.

Day 15 (05 July 2018) - Great Spangled Fritillaries

Yesterday I visited the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's Sylvan Solace Preserve for about an hour in the middle of the day.  Mid-day may not be the best time for photography, but the heat of the day does bring out the pollinators.  I was luck to spot this pair of mating Great Spangled Fritillaries (Speyeria Cybele).

Day 16 (06 July (2018) - Chicory Flowers 

My final photo for the week is of a pair of Common Chicory (Cichorium intybus) flowers.  This photograph was taken at the Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum early this morning.  Originally from Europe, Chicory is a common roadside plant in Mid-Michigan.  Even though this plant is not native to North America, it is well-behaved and likes roadsides and other waste places.    This is one of my favorite flowers to photograph.  The pale blue color is absolutely beautiful.  You have to get up early to photograph Chicory, by mid-day the flowers have closed up tight.

Never look a gift caterpillar in the mouth

A large caterpillar clasp a Virginia Creeper vine with its fleshy prolegs.

Yesterday while traipsing through the swamp at Mission Creek Park, I happened to look down at just the right time.  Right on the ground, I saw this large reddish brown caterpillar clinging to a Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) vine. 

This large caterpillar was about 3 inches long and 3/4 inch across

I immediately recognized it as a sphinx moth caterpillar, did not know which one.  Finding it on a Virginia Creeper helped to identify it;  freshly chewed leaves indicated that Virginia Creeper was probably its host species.  Knowing a host plant made it relatively easy to look up.

Pandorus Sphinx caterpillar - a face only a mother (or insect-lover) could love!

It's a Pandorus Sphinx Moth caterpillar (Eumorpha pandorus).  As a larvae, this species feeds on Virginia Creeper and grapes (Vitis spp.).  This species is found across the eastern half of the United States.  Mid-Michigan is on the northern edge of its range.  It is found as far south as the Gulf Coast and west to a line running from eastern Nebraska to eastern Texas.  It's range roughly coincides with the range of Virginia Creeper.  Pandorus comes from Greek and means "all-giving" or "all-gifted"; the female form of the word is Pandora.  In Greek mythology, Pandora is the first woman.  In the myth, she opens a jar containing all forms of evil releasing them into the world.

Pandorus Sphinx caterpillar (head and thorax to upper left) - note white markings on abdomen

The most distinguishing feature of this caterpillar is the row of white spots on each side of its abdomen.  Five of these oval-shaped spots surround spiracles on the caterpillar's abdomen.  Spiracles are pores or apertures through which an insect breathes.  Insects lack lungs.  Instead, oxygenated air enters the insects bodies through the spiracles and passes through a system of tubes known as trachea before entering directly into the insect's body tissues.  Gases that are produced in the insect's body pass from the body tissues into the trachea and leave the body through the trachea.   Some insects have no control over the flow of gases while others are able to expand and contract abdominal muscles to draw in in or expel air (much like the way we use our lungs).

A caterpillar at breakfast

Earlier this morning, Shara sent me a photograph from the Saginaw Chippewa Academy's native pollinator garden.

Monarch caterpillar on Common Milkweed (photo by Shara LeValley)

Woohoo!

That's a Monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillar munching on a Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) flower.  It's nice to see the garden being used by wildlife, especially Monarchs.  I am hopeful that we will find more Monarchs in the garden as the summer progresses further.

Aquatic Ecology with Shepherd Elementary students

Last week I spent two days at the Little Salt River with students from Shepherd Elementary students. 

Why were we at the river? 

The students were collecting and identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates. 

Shepherd 5th graders use a dip net to sample aquatic macroinvertebrates from the Little Salt River

What exactly is an aquatic macroinvertebrate? 

Let's break that into parts.  Aquatic means that a plant or animal lives in or around water.  It comes from the Latin word aqua which means "water".  The word invertebrate comes from the Latin root word vertebra which means "joint" - normally refering to the joints of the spine.  Invertebrate means that an animal lacks a spine.  The prefix macro- means large or large scale.  It comes from the Greek word makros meaning "large or long".  Therefore, a macroinvertebrate is a large animal that lacks a spine - large in the sense that it is big enough to see without magnification.  Add it all together and an aquatic macroinvertebrate is an animal that lives in water, lacks a spine, and is large enough to see with the naked eye.

This crayfish is an aquatic macroinvertebrate.

So is this gilled snail.

Why were students trying to collect aquatic macroinvertebrates?

Many aquatic macroinvertebrate species have varying tolerances for water pollution.  The absence of certain species may indicate low water quality.  The presence of a wide range of species usually indicates higher water quality.

Students complete a biological monitoring sheet to determine water quality

Overall the students found a wide variety of aquatic macroinvertebrates including mayfly larvae, caddisfly larvae, gilled and pouch snails, damselfly larvae, dragonfly larvae, scuds or amphipods, crayfish, freshwater clams and mussels, leaches, and midge larvae.  Vertebrate lifeforms collected included fish and tadpoles.  The wide variety (and number) of animals collected indicated that at this site, the Little Salt River has excellent water quality.

Here are a few more photos of the students sampling...

Holiday field guide gift guide - 16 guides for 2016 (part 2)

Field Guides to Insects

5.  Pollinators of Native Plants:  Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants by Heather Holm (ISBN 9780991356300).

If you already own a bunch of field guides to plant you probably spend a lot of time looking at plants.  If you spend a lot of time looking at plants you probably see lots of insects.  You might even wonder what the insects are and why you see different ones on different flowers.  If this describes you, then you want to own this book.

I heard the author of this book speak at the 2016 Wildflower Association of Michigan Conference and bought the book the same day.  It is the first book that I am aware of that talks specifically about the associations between native plants and their pollinators.  Although the book is limited in scope with only sixty-five plant species being featured, it includes more than 1600 photographs of flowers and insects!

This flower species in this book are arranged by habitat type.  Each species of plant is given a spread of two (or more) pages that includes a description of the plant, range map, flowering period, and habitat requirements, as well as a list of pollinator species (with photographs).  If you want to plant wildflowers as habitat for bees and butterflies, this is a must-have.  The book was published by Pollination Press LLC and retails for about $30.

6.  Butterflies of Michigan Field Guide by Jaret C. Daniels (ISBN9781591930983)

At some point you might want to know more about a specific group of insects.  Butterflies are a great place to start - there are only 147 species that are likely to be found in Michigan. 


I like this book because each species has its own two page spread.  The information provided includes detailed description, as well as a range map, a list of larval host plants, a calendar showing when it can be encountered, and a list of comparable species.  There are also pictures of both adults and larva - several entries in the book to not have larval photographs.  Another feature that I really like about this book is that the butterflies are divided by color - if a species has more than one color morph it is listed in more than one section.  This sensible approach to identification is something that you usually do not see outside of wildflower books, but it works well for butterflies.

Unlike some of the other books on this list, this is a true "field" guide.  It is small enough (about 5 inches by 7 inches) and light enough to stick in your back pocket and carry all day. The book was published by Adventure Publications in 2005.  It retails for under $20.  I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about Michigan's butterfly species as well as anyone interested in observing the relationship between insects and native plants.

7.  Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America by David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie (ISBN 9780547238487).

If butterflies are too easy (There are only 147 Michigan species after all!), it may be time to try your hand at moth identification.  I was really excited back in 2011 when I found out that this book was in development.  I was so excited that I asked for it for Christmas in 2012 - Thanks Shara!

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the moths in this book are arranged by family.  There is a color photograph for each species, with arrows pointing to distinguishing marks.  There is also a brief description and range map for each species.  If you are not familiar with all of the different types of moths, the book can be daunting to use - there are nearly 1500 species depicted in this guide.  Even so, this guide is worth having because of the breadth of species that it covers.  At $29 it is a reasonable price for such an extensive resource.

8.  Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History by David L. Wagner (ISBN 9780691121444)

Published by the Princeton University Press in 2005, this book has all the qualities of a book you would expect from a guide published by a well-renowned university.  It is extensive (more than 700 species), well illustrated with photographs of both caterpillar and their adult forms, and well researched.  Each species description includes information information on range, season, and host plants as well as a detailed description of each species.

The book is slightly too large to carry in your pocket (5 inches by 8 inches).  It is also quite heavy - it is printed on a heavy paper and runs more than 500 pages.  It is however the best guide to caterpillars that I own, so I do frequently carry it in my backpack while out in the field.  Priced at under $25, this is a great edition to the bookshelf of any nature nut or gardener who wants to know what is eating their plants.

9.  A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America by J. Reese Voshell, Jr. (ISBN 9780939923878)

If you would rather wade in swamps and river than chase butterflies through fields, this might be the book for you.  I spend much of the spring working with students to catch and identify aquatic insects (and other macroinvertebrates).  Although I can identify most of the things that we find by sight, this is the book that I use if I want more detailed information.


Although much of the book is devoted to aquatic insects, there are also sections on mollusks (clams and mussels), gastropods (snails), annelids (worms), crustaceans (crayfish, shrimp, etc.), and more.  The book starts with a discussion of aquatic ecology and the roles, life histories, and pollution tolerance of various groups of aquatic invertebrates.  It also provides a  description of collection methods for various organisms and habitats.   There is a separate section of color illustrations which is useful for identification.  The main part of the book is devoted to detailed descriptions of the various organisms.

Published by the McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company in 2002, this book currently sells for nearly $40.  It is a valuable resource for citizen ecologists, fishermen, and anyone interested in what is going on beneath the surface of any body of freshwater.  Despite the hefty price, I highly recommend this book.

10.  Beetle of Eastern North America by Arthur V. Evans (ISBN 9780691133041)

Among other things, I am a beetle fanatic.  When I heard that this book was being published in 2014 I could hardly wait to buy it.  I was not disappointed.

Another book by the Princeton University Press, it is simply the best beetle identification book available for the eastern United States and Canada.  By no stretch of the imagination is this a field guide - it measures 8 inches wide by 10 inches long and has over 550 pages.  Photographs and description of more than 1400 species are included in this book.  It is almost as much a coffee table book as it is field guide - the photographs of the individual beetles are often stunning.  I can admit to looking through this book for hours.  At $35, this book is an incredible value for its size and scope.  I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Any naturalist would be excited to receive this as a holiday gift.

The species in the book are arrange by family - all 115 families found east of the Mississippi River are represented in the book.  Each section of the book begins with a general description of the family and is followed by detailed descriptions of individual species.

That's it for field guides to insects and other invertebrates.  Look for Part 3 (field guides to other animals) later this week.

Arachnophobes beware!

Last week while waiting for a group of students at Mill Pond Park, I noticed a large web strung between several late summer wildflowers.  Looking a little bit closer, I found this beauty...

She is a female Shamrock Orb Weaver (Araneus trifolium).  This species can be found across most of the United States and Canada.  Females of this species are quite large.  Her abdomen probably measured 1 to 1.25 inches across.

Unfortunately, she won't live much longer.  This species only lives for a single year.  Females lay eggs in the fall.  The eggs hatch the following spring.  The young spiders grow to adulthood during the summer.  They reproduce and then die when the temperature drops below freezing. 

Mantids!

The Monarch Butterfly Celebration is this Saturday and I have zero Monarchs right now, despite hours of searching for caterpillars.  This morning, a short walk through the field behind the Conservation District office once again left me empty-handed.

However, the walk was not totally worthless, I did find three preying mantids.  I watched each of these fly in front of me and land awkwardly on plant stalks.

An Evening Walk at Forest Hill Nature Area (15 August 2016)

Yesterday, for the third time in a week, Shara and I went walking at Forest Hill Nature Area.  Although the sky was grey and the light was poor, I brought my camera along.  Here are a dozen photos from our walk.

Milkweed in a restored grassland area

Dueling Monarchs

Mountain Mint

Queen Anne's Lace

Honeybee on Mountain Mint

Grey-headed Coneflower

Sparrow in the restored grassland

Queen Anne's Lace

Early color change

Lack of rain means small berries

Black and Yellow Argiope

Red-osier Dogwood berries