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Blog Archives
Patterns in Beech Leaves
Looking up from a forest trail at a nearby nature center, I saw the leaves of a beech tree backlit by the afternoon sun. I picked off a few of the interesting ones and held them by hand so as to take some closeups. I find the patterns interesting in the same way ink blots are interesting.
What do you see in these abstract images?
Flames? | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA | September 5, 2010
Mandelbrot Fractal Set?
Stained glass window?
Leaf within a leaf?
What do you see?
Can anyone explain what’s going on here? Is this how leaves start to turn in the fall? A disease of some sort?
Posted in Featured Photos
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Dagger Fly with Prey
Awhile back, Alex Wild posted some shots of dagger flies. I commented at the time that I had recently seen and photographed the flies, but didn’t know what they were. Thanks, Alex, for saving me the effort of figuring out what I photographed here.
May 22, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
I can’t make out what it has captured, a beetle maybe?
Posted in Featured Photos
1 Comment
Identification Challenge #2
September 5, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
Can you make heads or tails of this (that’s a hint)? Leave a comment with your guess.
Posted in Identification Challenges
3 Comments
Identification Challenge #1 Reveal
Maybe I made the first identification challenge too hard. No one even ventured a guess in the comments in the two months since I posted it. Here’s the image again:
May 23, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA | ~10mm
Here’s another view that might make it a bit easier.
This is the egg mass of an eastern tent caterpillar. Next spring, I should see the distinctive webbing on the cherry tree in my backyard where I found this. There’s hundreds of eggs here, but last time I checked it, it was looking a bit worse for wear. The varnish so clearly visible here has worn and chunks of the mass are missing. Perhaps some eggs were parasitized and the parasites have since exited.
Posted in Identification Challenges
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Resigned Parasitized Caterpillar
September 5, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
This caterpillar from a nearby park with head held low seems resigned to its fate as a parasitoid host. OK, I know that’s a normal position — allow me to anthropomorphise a bit.
You can see some white eggs on its back. I assume a tachinid fly left those, placing them close enough to the head that they couldn’t be removed.
In this next image, you can see there are also some already hatched eggs, sealing this little guy’s doom.
Closeup showing hatched eggs
I know tachinid fly larvae have breathing tubes that pierce the host’s skin. Could those long fibers amongst the eggs be those breathing tubes? I wouldn’t think they would be so long. I’m more inclined to think those are just bits of debris that maybe got stuck to whatever holds the eggs in place.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Crypsis Challenge #1 Reveal
July 2, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
Did you spot the hidden critter from this earlier post? No one commented, but I’ll go ahead and reveal the answer.
There’s a hint about two thirds of the way down on the left hand side. That’s a lacewing egg on a thread. And just to the right of that is the creature itself, a trash carrying lacewing larva. I circled the two in red below.
Reveal
Still having trouble seeing it? Try this side view.
Side View
Of course, all you can really see is the debris. To see the actual critter, you have to turn it over, as I did here.
Posted in Crypsis Challenges
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Reptile Day 2010 at Fernbank Museum
Fernbank Museum, a local natural history museum, opened in Atlanta in 1992. Its predecessor, the Fernbank science center, opened in 1967 and remains open today.  I have vivid memories of visiting the science center as a school kid. They both grew out of an effort that began in 1938 to preserve what had become known as Fernbank forest, 65 acres of old-growth urban Piedmont forest.
Fernbank Museum Entrance
I had been wanting to check out a special gecko exhibition at the museum. When I saw yesterday would be Reptile day, I knew it was time to visit. As a bonus, I saw online that there would also be a special exhibition of nature photography by local photographer Bill Harbin.
Posted in Outstanding Outings
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Hatched Coreid Eggs
June 26, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
I spotted these hatched eggs while strolling through a local park. I like how they have a sort of dashed “break here to exit” line at one end. I also like how you can see the cell structure making up the eggs, a bunch of little hexagons. I only wished I’d found them before they hatched.
I’m not really happy with this photo. I really need some way to easily diffuse my flash in the field. Not only are there flash hotspots, but you can actually see a recognizable reflection of the camera on each shell. Nonetheless, I thought the eggs themselves were worthy of a post.
Posted in Featured Photos
2 Comments
Parasitic Wasp Stalking Tumbling Flower Beetle
June 14, 2009 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
As usual, I was working in the yard when I got distracted by some sort of dramatic natural scene. This time, I noticed that some magnolia blooms were literally crawling with tumbling flower beetles. Mostly, there was a lot of mating going on amongst the beetles. Then I noticed this little wasp that kept approaching various beetles, usually resulting in the beetle running off. Finally, she found one that was less wary. Above the wasp is closing in. Below, it appears she eventually made contact.
Contact
Posted in Featured Photos
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Jumping Spider Subdues Carpenter Ant
June 16, 2009 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
I found this pair on a viburnum in my backyard. What looks like a male Phidippus whitmani has subdued what I assume is a winged reproductive carpenter ant.
I didn’t notice while I was taking pictures, but while reviewing them I saw that a little fly arrived to share in the spoils.
Fly arriving
Fly on ant
Posted in Easter Eggs, Featured Photos
1 Comment
