Home Places to See Page

Thumbnail Guide Bird Blog Latest Photos
Contact Us
Visit our online store

Field and Swamp: Animals and Their Habitats

Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, NC


Bristly Locust flower, 5/22/08	A 12-acre lake created by the damming of Cascade Creek, 5/22/08	View from Moore's Knob summit	Pilot Mountain: view from Moore's Knob summit

4/11/10

Stars can shine. In fact, stars can light up the sky: even at new moon, everything here was clearly visible at night. The air was so clean I could get to the summit of Moore's Knob (2500 feet) with little more effort than it takes to do a routine walk back home in the big city. We never think of air quality as being related to heart health, but maybe we should start doing it.


Ant dragging a bee by one wing. Bee was marginally alive.	Sleepy Duskywing (Erynnis brizo), Moore's Knob Trail near summit, Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, NC, 4/10/10	Fan Clubmoss (Lycopodium digitatum), somewhat past "blooming" time	Leaf beetle (Chrysomela scripta), seen at the observation tower at the summit of Moore's Knob, far from anything with leaves on it.	Mourning Cloak. Photo taken by Karl D. Gottschalk.


Field Pansy	Small (10 mm) scarab beetle (Hoplia trivia)	Halberd-leaved (Yellow) Violet (Viola hastata). Seen at the same elevation as the lake (about 1200 feet).	Carolina Hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana) cones, opened. These showed up in the rocky upper reaches of Moore's Knob (2500 feet high). These are endangered by the woolly adelgid, but only state-listed in Tennessee.


Fetter-bush, Mountain Andromeda or Lily-of-the-Valley shrub (Pieris floribunda), Ericaceae family	Common Groundpine (Dendrolycopodium obscuram)	Fan Clubmoss (Lycopodium digitatum)	Might be part of a pear tree. Seen at Moore's Knob summit.

5/22/08


Oak Treehopper	Flower fly, maybe an Allograpta obliqua, subfamily Syrphinae	Bee-like robber fly (Laphria sericea. Alas, very confusing shadows!	Red-banded Hairstreak	Male Broadhead Skink


Lichen Moth	Fungus gnat (Mycetophilidae family). Family ID by Andy Calderwood, seconded by Eric R. Eaton.	Spider	Ichneumonid wasp	Black Rat Snake

View Larger Map