Black and White Beauty

This handsome, mature caterpillar appeared whilst I was cleaning a few things outside. It's native to eastern North America, and will become a tiger moth, known as the Hickory Tussock Moth, Lophocampa caryae.

It's got some pretty serious hairs along its body as part of its defense strategy. The hairs are dislodged easily and are barbed so they attach to a predator, causing irritation to the skin. When the caterpillar spins its cocoon, it incorporates some of these hairs into the casing, too, so picking up leaves that have cocoons on them can also lead to a skin reaction.

I love that it looks as if there are a series of faces all along its body, with the end one looking like a fire-breathing dragon with its long protruding hairs out front.

Blue Dasher

Whilst enjoying our dock after a swim, we noticed two beautiful dragonflies mating, which we see often near the water. The male had turquoise eyes, and a pale blue body; the female was a drab grey. There is a short dark edge to the front of each set of wings. These are skimmers called Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis)

Once the copulation was over, the female went directly to our enclosed water garden within our dock area, and began dipping her abdomen down towards the water, laying her eggs, one at a time. While she was doing this, her mate hovered in the vicinity, guarding their investment. He chased off another male when it came near.

I don't know how the female knew when there were no more eggs to lay, but she promptly flew off and we didn't see her again. The territorial male seemed to linger a bit longer.

This is a male Blue Dasher using my toe as a perch. 

Pollinator Magnet

Pollinators all:

Hummers, moths, flies, wasps, and bees 

Enjoying Joe Pye.

Trails

What do you think has made this distinct trail through our yard?

Our resident Red squirrel! She runs the same route back and forth to get seeds from us. It must be an eye-catching clue for any predator - just sit and wait ...

The Culprit!

Small Bur-reed

I was very excited to have found yet another Bur-reed this season, which I think is the Small, or Arctic, Bur-reed, Sparganium natans, found in slow-moving, peaty waters. 

Like other bur-reeds, it's wind pollinated, producing male and female reproductive structures separately on the same stalk - the male flowers are at the top.

Short Lived Beauty

A few nights ago, we noticed a large moth at dusk, but it was flying high and not landing for us to see it well enough. Today this beautiful moth was found lying on the ground, similar in size to what we think we saw. It's a native Polyphemous moth, Antheraea polyphemus, which only lives about a week, enough time to mate. It doesn't need to eat during this short lived life stage.

Isn't it a beauty! 

Purple Pickerelweed

Tall spires of purple

Composed of tiny flowers

With cheeky faces

Island Escape

I set off in my kayak to pick blueberries on an island I know is full of opportunities to do so, and was gone for almost 5 hours!  This time, in trying not to be too late like last year, I was way too early for wild blueberries. I must have come home with 3/4 cup worth only. I must say though, that there was so much to see and enjoy, that I didn't mind coming home almost empty-handed.

I beached on the narrow stretch of dry land between lily ponds.

and proceeded to look for dusty-blue berries, but most were still green. I watched a heron watch me though, and I reveled in the Loon and Bald Eagle cries that punched through the persistent red-winged blackbird trills. A Barred Owl called as well - what a day!

The views from this natural narrow blind are amazing - I felt as if I owned everything I could see ...

except that, it seemed as if this spot was already 'taken.' I thought it might be moose ... so I found myself searching "what does moose poop look like?" and discovered that 'moose feces range from completely loose to a cow patty look to large, lumpy turds' (Alaska wildlife). So, I'm going with that - it wasn't full of berries and seeds, as I'd expect from bear scat; this was all green material inside, which I decided not to post (you'll thank me!).

I was pleased to come across this dainty little American Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) in flower - I find the leaf vein patterns quite beautiful.

I was sad to see a lot of litter left here by other human visitors - what a shame we leave such a trashy 'signature'. Next time, I'll be sure to bring a collecting bag to deal with the trash.

I'll have to get my timing right, though and go back there again before it's too late to harvest the fruit.

Pretty Critter

This little caterpillar caught my eye in the lawn - it's the larval form of a moth species I photographed in June 2023, the pink-striped oakworm moth, Anisota virginiensis, another welcome native.

This is the adult form of this silk moth, which lays its eggs on the underside of oak leaves for its young to forage on.

Blueberry Eyes

I noticed this very different looking dragonfly on the steps as I was carrying my groceries from the car. I dropped everything to get my phone out before it flew off.

It's a damselfly that is native to eastern North America, a Slender Spreadwing, Lestes rectangularis. Its wings are distinctively short, which makes it stand out from the rest.

Its large, bulging, blue eyes look like blueberries to me! I love the glossy, bronze look to its abdomen.

Striped Study

A study in stripes, or a Venetian cat?

Pollinators Abound

 

A Dun Skipper visits a Daisy Fleabane

A Progressive Bee Fly (Exoprosopa decora) visiting a Coneflower

A Skipper on Stokes' Aster

Bee Balm Beauty

The central part of this Bee Balm flower is what yesterday's details were all about

The Hummingbirds love these natives, and they are resistant to deer browsing - what's not to love?

Details, Details

What can this be?

Celery sticks? Peppermint candy canes? A kaleidoscope?

Answer ... tomorrow!

Helpful Bur-reeds

Bur-reeds act as important filters at the interface between land and water. Like other wetland plants, they absorb nitrogen, phosphorus and other particulate pollutants in runoff and sediments before they're washed into the water body. Wetland plants have adapted to survive in these areas of low soil oxygen.

The infertile parts of the plant are usually submersed and resemble a grass, but the reproductive structures stand up out of the water in a bold display.

Two commonly found species in Lake Arrowhead are Sparganium emersum (Unbranched Bur-reed), a circumboreal species, and Sparganium americanum (American Bur-reed), a species limited to the United States and Canada. They're part of the cat-tail family.

Joe Pye

Joe Pye Weed stands regal and tall in the afternoon sun after a heavy rainstorm.

This tall, long-blooming wildflower attracts many insects and is also deer resistant.

According to research done by Pearce & Pringle, 2017, the plant's common name is also the nickname given to Joseph Shauquethqueat, a Mohican chief from MA and NY. They found no substantiation of the legend that it was named for a Native American herbalist who used the plant to help Colonists suffering from Typhus.

Light Enchantment

Enchanting ribbons

Of light float flirtatiously

Above the water

A Bladder Snail

I found this small dark snail on a piece of rope in our lake, and it was a new species to me. It appears to be a bladder snail, an air breathing snail that lives in freshwater, common throughout the Americas. They have a small chamber between their shells and their body, in which air becomes trapped and oxygen is assimilated. They must therefore climb plants or float to the surface for air on a regular basis.

They have a left handed spiral, referred to as sinistral, and no operculum (trapdoor). They feed on detritus, as well as diatoms and algae. Physidae

they have a cavity in the shell that is used for gas exchange. Most species maintain a bubble of air in the cavity, and occasionally refresh it at the surface of the water. A few species fill the cavity with water, and live without ever approaching the surface.I love how its antennae make it look like a wild steer! The snail's eyes are situated at the base of these tentacles, which cannot be withdrawn.

they have a cavity in the shell that is used for gas exchange. Most species maintain a bubble of air in the cavity, and occasionally refresh it at the surface of the water. A few species fill the cavity with water, and live without ever approaching the surface.

they have a cavity in the shell that is used for gas exchange. Most species maintain a bubble of air in the cavity, and occasionally refresh it at the surface of the water. A few species fill the cavity with water, and live without ever approaching the surface.

they have a cavity in the shell that is used for gas exchange. Most species maintain a bubble of air in the cavity, and occasionally refresh it at the surface of the water. A few species fill the cavity with water, and live without ever approaching the surface.

Never Stop Exploring ...

Oh wow! I was looking closely at the seeds on an aquatic plant in my water tray, using a magnifying loupe, when this amazing and unknown miniscule little blob floated by. When I saw its structure under magnification, it of course sparked a major inquiry and investigation into what it could be ... and it got me really enthused!

 

The most plausible explanation and photos I could find, was that it's likely a Bryozoan statoblast, an asexual mass of cells that is shed from the parent colony. It can remain dormant for quite some time, but is able to develop into a zooid and start a new colony when conditions become favorable. This clonal technique is unique to freshwater bryozoans.

Here is a close up of the hard core, and the little spines around its edges

And then it grows into a colony of invertebrate filter feeders like this, which can get really large and heavy, weighing several pounds.

 Oh man! If I hadn't been focusing on the seed details of the pondweed, I'd never have known such a thing existed. What an amazing find, and I just stumbled on it by chance! I'm so glad I stopped and investigated that seemingly innocuous blob - so exciting!

Dragonfly

Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia)

I was happy to share a sunny spot with this handsome specimen, also known as a long-tailed skimmer. With time, its abdomen will become whiter and less blue.

They breed in lakes and ponds, and feed on aquatic larvae.

Heat Stress

Some of my plants are looking quite heat stressed this summer, so I decided to photograph some of the different manifestations of it, when this cute little critter inserted itself into my shot, quite by accident. I was aiming at the black-edged Wild ginger leaf.

This poor Sensitive fern is taking some strain in the burning heat we've had this summer - but it's made a pretty pattern of it!

Burnt to a crisp! Poor Coneflower

Jewelweed is drooping. but other plants look fine.