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August 2009
Durham, NC (local marsh) 8/29/09
Fledgling American Robin |
Female Fiery Skipper | Carolina Dayflower (Commelina caroliniana). Actually, it might be a Virginia Dayflower: the differences are far from obvious! | Fledgling Eastern Bluebird |
Durham, NC 8/25/09
Red-banded Hairstreak | Moth | Silvery Checkerspot | Robber fly with prey |
Female Black Form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail | Stink bug nymph | Pseudoscorpion, less than 1 mm long |
American Tobacco Trail (miles 0-2), Durham, NC 8/25/09
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). Reputed to be an invasive weed, but not around here! | Kudzu flowers (and lots of buds) | Kudzu flowers | Kudzu flowers and buds on the ground | Blooming kudzu plants |
Monarch | Female Sachem | Crossline Skipper | Silver-spotted Skipper |
Morning glory with caterpillar | Ragweed flowers | Pokeweed | Porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, an introduced plant), American Tobacco Trail, Durham, NC, 8/25/09 | Bitter Sneezeweed |
Durham, NC 8/24/09 (at local marsh)
Differential Grasshopper on sedge | Two-lined Froghopper | Leafhopper (Graphocephala versuta) | Leafhopper nymph (very tiny) |
Penny's Bend Nature Preserve, Durham, NC 8/23/09
Star-bellied Orb Weaver (mostly ventral view). See other spiders. | Star-bellied Orb Weaver (dorsal view) | Rough Stink Bug (Brochymena genus) | Male Zabulon Skipper | Asiatic Dayflower (Commelina communis). See wildflowers ordered by taxonomy or by date within color. | Micrathena gracilis |
Hog Peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata) | Female Zabulon Skipper | Triangulate Orb Weaver | Silvery Checkerspot |
Durham, NC 8/21/09 (all seen at marsh except Common Whitetail)
Leafhopper (Stirellus bicolor) | Carolina Sphinx, aka Tomato/Tobacco Hornworm. See other moths. | Rice Stink Bug nymph |
Differential Grasshopper. See orthopterans. | Elongate Long-jawed Orb Weaver |
Elongate Long-jawed Orb Weaver | Adult male Common Whitetail. See other dragonflies. | Nursery Web Spider |
Green Treefrog |
Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC 8/21/09
Kudzu flower (Pueraria montana) | Rose Gentians | Cardinal Flower | Sericea lespedeza | Adult male Eastern Pondhawk |
Small Milkweed Bug | Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) | St. Andrew's Cross | Horse Nettle | Horse Nettle |
Elongate Long-jawed Orb Weaver. Note the red "jaws" (chelicerae), which end in fangs. |
Mt. Jefferson State Park, Ashe County, NC 8/13/09
Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar (Lophocampa caryae). There were dozens of these in a small area about 4600 ft. elevation. | Tachinid Fly | Harvestman with six parasitic mites | Closeup of three mites |
Male Pipevine Swallowtail, in direct light | Same male Pipevine Swallowtail, not in direct light | Common Yarrow |
Moses Cone Memorial Park, Watauga County, NC 8/12/09
Indian Pipes | Angelica | Tall Bellflower (Campanula americana). Thanks to Janie Owens for ID. | Common Milkweed |
Wild Bergamot | Black-eyed Susan | Joe-Pye Weed |
Daniel Boone Gardens, Boone, Watauga County, NC 8/12/09
The photos in the top row show an ambush bug, a predatory insect, apparently trying to attack an ichneumonid wasp (Ctenopelmatinae subfamily). It tried pulling on its wings, to no avail, although the wasp offered no resistance. The wasp was tiny (~6 mm long) and the ambush bug was invisible to me at the time, so I had to sort out what was going on later.
Ambush bug | Another view of the same ambush bug | Spotted Jewelweed | New England Aster |
Crab spider on Joe Pye Weed | Leafhopper (Oncopsis citra) | Wedge-shaped Beetle (Macrosiagon limbata) | Flower fly (Toxomerus geminatus) |
Boone (in town), Watauga County, NC 8/12/09
Monarch | Great Spangled Fritillary | Gray Hairstreak | Everlasting Pea |
Boone, Watauga County, NC 8/11/09
Killdeer, one of several that hung out at the National Guard Armory and the nearby greenway. They moved very fast. See other birds. | Common Sneezeweed | Phlox | Joe Pye Weed | Pinkweed | Song Sparrow |
Durham, NC 8/10/09
Great Spangled Fritillary (ventral view) | Same Great Spangled Fritillary (dorsal view) |
Durham, NC 8/9/09
Weevil (Curculio proboscideus). See other beetles. |
Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC 8/9/09
Northern Pearly Eye | Male Zabulon Skipper | Partridge Pea | Ironweed |
Scuppernong grapes | Spider (Neoscona genus) | St. Andrew's Cross (Hypericum hypericoides) | Trumpet Creeper | Horse fly |
Black Rat Snake |
Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 8/5/09
Snowy Egret, less than one year old | Same Snowy Egret in flight |
Fort Fisher Basin Trail, New Hanover County, NC 8/5/09
Great Egret in flight | Two Great Egrets on Red Cedar | Ten Great Egrets on (or near) Red Cedar. In all, I counted 42 of them. | Snowy Egret in flight |
Queen (Danaus gilippus). Close to a Monarch, but no cigar. | Cowkiller, a kind of velvet ant. A very fast-moving critter! | Tiger beetle (Cicindela marginata) | Salt Marsh Skipper |
Female (or recent metamorph) Seaside Dragonlet | Another view of the same Seaside Dragonlet | Female Marl Pennant (Macrodiplax balteata). ID thanks to Bob Barber. |
Rose Gentian or Rose Pink (Sabatia angularis) | Sea Oxeye Daisy (Borrichia frutescens) |
Carolina Beach State Park, New Hanover County, NC 8/4/09
Golden Silk Spider couple (big one is female) | Male Golden Silk Spider | Crablike Spiny Orb Weaver (dorsal view) | Praying Mantis nymph, was about an inch long |
Milkweed Assassin Bug | Tumblebug beetle (dorsal view), playing dead | Tumblebug beetle (ventral view) | Velvet ant (Dasymutilla genus), about the size of a carpenter ant worker |
Red-shouldered Hawk | Yellow Pitcher Plants | Red-shouldered hawk |
Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 8/3/09
Fort Fisher Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC 8/3/09
Narrowleaf Whitetop Sedge |
Milkweed Assassin Bug (Zelus longipes) | Salt Marsh Skipper (dorsal view) | Maybe Southern Dog-day Cicada |
Durham, NC 8/1/09
Assassin bug nymph (dorsal view) | Same assassin bug nymph (ventral view) |
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