[image-4] As the fall days contract and weather cools, the insect world, too, shrinks. I see a few largish dragonflies, mostly shadow darners (Aeshna umbrosa) and they’re showing wear. I suspect they are what I call a “relict population.” Unlike aging humans, they can contribute nothing further to the survival of their species so they […]
Science
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Halloween Spiders
With Halloween in mind, I set about looking for something creepy to photograph. According to some recent research, we humans are apparently programmed from a very early age to react to spiders and snakes. Looking for something dramatic to shoot, camera and flashlight in hand, I took a nocturnal tour of my backyard. This the […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: The Ins and Outs, Pros and Cons, and Nuts and Bolts of Collecting Insects
Lately, events have me laboring at the tedious process of “pinning” a few insects. I typically prefer to photo document, but the tiger moth was nearly dead when I found it and I felt it would have been a waste just to let it decay away. The scorpion and velvet ant were from out of […]
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HumBug: October Dragonflies and Butterflies
I started looking for one of my favorite dragonflies, the pale faced clubskimmer (Brechmorhoga mendax), in July. That’s when my files showed them flying along the flat stretches of the river where I see them dipping the tip of their abdomens into the water, depositing eggs. This year the first I’ve seen were in mid […]
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HumBug: Autumnal Potpourri
As the days get shorter and the nights colder, many insect species have attained their adult phases. With one important exception, it is only in the adult phase that winged species get their fully developed wings and can reproduce. After spending a year or two as water breathing larvae, mayflies (order Ephemeroptera) make their way […]
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HumBug: Orange is the New Butterfly
The local butterfly population is showing its fall colors and orange is the order of the day. Woodland skippers (Ochlodes sylvanoides), Mylitta crescent (Phyciodes mylitta) and California tortoise shells (Nymphalis californica) are all on display. The tortoise shells are particularly interesting. I’ve been seeing them for a week or so now, and they are always […]
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HumBug: Dragonflies and Caterpillar
There are two things I enjoy about studying insects. The first is its predictability. Checking my files I found it was time for the common green darner to migrate through here. This year I’ve seen almost no dragonflies. I suspect it is because “my” spot on the river was discovered by several folks with ATVs, […]
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You Otter be a Citizen Scientist
One doesn’t have to go far to see local river otters in the wild. Just take a walk out on the Trinidad pier and you’re likely to see one swimming in the harbor. But the best time is when local sport fishermen return to the floating dock below the pier to clean their catches. On […]
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HumBug: Autumn is Here
Late in the year, sources of nectar are scarce and those species that depend on it concentrate around the dwindling resource. Wild anise, a few thistles and other small flowers support that insect population and therefore increase an photographer’s opportunities to see species often dispersed over a much larger area, so a short walk along […]
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HumBug: Why No Cricket Choruses?
I recently got a question from a reader as to why he didn’t hear the grand evening choruses of crickets he had gotten used to in other places. Like much in nature, while the question may be simple the answer is not. According to Dolbear’s Law, the chirp rate of a given cricket can be […]
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HumBug: Oregon Bugs
Although my primary reasons for going to Oregon were visiting family and eclipse watching, I did manage to get in a little bug hunting as well. One of the nice things about the hobby is you can do it nearly anywhere outside of Antarctica. Central Oregon’s high desert is a far cry from our coastal […]
