Tag Archives: summer

Summer Scenes

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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).

Catching Up

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You are surrounded by gifts every living moment of every day. Let yourself feel appreciation for their presence in your life and take the time to acknowledge their splendor.

~Lou G. Nungesser

It has been a whirlwind summer thus far with work keeping me a little busier than I care to be at times. I have had several opportunities to carry a camera but not as much time as I like to post things or learn more about the many plants and critters I have encountered. So, here is a rambling collection of things I have seen in recent weeks. It is truly amazing how much beauty and wonder surrounds us.

Nessus sphinx moth egg on VA Creeper

Nessus sphinx moth (Amphion floridensis) egg (click photos to enlarge)

One morning during summer camp, I spotted a beautiful Nessus sphinx moth hovering near some Virginia creeper leaves, one of their host plants. The gathered summer campers were able to witness her laying three eggs. I collected one to raise since one egg had only one leaf for the future larva to consume.

Nessus sphinx larva about 2 days after hatching

Nessus sphinx larva two days after hatching

Nessus sphinx larva

Six days later it looks like this…still a long way to go

Walnut sphinx moth just after emergence

Walnut sphinx moth (Amorpha juglandis)

The pupa I shared in an earlier post produced this beautiful walnut sphinx moth about two weeks after the pupa formed.

Swamp milkweed

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Hibiscus flower buds

Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) flower buds

American lotus flower

American lotus flower (Nelumbo lutea)

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Cranefly orchid

Cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor) – the delicate flower stalk appears in late summer, long after the single leaf disappears

I need to spend more time appreciating the incredible flowers that surround me every day…after all, I do work at a botanical garden!

Southern flannel moth

Southern flannel moth (Megalopyge opercularis), the adult of a bizarre, so-called stinging caterpillar, the puss caterpillar (or asp)

Rosy maple moth

A strikingly beautiful rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda)

Clymene moth

Clymene moth (Haploa clymene)

We set out moth lights on a couple of nights the past few weeks and were rewarded with a variety of nocturnal visitors. Shown above are a few of my favorites.

small hellgrammite

Small Eastern dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus) larva (also called a hellgrammite) found under a rock in the swift waters of Morgan Creek

Pickerel frog

Pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris)

Powdered dancer damselfly, male

Powdered dancer damselfly (Argia moesta), male

Margined Madtom 1

Margined madtom, Noturus insignis, a small (~5 inches) catfish found in swift waters like Morgan Creek

One of our favorite summer camp activities is a hike out to Morgan Creek, where we sample a riffle area in this surprisingly pristine Piedmont stream. We always manage to see a variety of interesting creatures including hellgrammites, caddisfly larvae, mayflies, crayfish, and a few species of fish.

Robber fly and moth victim

Robber fly with moth victim

Walnut caterpillar

Walnut caterpillars (Datana integerrima) feeding on hickory leaves

Resident bullfrog

Huge male American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)

Argiope spiders

A pair of female black and yellow argiope spiders (Argiope aurantia) – they are also commonly called writing spiders and garden spiders

Any stroll through the Garden produces a rich variety of sights and sounds. The key is, you have to be out there to enjoy them. So, get outside and see what you can find.