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@vernal3.bsky.social

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Naturalist (no AI or kill pics). Lesbian. Buddhist (trying). My dog’s human. Evolutionary Biologist . US & Argentina. Activist. 🌍 🏳️‍🌈 , civil/animal rights. DEMOCRACY.💙 SAME ISSUES/HIGHER STAKES! RESIST->SPEAK OUT the WAY.✊🏽 ☸️. Humor 🤙🏽 NO “Pack” w/o ask

Spring peeper crossing road during migrations to breeding pools and here in Western Massachusetts
A beauty. Black-edged Prominent Moth ( Americerura scitiscripta). Tinges of purple & teal in the bands.
American beaver tail slapping to warn off unwanted folks. They are very territorial, especially the females.
A mid Autumn flower surprised me as I kayaked the slow back area of a large pond. Water Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis scorpioides). It has 5 sky blue petals with a yellow center. It was introduced to NA from Europe or Asia. Here, it’s seen in its floating mat form.
Spring is slow this year, here. Freak wet snow this morning. Chickadees, titmice, juncos (soon migrating), mourning doves, goldfinches, Woodpeckers: Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, Carolina wren, Eastern Phoebe, &, of course, cardinals. Life is waking up, under leaves & bark, in soil. Western Massachusetts
Millipedes first appeared in the fossil record 400 million years ago and are some of the first animals to have lived on land. North American millipedes sense their environment using their antennae, which can taste food, smell odors, feel, measure temperature, find water, and sense pheromones. Their Tömösváry organs, found at the base of the antennae, specifically measure humidity and possibly act as chemoreceptors. In addition, they have eyes on either side of the head which detect light and movement. Potential mates communicate using pheromones and silk trails. Info. from iNaturalist
Argus Northern Caddisfly (Hydatophylax argus). One of the most distinctive of the innumerable #caddisfly species with bold wing patterns & veins. Caddisfly adults are terrestrial, larvae are aquatic. NE N. America. NE US 6.5.23
Witch’s butter (possibly), Tremella mesenterica. On small fallen birch branch in moist forest. Still early Spring 4/4/25 NE US
A Pug Moth larva (caterpillar) (Eupethecia) on a Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) flower. The caterpillar is small, slender, colored a lime green with backwards slanting hatch marks on its back. NE US July 2022. Bright spot on a rainy day here.
Hot off press. Resolution not great . . . but timing was right. Largest concentration of fairy shrimp ( #Eubranchipus) I’ve ever seen. These are likely E. vernalis, the only one of 2 Massachusetts species not listed. Many males; no brood pouches? Early season? March 26, 2025.
A Common Snipe Fly (Rhagio mystaceus). Pretty common in eastern N. America but I just like the front mirrored pic so posted. Also shows how interesting flies can be. The posterior abdomen has 3 yellow rings & the wings are patterned in black & light yellow bands. NE US May 2024
The best views are at the beginning, & at the end where the male nips the female’s tail. Fairy shrimp swim upside down & appear briefly in early Spring. The male, distinguished by his claspers which he uses to hold the female during copulation, & larger head, is seen throughout the video. The female, is distinguished by her brood pouch. When ready, the eggs fall to the pool bottom & can withstand long periods of desiccation. Here, she gets a little tail nip at the end. They are vernal pool obligates; they can only survive in vernal pools. April 18, 2023
Male (red abdomen) Habronattus decorus jumping spider not sure whether to do a stare-down or call it a day. Edge of wet meadow. Common, mostly northern N. America. NE US August 2024
I played with some editing features (to compensate for my camera & skill ;-) to get the “real” full moon eclipse that I saw (& posted below). It was so deeply bright & alive.
Darkened version of the Blood Moon lunar eclipse near peak at 2:09. In real time it was like umber/orange.
Female & male Red-shouldered hawks seconds after mating. The smaller male will often hang out near the female for a couple of minutes before they go on to other things. I read they are monogamous & mate for life. That’s the feeling I get as they have mated in this area for 27+ years, 4 of those in a maple by my house when I had chickens. Their prey include snakes, aquatic vertebrates, small (sometimes larger) vertebrates (moles, gophers, etc). They will not abide another Red-shouldered in their territory. They often soar & vocalize in thermals overhead. A delight to watch.
First sighting in Massachusetts ( #iNaturalist). Tomoxia lineella, a Tumbling Flower Beetle. Striped abdomen; brown & pastel elytra markings. A member of F. Mordellidae whose tumbling jumps to escape predators have been clocked at 80 ms long each.
A leafhopper. Gyponana (maybe) procera. Green, like many Gyponana, with patchwork venation. Orange eyes & spiky legs to spread various secretions on itself.
Beautiful Lettered Habrosyne Moth (Habrosyne scripta). Forewings have a series of undulating, fine dark lines on their forewings. Endemic N. America. NE US June 2023
Northern Ringneck snake found under tarp covering cordwood. NE US August 2023. Nocturnal so not often seen but common.
Evens’ Plume Moth. Uncommon. Eastern N. America. Wide, furcated wings distally, dark brown & cream abdomen; same for distal forewings. Spiky looking appendages; also with some dark brown/white striping.
Two-colored Bolete. Red capped & stemmed mushroom of deciduous woods. Common in N. America, Nepal (where it is often eaten) & China. Having 2 populations widely separated like this is called a Grayan disjunction. Apparently a common phenomenon in fungi.
A male Arabesque Orbweaver spider (Neoscona arabesca). Common. In goldenrod leaf crook. Mixed field.
Acrotaphus wiltii, an inchneumid wasp. Late season. Female with long ovipositor. Amber wings with large black stripe mid-dorsal & posterior. 8/31/24
Male Giant Eastern Crane Fly. Beautiful striped abdomen & wings with pale patches bounded by dark brown areas. NE US September 22, 2024
Newly emerged (teneral) Canada Darner on birch tree by the brook where its nymph probably came from.
Basswood Leafroller Moth. Beautiful patchwork lines on iridescent gold.
Anotia uhleri. A Derbid plant hopper of eastern N. America. Beautiful spattered red, maroon, brown markings on transparent amber wings.
Telamona reclivata, a species of treehopper scattered throughout eastern N. America. Their frontal bulb, tapering dorsally, is shaped to help camouflage them upon the trees they use. Like a thorn or broken-off twig.
Maple Spanworm moth. Orange with innumerable dark camouflaging dots. September 2024 in New England USA. Perfectly adapted to temperate forest biome.
Dineutus ciliatus. Northernmost sighting of this whirligig species to-date.
Female common stonefly, Perlesta with egg mass about to be deposited.
Clymene Moth with forewings outstretched. View of dorsal hind wings.
Ring-necked Snake found under plank during an August day. Small, secretive, nocturnal.
Jane Goodall speaking of hope.
Unusual bi & trifurcated frond tips on Christmas fern.
Mating monarch’s butterflies on pine tree sapling.
Female potter wasp building a mud nest.
Spotted salamander with spermatophores. Early Spring vernal pool.
Wood frogs in amplexus. Male fertilizes as female lays the egg mass.
Waved Sphinx Moth. Very large.
Two arion slugs mating with white sperm packet between them.
Furia ithacensis on Snipe fly