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Of moths and mites
A Clover Hayworm moth, Hypsopygia costalis, graces my front wall, near the porch light. Beautiful as this moth is, with its maroon wings trimmed in lemon-yellow, it is a rather "weedy" species, as its...
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Fish play fundamental role in reproducing mussels
A cache of clubshell and Northern riffleshell mussels are prepared for release into Big Darby Creek. The Columbus DispatchSunday, September 1, 2013 NATUREJim McCormac At a glance, mussels seem...
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A barrel of bullbats
I found myself at the beautiful Caesar's Creek Visitor's Center in Warren County last Sunday, which is owned and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The committee members for the Midwest...
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Virginia Opossum infants
A pair of Virginia Opossums, Didelphis virginiana, at about a month of age. You've got to admit, they're pretty darn cute at this stage!This wasn't the only photo that I snapped of this pair, and...
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Saddleback caterpillar
A Saddleback caterpillar, Sibine stimulea, in repose. This one was feeding on Sugar Maple, but these caterpillars are broadly polyphagous - they can eat seemingly anything. I've found them on a variety...
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Spiders kill stupid bugs! And a fly mystery...
My front porch, with its attendant nightlight. Many a cool moth, and other interesting bugs, routinely turn up here in spite of my urban location. I've made scores of images of insects literally right...
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Dolomedes albineus, a spider NEW (almost) to Ohio!
Last Sunday, while exploring a scruffy little patch of successional habitat in Adams County, I glanced into the boughs of a Redbud tree to see a giant spider peering back. I was probably 20 feet or so...
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Baird's Sandpiper
The fabled Conneaut Harbor, Ashtabula County, Ohio. John Pogacnik and I led a field trip here about a week ago, and this is part of our group, scanning for birds. This harbor was created by walling off...
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Dragonfly swarms!
An interesting shot of a male Green Darner, Anax junius, in flight, courtesy of Dave Lewis. Props to Dave; freezing one of these fast-moving insects with the camera is not easy.Ohio, and surrounding...
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Dragonfly swarm locales
I received a fair number of reports of dragonfly swarms, based on the last blog post, and other stuff that I've written about this phenomenon. The map above shows locations of the last few days'...
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Giant Swallowtail: An ugly duckling tale
One of the world's most popular fairy tales is The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. That tale involved a homely bird chick that grew up to be a beautiful swan. The animal highlighted in this...
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An interesting little wasp
Last Saturday, I found myself strolling down the long linear Milford Center Prairie corridor - an abandoned railroad right-of-way - when an eagle-eyed member of my party spotted this gorgeous little...
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Pretty but deadly: Flowers of doom
With A Flower I hide myself within my flower,That wearing on your breast,You, unsuspecting, wear me too –And angels know the rest.I hide myself within my flower,That, fading from your vase,You,...
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Purple False Foxglove
The short-grass prairies of Erie Sand Barrens State Nature Preserve, awash in golden and purple. The yellow flowers are those of Gray Goldenrod, Solidago nemoralis; the purple belong to Purple False...
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Copperhead, on a dark Kentucky backroad
A full moon brightens the inky darkness of a backwoods Kentucky night. I spent a few days over the weekend past exploring the Red River Gorge area, and did a lot of nocturnal exploring. The Harvest...
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Beautiful slugs!
Someone's finger points out a tiny slug moth caterpillar. It appears to glow, and it does. A tactic for upping the odds of finding caterpillars, especially little ones, is to use a blacklight...
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Mantidfly: They don't make 'em much more bizarre than this!
One can only imagine the fits of rapturous ecstasy that washed over me when I saw this thing flutter by on a recent trip to Adams County, Ohio. Well, that may be overstating the case a bit, but I truly...
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Potentially good news for the Red Knot
Photo: Hans Hillewaert/Wiki CommonsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContacts:Meagan Racey, 413-253-8558, Meagan_Racey@fws.govWendy Walsh, 609-646-9310, Wendy_Walsh@fws.govService Proposes to List Red Knot as a...
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Freshwater Jellyfish!
An unassuming backwater of the Huron River in Erie County, Ohio, not far from Lake Erie. I visited this spot last Saturday to attempt to observe one of the strangest animals that swims our waters. I...
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Caspian Tern: A sushi-eating behemoth
A giant Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia, stands out among a raft of Ring-billed Gulls. As fate would have it, I ran across several of these animals, the world's largest tern, on a recent trip to Lake...
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