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Third Fork Creek Trail, Durham, NC
In 2011, a new natural area bordering a Durham wetland opened to the public: a paved trail through a low-lying area, next to a creek and a sewer line, with the borders of the trail mowed just often enough to allow wildflowers to grow. It has presented unique opportunities to observe tiny, often very young, arthropods, which congregated on the bright yellow trail bollards (often seen in the background of these photos) placed on the trail to discourage car traffic. Most were very young spiders, especially what were apparently large numbers of False Black Widows late in the season. Perhaps because of this, spider wasps showed up regularly for about a month and the spider population seemed to go down at that time. Although most insects disappeared after the first frost, the spiders survived the winter.
In March and early April of 2012, an irruption of Fall Cankerworm Moth (Alsophila pometaria) caterpillars took place; these inchworms seemed to be dangling by their silk from every tree, creating an annoyance so great it was reported in the local newspaper. At around the same time there was another irruption, of large iridescent fast-moving ground beetles known as Caterpillar Hunters (Calosoma scrutata) and the inchworms soon disappeared. The beetles disappeared soon afterward.
Around October 27, 2012, Hurricane Sandy passed along the North Carolina coast, plunging the Piedmont and mountain parts of the state into premature winter. Initially, temperatures were 20° F below the seasonal norm but gradually returned to normal about a month later. This had a variety of effects on the local fauna: on one hand, numerous Asian Multi-colored Ladybug Beetles showed with abnormally large spots and wrinkles, slow-moving and in generally poor shape. Some of the small spiders, on the other hand, survived well and Painted Lady butterflies lingered until the last wildflowers of the season, the White Heath Asters, went away (at the normal time for them). Very active False Black Widow spiderlings abounded throughout the winter, while winged aphids parked on the trail bollards with them.
This page attempts to present a photo of a member of every species photographed on walks along this trail. Not all species are identified, and some have tentative IDs. The take-home message: this environment, a mix of urban fixtures and meadow vegetation (mowed yearly in autumn), made it easy to observe some common yet elusive forms of animal life.
Birds
Frogs
Snakes
Lizards
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| Subadult Five-lined Skink, 7/22/12 |
Turtles
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| Eastern Mud Turtle, 6/19/12 | Same Eastern Mud Turtle, plastron view | Eastern Box Turtle, 7/10/12 |
Mammals
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| White-tailed Deer, 3/21/12 |
Spiders
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| Male dwarf spider, 12/16/11 | Dwarf spider, 2/2/12 | Dwarf spider, 12/23/11 | Green Lynx Spider on Tall Ironweed, 8/12/12 | Spiderling?, 5/28/12 | Striped Lynx Spider, 7/29/12 |
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| Adult long-jawed orb weaver (Tetragnatha versicolor), 6/9/11 | Elongated Long-jawed Orb Weaver, 10/1/10 | Long-jawed orb weaver, 2/28/12 | Long-jawed orb weaver (Tetragnatha viridis) | A long-jawed orb weaver (Tetragnatha genus) | A thick-jawed orb weaver (Pachygnatha genus), 4/8/14. ID thanks to John and Jane Balaban. |
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| Adult Argiope aurantia, 9/26/11, adult, very large | Spider (Argiope aurantia), 7/31/12 | Arabesque Orb Weaver (Neoscona arabesca), 8/22/12 | Orb weaver (Neoscona genus), 8/21/12 | Male Micrathena gracilis. ID thanks to John and Jane Balaban. 7/4/12 | Tiny orb weaver (Micrathena mitrata), 10/16/14 | Star-bellied Orb Weaver, 8/5/14 |
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| Hump-backed Orb Weaver (Eustala anastera), 4/26/12 | Humpbacked Orb Weaver (Eustala anastera), 8/5/12 | Orchard Spider, 9/19/12 | Juvenile (early instar?) Orchard Spider, 1/23/13. ID thanks to John and Jane Balaban. This page suggests it might be a male: Orchard spider juvenile photo. | Orchard Spider, 8/32/14 | Feather-legged Orb Weaver (Uloborus glomosus), 6/16/12 |
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| Crab spider (Misumessus oblongus) on a Coreopsis petal, 6/8/12 | Crab spider (Misumessus oblongus). ID confirmed by Joe Lapp. 5/18/12 | A crab spider (Misumessus oblongus), 7/30/14. Note the bunch of silk in front and the line of silk behind. | Crab spider (Missumessus oblongus), 8/11/14 | Crab spider, 9/12/12 | Smooth Flower Spider on a Bidens aristosa | Smooth Flower Spider, 7/7/12 |
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| Green Lynx Spider, 9/4/12 | Spider exuvia. What a surprise when this blew across the trail towards me! 7/25/11 | Ghost spider (Anyphaenidae family), 1/10/13 | Sac spider (Clubionidae family). Note the spinnerets at the end of the abdomen. Kyron thinks it might be a Clubiona genus member. | Sac spider (Clubionidae family), 7/28/14 | Grass spider, 3/20/12 |
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| Orb weaver (Araneus alboventris), 7/4/13 | Arabesque Orb Weaver (Neoscona arabesca), 7/4/13 | Sac spider (Clubionidae family), 7/6/13 | Pirate spider (Mimetus puritanus), 7/23/13. ID thanks to Laura P. | Jumping spider (Tutelina elegans), 7/6/13 |
Mites
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| Velvet mite, 8/18/11 |
Millipedes
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| Millipede, 11/8/11 | Spirobolid millipede, 10/29/11 | Polydesmid millipede, 11/10/11 | Millipede, 1/12/13 |
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| Mating millipedes, 8/5/14 |
Centipedes
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| Centipede, apparently had seen some action, 1/12/12 |
Mantids
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| Carolina Mantis, 10/4/11 | Mantid exuvia, 7/25/11. | Mantid exuvia, 8/6/13 |
Wasps, Bees and Ants
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| Carpenter Bee on Marsh Fleabane, 9/26/11 | Megachilid bee (Megachile xylocopoides) on Coreopsis, 6/5/12 | Bee, 8/12/12 | Bee, Eucinerae subfamily, 7/14/13 |
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| Chalcid wasp, Encyrtidae family, Chalcidoidea superfamily. About 1 mm long. Durham, NC, 12/31/11. Family ID thanks to Ken Wolgemuth and Ross Hill. | Chalcid wasp, 5/27/12 | Spider wasp, 8/18/11 | Spider wasp, very active but with a wing problem. 7/18/11 | Ichneumon wasp, 4/11/14 | Tiny wasp (Ichneumonidae family), 10/10/12 | Ichneumon wasp, 1/4/13 | Potter Wasp (Eumenes fraternus), 4/20/12 | Paper wasp with an egg sac? |
Butterflies and Moths (including caterpillars)
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| Pearl Crescent, 9/15/12 | Courting Pearl Crescents, 9/26/11 | Pearl Crescent, 5/17/12 | Banded Hairstreak, 5/8/12 | Harvester, 5/8/12 | Common Buckeye, 6/2/12 | Variegated Fritillary, 7/4/12 |
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| Mourning Cloak, 4/3/11 | Question Mark, 8/7/11 | Viceroy, 8/25/11 | Sleepy Orange, dorsal view, 3/26/12 | Little Wood Satyr, 5/18/12 | Red-spotted Purple, 7/28/13 | Same Red-spotted Purple |
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| Spicebush Swallowtail, Third Fork Creek Trail, 8/10/13 | Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, 6/13/12 | Ailanthus Webworm Moth, 8/26/14 | Carolina Satyr, 7/31/14 | Cabbage White, dorsal view (in flight), 7/22/14 |
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| Looper moth visiting Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) flowers, 9/7/12 | Owlet moth (Spragueia leo), 9/7/12. Thanks to Richard C. Hoyer for the genus ID and Maury J. Heiman for the species ID. | Wavy-lined Emerald, 6/20/12 | Moth, 7/2/12 | Saddleback Caterpillar (Acharia stimulea), 9/4/14 |
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| Pupating Planthopper Parasite Moth (Fulgoraecia exigua) that fell out of a tree, 8/12/13 | Caterpillar on ironweed, 9/20/11 | Red-humped Caterpillar (Schizura concinna) | Spiny Oakworm Moth caterpillar, 8/25/11 | Caterpillar, Galgula partita, a Noctuid species. It is described in this article: Godfrey (1981). | Tussock moth caterpillar, 6/20/12 |
Beetles
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| Flea beetle (Dibolia genus), 12/19/12 | Rove beetle, 8/5/12 | Rove beetle (Pinophilus genus), 6/21/12 | Rove beetle (Stenus genus), 4/8/14. ID help provided by Craig Sondergaard. | Rove beetle, 8/7/14 |
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| Pine flower snout beetle (Cimberis pilosa), about 5 mm long, 2/22/12 | Flea Beetle (Phyllotreta zimmermani). ID thanks to Gary Griswold | Spotted Cucumber Beetle on Bidens aristosa aster, 9/19/12 | Spotted Cucumber Beetle, 9/4/12 | Scarab beetle, perhaps a May/June Beetle | Ground beetle, possibly Scarites genus, 5/5/12 | Longhorn beetle (Prioninae subfamily), 8/15/14 |
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| Two-lined Leatherwing Beetle, 3/16/12 | Margined Leatherwing Beetle, 8/31/12 | Buprestid beetle, 4/26/12 | Cocklebur Weevil, 5/28/12 | Green Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, 5/26/12 | Common Shore Beetle (Cicindela repanda), very worn | Soldier beetle (Trypherus latipennis). Genus ID thanks to Brad Barnd, species ID thanks to Kelly Fiegle. | Dogbane Beetle, 6/28/12 | Dogbane Beetle, 7/2/12 |
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| Ladybug beetle (Scymnus rubricaudus, Scymnini tribe), about 2 mm long. Tribe ID thanks to Vassili Belov. Species ID thanks to Abigail M. Parker. 5/14/12 | Ladybug beetle (Cycloneda mundi), 6/19/12 | Spotted Ladybug Beetle (Coleomegilla maculata), 6/18/12 | Spotted Ladybug Beetle, Durham, NC, 6/9/11 | Asian Multi-colored Ladybug Beetle and tiny spider, 11/28/11 | Asian Ladybug Beetle, 10/18/12 | Asian Multi-colored Ladybug Beetle, 8/31/12 | Ladybug larva, 6/15/12 |
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| Scarab beetle | Rhinoceros beetle, 7/29/11 | Green June Beetle | Flower Bumble Beetle, 9/26/11 | Ground beetle larva (maybe Chlaenius genus?) Tentative ID provided by Ken Wolgemuth. 7/5/12 | Probably a ground beetle larva, 7/5/12 |
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| Wedge-shaped beetle, 7/2/12 | Japanese Beetles, 7/2/12 | Delta Flower Beetle, 8/16/14 | Delta Flower Beetle on goldenrod, 7/31/14 |
Dragonflies
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| Adult female Common Whitetail, 8/9/12 | Adult male Common Whitetail, 6/16/12 | Teneral male Common Whitetail, 7/18/11 | Dragonfly nymph exuvia, 6/6/11 |
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| Teneral male Widow Skimmer | Widow Skimmer, maybe a recent metamorph male, 7/16/12 | Teneral Blue Dasher, 7/6/13 | Male Blue Dasher, 7/31/14 | Blue Dasher with wasp prey, 8/15/14 | Blue Dasher, 8/5/12 |
Damselflies
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| Variable Dancers, maybe, male on the left. The male prevents the female from mating with other males this way, remaining while she oviposits. 5/18/12 | Variable Dancer, 7/9/12 |
True Bugs
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| Rhyparochromic bug, which looked very much like an ant when scurrying over this sidewalk. About 3 mm long, 9/21/11 | Big-eyed Bug (Geocoris uliginosus), about 3 mm long, 9/13/11 | White-lined Burrowing Bug, 2/27/12 | White-lined Burrower Bug on Common Dandelion, 3/8/12 | Damsel bug nymph, 9/19/12 | Seed bug, Nysius genus, Orsillinae subfamily. ID (genus tentative)thanks to Ken Wolgemuth. 7/20/12 |
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| Stink bug (Menecletes insertus), 12/23/11 | Stink bug (probably Euschistus genus) | Shield-backed bug, 11/12/12 | Stink bug nymph, 8/18/11 | Tree Stink Bug, 9/21/11 | Stink bug nymph. Ken Wolgemuth thinks it might be a Podisus genus member (maybe a Spined Soldier Bug) based on BugGuide entries. The three-segment antennae do match. 5/27/12 | Bug nymph (Mormidea lugens). ID thanks to Brandon Woo. 6/16/12 | Florida Predatory Stink Bug, heavily image-processed to eliminate excessive contrast and to make the beak visible. 6/16/12 |
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| Leaffooted Bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis), 12/18/12 | Leaffooted bug nymph, 9/5/11 | Leaffooted Bug nymph, 7/30/11 | Leaffooted Bug nymph, 9/15/12 |
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| Seed bug (Cymus angustatus), 3/15/12. ID thanks to Yurika Alexander. | Assassin bug, Zelus genus, 8/11/14 | Spined Assassin Bug, dorsal view, 6/9/11 | Assassin bug (Pselliopus cinctus), 4/19/11 | Tarnished Plant Bug, 6/9/11 | Boxelder Bug, 3/15/12 | Chinch Bug, 3/20/12 |
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| Rice Stink Bugs, mating | Ebony Bug, 5/26/12 | Seed bug (Taedia genus). ID thanks to WonGun Kim. 6/19/12 | Plant bug (Deraeocoris genus), 6/2/12 | Tree Stink Bug nymph, 7/1/13 |
Flies
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| Chloropid fly, 10/27/11 | Chloropid fly, 5/18/12 | Crane fly | Fly |
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| Elephant Mosquito, 6/8/12 | Flower fly, 8/22/12 | Flower flies (Toxomerus genus) mating, 6/2/12 | Male midge, 2/21/12 | Midge | Female midge | A fruit fly (Campiglossa genalis, Tephritidae family), 6/21/12 |
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| Bee fly | Bee fly, Villa genus, 6/5/12 | Bee fly (Lepidophora lepidocera), 7/4/12 | Mating Scuttleflies (Phoridae family), 2/14/12 | Mating Scuttleflies, dorsal view of male, 2/14/12 | Flower fly (Chrysogaster genus). ID thanks to Martin Hauser. 2/11/12. |
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| Hoverfly (Ocyptamus fuscipennis), 7/9/12 | Same hoverfly, landed, 7/9/12 | Long-legged fly (Condostylus genus), 7/9/12 | Mating march flies: the female is on the left, 3/26/12 | Picture-winged fly, 7/10/12 |
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| Marsh fly, 11/8/09 | Marsh fly, 7/25/13 | Marsh fly, 7/29/13 | Marsh fly, a composite of three images via focus stacking, 12/14/12 |
Scorpionflies
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| Common Scorpion Fly, 9/7/12 |
Grasshoppers, Katydids and Crickets
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| Handsome Meadow Katydid, 10/28/10 | Katydid | Katydid nymph on Coreopsis flower, 5/31/12 | A very young katydid nymph, 5/17/12 | Red-headed Bush Cricket (Phyllopalpus pulchellus), 7/25/12 |
Hoppers
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| Buffalo Treehopper, 12/14/11 | Mating Dog-day Cicadas, 8/29/11 | Two-lined Froghopper, 7/4/13 | Two-lined Froghopper, 9/9/12 |
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| Derbid planthopper (Mysidia mississippiensis), 7/14/13 | Acanalonid planthopper (Acanalonia conica), 8/22/14 | Acanaloniid planthopper nymph, 6/16/12 | Acanaloniid planthopper nymph, 6/5/12 |
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| Issid planthopper, 8/30/14 | Cixiid planthopper, 6/30/12 | Cixiid planthopper, 6/15/12 | Flatid planthopper, 9/5/12 | Flatid planthopper, 7/28/13 |
Others
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| Barklouse (Ectopsocopsis cryptomeriae). Thanks to Vassily Belov for ID. |
Mollusks
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| Snail (2 inches long), 10/27/11 | Aquatic snail, swimming on its back and touching the water's surface, 7/29/14 |
Wildflowers
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| Cardinal Flowers, 8/5/12 | Male Red Maple flower, 1/18/12 | Blue Toadflax, 4/20/11 |
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| Crimson Clover, 4/19/11 | Common Vetch, 4/19/11 | Cornsalad, 4/19/11 | Henbit, 4/1/11 | Carolina Cranesbill, 4/1/11 | Mouseear Chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum), 3/15/12 | Wisteria |
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| Bird Vetch (Vicia cracca), an introduced plant, 4/20/12 | Wild onion, 4/20/12 | White Blue-eyed Grass, 5/16/12 | St. John's Wort, 7/9/12 | Eastern Gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), 7/14/13 |
Fungi
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| Big mushrooms, perhaps Green-gilled Lepiota, 8/5/12 | Mushrooms |
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Dorothy E. Pugh. All rights reserved. Please contact for rights to use photos.
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