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Blog Archives
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
Crypsis Challenge #1
July 2, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
I plan to regularly post challenges like this. Can you find what’s hidden in this photo? I’ll follow-up with more info in a subsequent post. Again, I’m posting this before the site is public, so I’ll wait until I have some guesses in the comments before revealing the answer.
Posted in Crypsis Challenges
2 Comments
Tube-tailed Thrips
Tube-tailed thrips larvae | May 17, 2008 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA
I spotted this scene on a small stump in my front yard. At the time I didn’t know what they were. After a bit of research, I determined they were tube-tailed thrips from the family Phlaeothripidae.
I assume there are so many because they’ve found a good food source, fungus perhaps. I’m curious as to why the larvae are orange-ish red. Occasionally I’d see a black adult like the one below, which definitely contrasts with the color of the larvae.
Adult
Posted in Featured Photos
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White-marked Tussock Moth
I often encounter the easily recognized White-marked Tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma. I found this one feeding on maple at the end of May in my front yard.
May 31, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA | ~30mm
I grabbed it for some closeup shots and to attempt to rear it.
Tussocks
Head
Defensive glands
It must have been a final instar, because it pupated just five days later. It spun the cocoon at the top of a container, but I carefully removed it to take some photos.
Cocoon | June 6, 2010 | ~40mm
A flightless female emerged ten days later.
It's a female! | June 16, 2010 | ~15mm
Portrait
Females cling to the cocoon until mated. That night, I carefully pinned the cocoon with her on it to a post on my deck. When I checked an hour later, mating was already in progress. The male that found her was rough looking, having lost many wing scales.
Posted in Featured Creatures
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Identification Challenge #1
May 23, 2010 | Twelvestones, Roswell, GA, USA | ~10mm
I’ll be posting identification challenges like this periodically. Feel free to comment with your guess.
As I’m posting this before the site is public, it may be awhile before I post the answer to this one. I’ll wait until I see some comments here or until a reasonable amount of time has passed.
Posted in Identification Challenges
1 Comment
Twelvestones
For my first post I want to talk about the where I live, since many of the photographs will be from here. My intention going forward is to link a photograph back to one of these “Location Profile” posts about where the photo was taken.
Google satellite image - Taken in Spring 2010 I think
Location
I currently live in Twelvestones subdivision in Roswell, a northern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Twelvestones, therefore, will be my shorthand for this home and places close by.
We’re on the Piedmont Plateau at an elevation of around 1000ft (300m), latitude 33.99911, longitude -84.29031. The house faces northwest, giving us a nice southern exposure on the back.
Posted in Location Profiles
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