BugFest Beauties

Posted on September 22, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

Bugs are not going to inherit the earth. They own it now. So we might as well make peace with the landlord.

~Thomas Eisner

If it is September, it must be time for BugFest, the premier annual special event of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. In years past, it has ranked as the largest festival of its kind in the nation, a huge event about all things invertebrate, covering a couple of blocks of downtown Raleigh plus the entire museum facility. Last years’ event was totally online due to Covid, and this year had both an online and an in-person component. We participated in the Pollination Celebration last Saturday held at the museum’s field station in Raleigh, the Prairie Ridge Ecostation. The plan was to have it all outdoors with proper safety protocols, and to expect a much reduced turnout of visitors. Once again, I helped with the Caterpillarology booth, which I started oh-so-many years ago and is now run by Melissa and her staff. We figured we probably wouldn’t need as many caterpillars this year with fewer visitors and less table space, so we didn’t start collecting in earnest until a few days before. It turns out it has been a slow year for larvae and we were having trouble finding much in our early searches. Luckily, we all put in some extra hours the two days (and one productive night hunt with a UV flashlight) before the event and wrangled an adequate supply to engage a few hundred visitors that perused our luxurious larvae. Below are some of the highlights (we collected several more that pupated before their photo was taken)…

Our neighbor loaned us some of the many Monarch caterpillars that have found his milkweed garden in the woods (click photos to enlarge)

Always a favorite at the booth, an early instar Spicebush Swallowtail, showing off its bird poop and snake mimic characteristics

A last instar Spicebush Swallowtail is all decked out to fool would-be predators that it is actually a snake (gotta love those big fake eyes)

A Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar with orange and black warning colors advertising its bad taste

A Hummingbird Clearwing Moth larva on Viburnum

Another sphinx moth caterpillar (so-called hornworms due to the tail spike), this Walnut Sphinx larva is the only species of caterpillar I know of that produces a sound. When disturbed, it thrashes violently and hisses by expelling air out its spiracles. I love the texture of this species.

An elegant Hog Sphinx feeding on wild grape

The subtle blue colors on this Waved Sphinx are beautiful.

Although sparse for other types of larvae, it was a good year for sphinx moth caterpillars. They can be tricky to identify, but we think this is a Rustic Sphinx. Unfortunately, this one was parasitized and succumbed right after the event.

The camouflage of the leaf edge group of feeders, like this Wavy-lined Heterocampa, is quite impressive.

We always hope to find some of the Giant Silk Moth larvae as they tend to be show-stoppers. Our Polyphemus Moth caterpillar was nice and plump for the event.

We found several green color phase Imperial Moth larvae this year, but a couple were too high in the trees to collect. This was the largest caterpillar in this years’ program.

One of the staff at Prairie Ridge showed me a Redbud tree with three of these American Dagger caterpillars.

One of the more bizarre-looking larvae, this Lappet Moth (I think it is a Large Tolype Moth caterpillar) has fleshly appendages along its sides (lappets) that allow it to blend in very nicely with a twig. During most of the day, it hung head down on the twig of this plant and was barely visible to most viewers.

This Smartweed Caterpillar (also called the Smeared Dagger) is one of the so-called stinging caterpillars. The tufts of spines have venom sacs that can produce a bee sting-like pain if touched.

The Definite Tussock can supposedly cause skin irritation in sensitive people, but I have never had any issues with any of the tussocks crawling on my hand. This species is distinguished from the more common White-marked Tussock by its yellow tufts and head capsule.

White-marked Tussock Moth larvae have a red head capsule. I think its common name should be the toothbrush caterpillar.

This is the caterpillar you should definitely NOT touch. The Puss Moth caterpillar packs a powerful “sting” from tufts of spines hidden below the hair-like covering. These are generalist feeders on many hardwood tree species and pupate on tree branches, so most people never see this species, which is probably a good thing.

The beautiful Nason’s Slug larva is another of the stinging caterpillars. I suspect it is a very mild sting due to its small size.

The strange-looking Monkey Slug has numerous appendages that can break off as it matures. This early instar resembles a very hairy spider.

Our most common stinging caterpillar, the Saddleback, is one of my favorites. I have been stung many times over the years as I accidentally brush up against one while weeding in the garden. They are generalist feeders on a variety of herbs and woody plants. The sting is like a bee sting but the pain tends to fade quickly (on me, at least)

The rear end of a Saddleback sports a pair of fake eyes.

One of the most beautiful caterpillars we find every September is the ornate Crowned Slug. These are tough to find (they feed on tree leaves) unless you use a UV flashlight at night.

It was another great year of sharing the wonders of caterpillars with enthusiastic visitors. One benefit of the half-day program this year was that all the caterpillars (and pupae) were released back to their collection sites by day’s end. The only remnant of the day is a cage full of Monarch chrysalids on our porch. When the butterflies emerge, we will send them off on their long journey to Mexico.

Butterflies, Blooms, and Bears

Posted on September 12, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

Summer is a promissory note signed in June, its long days spent and gone before you know it, and due to be repaid next January.

~Hal Borland

I headed down to Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge last week for an “end of summer” day trip (actually more of a “before hunting season begins” road trip). The refuge allows deer and small game hunting and archery season for deer begins next week. I was hoping for a post holiday weekend lull in visitation so I packed up and drove into the rising sun Tuesday morning. My goal was to spend some time with bears, but, as always, I knew there would be some natural highlights to observe, along with the joy of simply spending time in a wild place that I love.

There was a hint of crispness in the air, that sure-fire sign that summer is winding down. Nearing the refuge, I drove past fields where the corn had recently been harvested, which tells me the bears will be busy in the refuge fields harvesting their own share of the crop. The roadsides were showing signs of fall in other ways too, with swaths of autumn flowers growing along the canal edges. Yellows and purples seem to dominate the flower colors this time of year, a nice visual combination and another sign of the changing season.

The most abundant refuge roadside flower right now, Bitterweed or Sneezeweed (*Helenium sp.*) (click photos to enlarge)

Blue Mistflower, *Conoclinium coelestinum*

I got out and walked along some of the grassy roads, looking for bears and observing the many wildflowers and butterflies. I saw several fresh-looking Monarchs, no doubt on their long journey to Mexico. The beautiful Three-nerved Joe-Pye-Weed was a favorite nectar stop for many species. I wonder if that species of Joe-Pye would do well in our yard? It blooms later, is shorter than the one we have by a couple of feet, and is a darker pink in color.

Monarch Butterfly on Three-nerved Joe-Pye-Weed (*Eutrochium dubium*)

Black Swallowtail on Three-nerved Joe-Pye-Weed

Along the now closed South Lake Road (I see they are working on it, so I hope it will be open by winter), I saw several butterflies stopping to sun in the open sandy spots, and a few were stopping at the local roadside diner to partake of the daily special – bear scat.

A Red Admiral that has probably had an encounter with a bird’s beak

A Buckeye with its bold eyespot wing pattern

A fresh Zebra Swallowtail imbibing on some mineral-rich bear scat

A Viceroy checking out the menu selection on another pile of bear poo

A Viceroy caterpillar feeding on willow leaves

With my eyes trained on finding the small things hidden in the roadside vegetation, I spotted an otter trail going into the canal through some tall weeds, so I set my camera and telephoto lens down and walked a few feet to peer over the canal bank and photograph some of the goldenrod’s intense yellow flowers with my phone.

Goldenrod (*Solidago sp.*) flowers stand in bold contrast to the dark canal waters and green pocosin shrubs

When I stepped through the vegetation, my eye caught movement on the opposite side of the canal. There were two of us surprised by this encounter…me (sans camera) and a very large boar Black Bear. I slowly moved back to retrieve my camera, and he grudgingly left the water and ambled back into the vegetation, giving me one glance before slinking off and disappearing into the thick greenery. That was bear #3 of the morning, but the closest by far.

This large bear was in shallow water at the edge of a canal when I accidentally surprised him (and me)

After the bruin hello, I continued on toward the north shore of Pungo Lake. This time of year I always stop the vehicle and scope far down the road ahead of me to see if I see any sticks moving in the road – snakes. As soon as I headed down West Lake Rd., I saw a skinny twig move. I rushed up to it and was pleased to see an Eastern Ribbon Snake. This species is usually found near water (this one was crossing from a canal to a large marshy area) and feed on small fish and amphibians.

Eastern Ribbon Snake (*Thamnophis sauritus*)

I hiked in to a small pond on the back side of a refuge crop field in hopes of seeing a bear cooling off, but there were none. However, I was rewarded with a couple of unusual robber flies flitting about in the tall grass. I could see they had very long, dangling legs. As I walked, they would fly off a few feet and land again in the grasses, hanging by one or two of their legs in the tangle of linear blades. One in particular caught my eye as it was carrying a prey item (I think some type of Digger Wasp). I had my telephoto lens so it was a challenge to get down and find a spot that wasn’t entirely blocked by crisscrossed grass blades.

One of the so-called Hanging-Thieves Robber Flies (probably *Diogmites salutans*), showing its typical posture when consuming prey – dangling by one or two legs and clinging to the prey with the others

When I looked it up back home, this group goes by the apt name of Hanging-Thieves. They usually prey on wasps and bees but are known to also take dragonflies and other robber flies.

Looking head-on as it shows its strength by hanging on with one leg

I soon headed over to my favorite location, “Bear Road”, to see if it had the usual array of parked cars at the gate. To my pleasant surprise, their was only one vehicle and I could see one person walking back toward his car. I decided this was my lucky day and I parked and headed down the road for the first time this season. My knee has been bothering me a lot lately so, instead of my usual habit of walking down the road and into the woods, I carried a camp chair and sat toward the far end of the corn field that lies across the canal from the grassy road. I have seen many photographers and bear watchers do this over the years (especially in the recent past) but I always hesitated. I especially don’t care for people sitting adjacent to major bear paths that run from the woods, across “Bear Road” and into the canals for access to the corn. I just think it may cause too much stress if the bears encounter a person up close as they emerge from the woods. If I am walking, the bears can usually see me at a distance, take action to avoid me by going into the woods until I pass, and then come back out to resume their trek to the food bank. After spending a couple of hours sitting along the road with no one else around, I decided I was correct in my concerns.

I spotted three bears crossing into or out of the field within 15 minutes of being there. Things settled down and I waited another half hour before a young sow and lone cub of the year (COY) appeared far down the road, walking my way. She was steadily moving toward me with the cub stopping, then scrambling to catch up. At one point she stood up briefly, looking my way, but probably unsure of what I was. I was sitting along the edge of the road but not in the tall grasses due to the abundance of poison ivy, so i wasn’t particularly hidden. I expected her to do what most bears (especially those with cubs) do, and head into the safety of the woods and either attempt to wait me out or go beyond me before coming back out into the road. But, she didn’t, she just kept coming.

Sow and cub of the year headed toward the corn field

I started talking to her, advising that she shouldn’t get any closer and hoping she would head off. She paused, the cub stood up, and she continued on. The cub then decided it wanted none of this strange thing and headed into the woods. Mom just walked past me, never even giving me a glance as she did. I will admit, that is the first time I have ever pulled my bear spray out of the holster, but I now think she is just so used to people being on that road and sitting just like I was, that she wasn’t spooked. And that gives me pause, as that probably is not in the best interest of her (or the people).

The cub gives me a wary side eye (cropped image with telephoto)

Once she was 100 feet or so beyond my location, the cub came racing out of the woods near her and they both continued to a crossing point, swam across the canal and headed into the corn.

A few minutes later, another sow and two cubs came walking down the road. This time, however, she noticed me from far down the road and began to stand up trying to ascertain what was ahead.

Another young female with two COYs (one is hidden behind mama in this pic)

Black Bear and cubs walking down the road and she takes note of the strange object ahead (me)

She stands up again and decides she wants no part of whatever that is ahead and takes her cubs into the woods

After getting within about 50 yards or so, she stands up one more time and then takes her young ones into the woods. A few minutes later, she and the cubs emerge far beyond where i am sitting. She looks back my way, and walks on toward a spot to cross the canal.

One of the cubs mimics its mama and looks back at the strange object that had been in their path

Some other bear watchers showed up and I soon found myself exchanging pleasantries with three people on E-bikes (the apparent new rage for wildlife photographers on the eastern refuges). Four other people hung back at the gate and watched. I decided it was time to move on, but another bear appeared far down the road before I could get packed up. It did something strange and came out of the woods, and walked around several times, sniffing, and then laid down in the road. It remained there for several minutes, yawned a few times, then got back up and moved across into the tall vegetation to swim the canal. As it disappeared into the tall grasses, two COYs came streaking out of the woods to join her.

A bear decides to chill in the middle of “Bear Road”

So, I left the refuge that day with a total of 18 different bear sightings (plus a couple of repeats of bears that crossed into and then back out of the corn field). A magical day to be sure, but one that left me wondering about my impact on the bears and how having so many people now on that road may be habituating some bears to humans With bear hunting season approaching in December, I worry that bears that become too used to us will not be as wary as needed to survive. Plus, it is never a good idea to have bears and humans become too complacent about each other. I probably won’t be sitting on that road in prime bear season in the future, but will continue with my former mode of slowly walking, letting the bears know way ahead of time that there is a human nearby. Not sure if it makes much difference, but it will make me feel better. I suppose the best approach is to watch bears from afar and photograph them from your vehicle whenever possible. Here’s hoping bears and humans continue to coexist on this and other refuges because there really is something special about seeing bears in the wild.

Yard Mystery

Posted on September 5, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

Experience suggests it doesn’t matter so much how you got here, as what you do after you arrive.

~Lois McMaster Bujold

Green Treefrog backlit on leaf (click photos to enlarge)

I took this photo of a Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) in May of 2006. I was walking around the yard looking for insects to photograph and stumbled upon this frog, backlit on a Tulip Poplar leaf. It was the first individual of this species I had ever seen on our property. I had seen many of these beautiful frogs on my travels in the Coastal Plain, but they were not common in the Piedmont back then. If my memory is accurate, this photo provided evidence for a new county record for this species in the database of amphibian distribution for the state maintained by the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, my employer at that time. They seem to have greatly expanded their range in recent years and are now fairly common in many suitable habitats in our area.

Over the years since, I have seen a Green Treefrog in the yard from time to time, but never more than a single one in any one season (and many years, none at all). I began to wonder if we just had one really old animal that had somehow found our little open spot in the woods on top of a hill (but since I assume most frogs of this size typically live only a few years, I started doubting that theory). Then, last year, there were two in the yard for a couple of months, regularly seen perched on the stems of Jewelweed in their stoic hunched pose. And again, this summer, we have seen two individuals, until yesterday, when I found three of them perched on plants just outside our front windows.

Treefrog #2, hanging out on a Jewelweed stem, where it blends in very well

Treefrog #3, hunkered down on a Jewelweed stem

So here is the mystery…where are these guys coming from and where are they breeding? Though we have a couple of small water gardens that provide habitat for several species (Green Frogs, Bullfrogs, Cope’s Gray Treefrogs, Eastern Narrowmouth Toads, Spring Peepers) we have never heard a Green Treefrog calling in our yard or anywhere in the neighborhood for that matter. I think I remember hearing some once at Jordan Lake, a few miles from our house, but you would think if they are breeding here that we would have heard that distinctive nasal queenk, queenk (or hey baby, hey baby) call at least once. As I write this, there are two perched within sight, one on a Jewelweed stem, the other on the same leaf of a Beautyberry shrub that it has been on the past three days (this is the one that has perched on our dining room window for several days recently). Other than our water gardens, the closest water is our intermittent stream down the hill and another water garden on a neighbor’s property a quarter of a mile from our house (he hasn’t seen or heard these frogs there). And yet, here they are, seeming content and doing what treefrogs do (except calling). I’m going to continue to keep track of them, assuming I can even identify individual frogs by the number and arrangement of the gold flecks on the dorsal surface (I think these remain constant?).

So goes the life of people that live in the woods…you wander and ponder about your natural neighbors, hoping to gain some insight into how the world works, but enjoying their presence even if it all remains a mystery.

Pink Horn

Posted on September 2, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

It’s the horns of a dilemma, no question about it.

~Steven Jeffrey

Melissa needed a few caterpillars for a teacher workshop this week, so I went out the other night with our UV flashlight to scan the vegetation around the house. A reminder that many species of caterpillars glow under UV light at night, making them much easier to spot. It was slim pickings but I did see one sphinx moth larva (aka horn worm, due to the presence of a spike on the posterior end). It had just molted so I didn’t want to disturb it. Its size and behavior (feeding on the underside of a leaf) gave the impression of a Walnut Sphinx caterpillar, a species I have found several times in our yard. Plus, when I glanced at the host plant and saw the compound leaves, I assumed it was a hickory, one of the hosts of Walnut Sphinx larvae. I noted the location and headed inside, hoping the caterpillar would still be there in the morning.

A beautiful sphinx moth caterpillar on the underside of a leaf (click photos to enlarge)

When I went out the next day to retrieve it, I saw that the sapling was not a hickory, but an ash, and that the larva was not a Walnut Sphinx…but, what is it? I had not paid close attention to detail in the glow of the UV light and the pattern and colors were not yet evident in the freshly molted caterpillar. I took a few quick photos and went inside to search my well-worn copy of Wagner’s Caterpillars of Eastern North America. There are six species of horn worm larvae that feed on ash so it made the search a bit easier. None of the images matched the bold pinkish splotches along the sides of my caterpillar, but reading the descriptions helped me decide that this beauty is a Waved Sphinx caterpillar, Ceratomia undulosa. They are quite variable as larvae, with most being green overall, others pink and yellow, or some combination.

The black dots on the anal plate and the textured pink horn are diagnostic of a Waved Sphinx larva

But they all tend to have the textured pinkish horn and black dots on the anal plate (the hardened area on the top of the last abdominal segment). A quick search online (BugGuide.net) showed the diversity of this species’ caterpillar colors and confirmed this variation for a Waved Sphinx larva. I am guessing this is a 4th instar, so it has some growing to do before its final stage. Just goes to show, never assume you know what you are seeing without paying attention to the details. But, no matter the name, it is a stunning caterpillar and a joy to discover just outside our home in the woods.

Yard Missiles

Posted on August 26, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

Stare hard at the hummingbird, in the summer rain,
shaking the water-sparks from its wings…

~ Mary Oliver

With a thunderstorm kicking up outside and rain (much needed rain) starting to fall, I sit inside watching the yard missiles go at each other at the four feeders we have scattered around the house. It still baffles me how their daily energy budget balances out in their favor with all the zest and fury that they exhibit for most of the day. The calmest feedings occur when I am outside near one of the feeders, apparently keeping at least one of the bejeweled jets at bay (although this doesn’t always hold true). They also tend to dine unbothered when they sneak into the yard vegetation and partake of sips of nectar from the lone surviving Cardinal Flower (a favorite of the yard bunnies I’m afraid) or the abundant Jewelweed. We have plenty of the latter growing just outside our kitchen/sun-room window. I love this up close jungle because it allows me to watch our hummingbirds as they deftly maneuver through the tangle in search of the bright orange flowers. It also gives us a great view of the many butterflies and other insects that visit the nearby Joe-Pye-Weed and Ironweed. The recent appearance of a pair of Green Treefrogs clinging to the look-alike plant stems is an added bonus.

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird takes refuge in a shrub near one of our feeders (click photos to enlarge)

One of three male hummingbirds that have staked a claim to our yard

That darned background stick…would have been nice if this male had landed a bit off to one side or another

My favorite encounter with our yard missiles happened a couple of weeks ago when I went out to bring in a feeder for a cleaning and refill. The hummers frequently zoom close when I am putting up or taking down feeders, but this time, as I grabbed the feeder and lifted it off the hook, a hummingbird landed on it and started feeding. It was an immature male and it occasionally glanced my way as I stood there with bird at arm’s length. They usually only stay a few seconds at a feeder, but this one kept on, so I slowly pulled the bird and tube closer. I finally had it about 8 inches from my face! What an incredible sight. They are so tiny and so beautiful up close. He finally streaked off (my arm thanked him) when another adult male came in for a challenge but veered off when it realized there was a new hanger for the feeder.

A heavy crop to show the delicate beauty of the bright red feathers of the male’s gorget (iridescent throat feathers)

While that was a special moment, my mom told me this week about one that tops it. She loves to sit on her front porch in the evening and watch the hummingbirds as they contest the air space around her feeder. She happened to glance down and saw that one had landed on her knee and was just taking it all in. She said it sat there for several seconds until she gently moved her leg and it zoomed off. Here’s hoping we all get such special moments with these flying jewels before they head south in the coming weeks.

What is That?

Posted on August 14, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

The significance and joy in my science comes in those occasional moments of discovering something new…

~Henry F. Schaefer, III

Last night we had friends over for pizza and beer and …mothing (wait, what?, you mean you don’t have people over and put out a moth light when it is 90 degrees and 95% humidity?). We had some good moths, including a couple of large Tulip Tree Silk Moths and at least three Rhinoceros Beetles. But, my favorite find of the night was a strange creature that I can’t remember ever seeing before. When Melissa first saw it, she exclaimed, I’m not even sure which group of insects it belongs to…it looks like a tiny cicada. Well, that was certainly a good description.

Our strange visitor to the moth sheet last night

It does, indeed, have the body shape of a mini-cicada and is about an inch in length. The coloration reminded us of tree lichens. When I first approached it with the macro lens, it jumped, leading us to believe it was some sort of weird planthopper. The SEEK app identified it as a type of Fulgorid Planthopper (i.e. a planthopper in the family Fulgoridae). This morning I went to my laptop and searched the very helpful web site, Hoppers of North Carolina, browsed the Family Photo Gallery link and found a photo resembling our mystery critter. The heading for the matching image is Calyptoproctus marmoratus – No Common Name. The description says it is uncommon to rare, found in deciduous forests from VA to FL (it as been recorded in fewer than 20 of our state’s 100 counties). Searching online didn’t yield much more information other than little is known about its feeding habits or general life history. One scientific paper I found showed it being found in several museum and university insect collections and that almost all were collected at night when attracted to lights. It is always satisfying to see something new and wonder about where and how it lives. The No Common Name add-on to the nomenclature though seems unfit for such an interesting creature. I offer these possible solutions – Lichen-colored Mini-Cicada or perhaps the Lichen Cicadalet. I’m open to other suggestions in the comments. Keep looking out there, there is more to discover and ponder.

Summer Scenes

Posted on August 11, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

The night still twinkles with fireflies but the day’s heat lingers and the air has a dusty August scent, the smell of languid Summer.

~Hal Borland

We are definitely in the Dog Days of Summer, the heat and humidity making me rethink my desire to be out and about in the afternoon. But, it only takes a short walk to find beauty and mystery surviving, no, thriving, in the heat. Below are some scenes from the summer here in the woods.

Virginia Creeper Sphinx (aka Hog Sphinx), *Darapsa myron* (click photos to enlarge)

I captured, transported, and released this sphinx moth here in the woods after finding it at our bank in Pittsboro, lured under the walkway by the lights at night. Urban (really, any) lights are a common cause for the demise of many a moth.

A formidable-looking Wheel Bug, *Arilus cristatus*. This is a large member of the group of insects called Assassin Bugs, due to their predatory behavior. They grab prey (other insects) with their raptorial front legs, pierce them with that large rostrum (reddish beak under the head), inject a toxin with digestive enzymes, and then ingest the contents.

Red-banded Leafhopper, *Graphocephala coccinea.*These tiny (~7mm) insects feed on the sap of leaves and can spread a bacterium that causes leaf scorch disease (Pierce’s disease) on some species of plants. They are excellent hoppers, with some believed to jump up to 40x their body length (a 6 ft human of equal ability could jump 240 feet!).

A dark morph female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, *Papilio glaucus*. Females of this species can be either black or yellow.

A male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Note that females (see picture above) are more colorful than males, having more blue along the hind wings.

A group of *Datana sp.* caterpillars in their defensive posture (they exude distasteful chemicals from both ends)

*Datana sp.* larvae typically are gregarious through most of their life stages. I guess if one tastes bad, a whole bunch must be a better deterrent.

Another bad-tasting bunch-o’-bugs – nymphs of Large Milkweed Bugs, *Oncopeltus fasciatus*. I photographed a mating pair of adults on this milkweed plant on July 22 and this photo was taken on August 7. This species feeds on milkweed seeds by injecting saliva into the seed using their long rostrum, which predigests the seed so they can suck the contents back up.

Female Yellow Garden Spider, *Argiope aurantia*. She has grown considerably since I last photographed her on July 22.

And she has acquired a suitor. This male Yellow Garden Spider is in a web right behind that of the much larger female (you can see the tips of her legs on the left side of the photo)

One of our more unusual-looking spiders, the bizarre Spined Micrathena, *Micrathena gracilis*. Females have a large bulbous abdomen adorned with spines. They are quite common in our woods in late summer.

Another armored spider, the Spiny Orbweaver, *Gasteracantha cancriformis*. Females have a rotund body that is white to yellow in color. The abdomen is surrounded by six stout spines that can be red or black. Their webs have tufts of silk along some strands, supposedly making them visible to birds which will avoid flying through them (and me, to avoid getting them on my face with all the other spider webs along our trails).

Pungo Heat

Posted on August 5, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

…the light of July and August is the day’s dazzle, hot light, with the season’s dust slowly accumulating and making the sky we see a giant silvered reflector.

~Hal Borland

Last Friday was probably the hottest day of this summer thus far. So, naturally, I decided to head to the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes NWR in search of bears, butterflies, and anything else I could find. Back in the old days, extreme heat would keep most people indoors, but things are different now, and as I drove into the refuge, I encountered a couple of cars already scoping things out. I also saw a turkey and a bear within my first 5 minutes on the refuge, so I figured it was going to be a good day.

Ten minutes later, I spotted a young bear in a tree where I have seen bears twice before, I stopped and stuck a camera out the window and he raised his head to check me out.

The second bear of the morning was lounging in a tree along one of the refuge roads. It raised its head to glance my way when the truck stopped (click photos to enlarge)

As I watched, he settled down and started chewing on some small branches and breaking them…

This must be how a bear “fluffs its pillow” in the tree branches. It put its head down in the space where the branches were removed and seemed to take a nap.

I spent about 15 minutes with this tolerant bear and then moved on so as not to attract a crowd. The bear was sleeping peacefully when I left.

Meadow Beauty (*Rhexia sp.)* was an abundant bloom along the roadsides

Elderberry (*Sambucus canadensis*) was also very common along the canals and roads.

The Buttonbush flowers (*Cephalanthus occidentalis*) attract numerous pollinators, including this Palamedes Swallowtail and what I think is a Cuckoo Wasp of some sort.

This beautiful Eastern Kingsnake started slithering away as I approached (another reason to drive slow on refuge roads).

Eastern Kingsnakes feed on a variety of prey including lizards, frogs, rodents, birds, and other snakes. They are resistant to pit viper venom and readily eat cottonmouths, copperheads, and rattlesnakes.

I spent most of the morning slowly cruising the refuge roads. In addition to the kingsnake, I saw a Black Racer and what i am pretty sure was a Canebrake Rattlesnake. It got into the thick brush before I was close enough to be sure, but when something looks like a thick branch crawling across the road from a distance, it’s most likely a rattlesnake. Unfortunately, South Lake Road remains closed (it has been that way all year I think), so one of my favorite areas remains inaccessible by vehicle.

I drove back around to the bear tree over an hour after my first encounter and the sleepy bruin had moved down the branch a bit with its rear end braced against the trunk and was looking pretty relaxed. Once again, I didn’t stay long so as not to disturb.

As I often do on these day trips, I headed over to Mattamuskeet NWR mid-day to see if anything was going on there. To be honest, there wasn’t much happening. I saw a few songbirds, a couple of waders, and lots of invertebrates. I got out and walked two short trails and was rewarded with some beautiful spiders.

I saw several Black and Yellow Argiope spiders (aka Yellow Garden Spiders, *Argiope aurantia)* sitting upside down in their distinctive webs

Two magnificent Golden Orb Weaver spiders in a web stretched across a six-foot pathway. The smaller one is the male, and he must be very careful when approaching the much larger female for a chance at an arachnid date. These huge spiders have expanded their range northward and are now quite common at Lake Mattamuskeet.

I drove back via the long series of gravel roads that pass through the part of Pocosin Lakes NWR that stretches from Hwy 94 to the south shore of Lake Phelps. You never know what you might encounter. Today’s finds included a couple of bears, some turkeys, and an abundance of dragonflies along the miles of canals that line the roads.

This Halloween Pennant dragonfly had a heck of a time holding on to this dried grass tip in the gusty winds

Another dragonfly, in a moment of calm air, spread its wings and looked ready to pounce on any passing winged insects

This Golden-winged Skimmer always managed to land in a spot with a busy background of jumbled grasses

By mid-afternoon I was back on the Pungo Unit and spotted a mother bear with three cubs of the year ambling down a side road. As much as I love seeing the new cubs, I decided to let her and her youngsters have some quiet time without a human pursuing them, so I just took a couple of long distance photos and watched as they finally turned into the woods.

A sow and her young cubs strolling along a road in 92 degree heat

A young (probably 2 or 3 year old) bear out in a soybean field on the refuge

While watching a bear out in a field, I was distracted by this striking Zebra Swallowtail that landed next to me

There were still cars and people on “Bear Road”, so I headed over to what I call “New Bear Road” for a little solitary saunter. I saw my first bear of the day on this road and it is usually good for a sighting or two. I walked down the road a ways and spotted a mid-sized Snapping Turtle crawling from the canal into the woods. They are so prehistoric-looking, and this one expressed its displeasure at my presence by raising up the hind part of its body in a defensive posture and looking at me in a less than welcoming manner as I waked past.

I saw my first Monarch Butterfly of the fall season along the edge of the road

I walked down close to where another road joins and sat down along the edge of the woods, hoping something might travel this juncture. It was hot, very hot, and I sat there with sweat dripping off my forehead and listening to the chorus of insects buzzing all around me. Soon, a bear crossed far down the road and into the woods. Then, a deer came walking down the other road and paused to look at that strange blob sitting at the edge of the trees. It gave a few cautious stiff-legged steps, and stopped to make sure I hadn’t moved. It finally made its way into the woods, no doubt satisfied I was just some slow, ugly bear.

A White-tailed deer on alert when it spotted me sitting at the edge of the woods

A Slaty Skimmer kept me company while I waited, flitting all around me, but returning to the same dried stem to perch

My last bear of the day was this one that ran across at the juncture of the two grassy roads, I think it had been spooked by someone on an electric bicycle (one of several I have seen on the refuge this past year) far down the road that joined New Bear Road

A hazy, big sky sunset was a great way to end a good day

It had been a hot day, but a good one. I ended up driving more than I had intended, but my favorite times were those just sitting and watching the wildlife, from bears (my count for the day was 18) to dragonflies. As always, I left feeling grateful for our public lands and all that they provide to the wildlife, plants, and all of the human visitors that need that connection to the wild.

Trail Cam Delights

Posted on August 1, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.

~Boris Pasternak

The heat of summer seems to have slowed the activity around the trail cameras in our woods, but sometimes, amid all the images of squirrels, raccoons, and wind blown leafy branches, there is is a jewel that really makes me appreciate the 24-hour a day presence of those eyes on the trees.

This first one is from a while back and is a very quick clip showing one of the opossums that uses the root ball den site carrying some leaves back to the ‘possum hole with its tail. Who among us couldn’t use an extra hand now and then?

A Virginia Opossum carrying leaves in its tightly curled tail

One of the things I have been surprised by recently is the lack of trail camera images of deer fawns. I have been seeing them along the roads here in the neighborhood for a few months, but they have not been recorded on a trail camera until this week.

Doe and fawn mosey by the Raccoon den tree

This next one is the video that I have been waiting for…a Bobcat in our woods! The video is cropped a little so it is not as sharp as some, but this is a clip of a nice-sized Bobcat walking down the now dry stream bed in our woods. I have long hoped to see one here in the neighborhood. We have plenty of woods and potential prey, and being near the Haw River corridor, there is ample habitat for these majestic animals.

Bobcat walking down the creek bottom one morning last week

I have admired the mystique of these secretive wild cats for many years. My first sighting was probably back when I worked for NC State Parks and I spotted a Bobcat and her kittens walking down the road at Goose Creek State Park. Since then, I have seen them mainly at wildlife refuges in our Coastal Plain – Alligator River, Mattamuskeet, and at Pocosin Lakes NWR. Most have been quick glimpses of one as it slinked off into the vegetation. Only a few have been recorded with a camera. Here is a brief list of some of those photographed encounters…

A distant view of a Red Wolf (right) tucking its tail and scurrying by a Bobcat at Pocosin Lakes NWR. The wolf was trotting down the road when it encountered the Bobcat in the brush, which assumed the typical cat pose of arched back. The wolf moved to the other side of the road, keeping an eye on the feline as it went past, and then hurried on down the road.

A pre-dawn encounter on a Christmas Bird Count at Pocosin Lakes…a Bobcat carrying a Snow Goose. When we stopped the car, the Bobcat dropped to the ground and crawled across the field to a wind row of trees and disappeared.

I went to the other end of the windrow, assuming the Bobcat would go down and cross onto the woods. As I stood there, some birds flushed out of the trees in the wind row, and then I saw it, sitting there in the thick brush staring at me. I’m not sure how long it had been there, and just as quickly, it disappeared.

I had just photographed a bear across a canal at Pocosin Lakes and was going to do a three-point turn and go the opposite way on the road. When I looked in my rear view mirror, a Bobcat was in the road behind me! I spent several minutes watching this beautiful animal as it eased on down the road and into the woods. More photos on this sighting can be seen here.

Note the white patches on the back of the ear in the photo above. Look at the video clip again and you can clearly see these distinctive white marks on the back of the ears. My only other Bobcat sighting in the Piedmont was one at Mason Farm Biological Reserve in Chapel Hill many years ago. When I returned to the parking lot I saw what looked like a large cat sitting in the adjacent field. It was looking away from me and I saw those white patches and it was then that I knew it was a Bobcat!

My most memorable encounter was when Melissa and I spotted a Bobcat walking down a road at Pocosin Lakes one hot September afternoon. It went into the brush when we drove toward it. We went a little farther, parked, and got out and sat behind the car and waited. The Bobcat finally came back out and walked up, sat down, and looked at us for a bit before walking off into the thick pocosin vegetation…magical! More on this encounter in a previous post.

Though I have been lucky to witness Bobcats in the wild several times, there is something extra special about knowing there was one in our woods. I just hope one day I will be lucky enough to see one for myself in our personal refuge.

More of the Little Things in Life

Posted on July 25, 2021 by roadsendnaturalist

If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves.

~Emily Dickinson

I’ve been wandering around the yard again, camera in hand, looking for the little things that might be living alongside us. The heat of summer tends to make a lot of the big things (like me) a bit less energetic. But this is the time for the smaller life forms to excel, to achieve their life purpose, before the cold weather returns. There are a lot of familiar neighbors out there, and always something new to see as well, be it a different species, a different life stage, or some interesting behavior. All it takes is a little time and a slow meander through the greenery. Here are a few of the latest little things that make life in the woods so interesting…