The rest of the bugs and a few other critters... Willowbrook Wildlife Center - 6.18.11, post 2

So here are the rest of the bugs and the amphibians I saw when I was out last weekend.

The firey skippers are making their way back out.  I know there were scads of them at the South Pond last year, but I haven't seen them out there yet.  This was the only skipper I found at WWC.  But the summer's young. :)

 When I shot this, I thought it was an ant, it was so small. There's a reason for that - it's called (from what I could find in the research, though, oy, this was not easy!) it's called an Ant Spider, or an Ant Mimic Spider. Photographically speaking, I love the starkness of the red and black against the white rocks.  (And for the record, yes, I lumped the arachnid in with the insects.)

I'm pretty sure this is a Cabbage White butterfly.  No spots on the outsides of the wings, black tips on the inside.

 And with the nice warm weather came some really fun spottings.  Bullfrogs!  Lots of bull frogs.  Many, many of them heard me long before I saw them and lept into the water before I could get at all close.  Those guys have some stretch.  Some were hitting the water about ten feet out from the banks!

 This guy was not at all afraid of me.  He watched me as I watched him.  He even sat there while I changed the data card in my camera (timing is everything).

 And in case you couldn't see the one in the water, they're good sized frogs.  I'd guess five inches, nose to vent.  Probably over a foot when you stretch out those monster back legs.

 Which puts these guys in really, really stark contrast.  First of all, they're insanely small.  Probably 1 cm nose to vent.  Maybe 2 with their legs.

These little buggers are making me insane.  I cannot figure out what they are.  They're *probably* toads.  The skin is rough and dry and when I walked near them, they scattered, but I don't remember seeing or hearing even one of them going into the water.

 I love the false eyes on the back of their heads.  I also find it interesting that his eyes are flush with his head.  Most frogs have those, well, you know... frog eyes where their eyes sit on top of their heads so they can leave just their eyes above the surface of the water and keep an eye out for lunch.  His eyes on on the sides more than the top.

I was even able to find an itty-bitty tadpole committee.  They have stripes on their tales that will be the stripes on their legs and spots on the bodies of both the tadpoles and the adults.





Okay, one last post on this trip tomorrow. :)  For today, little tiny frogs/toads and ant spider are added to the list which gives me 41 new species for the year.  Almost there!

Volo Bog - 9.04.10 - Post 2

  So like I said yesterday, it was really windy when I was shooting.  So even though some of the animals and plants were being pretty cooperative, it was still a tough shoot when the winds picked up.  On the flip side, it did make the insects want to stay on the plants to avoid being blown half way to Oz.

Bee Examines Loosestrife

One of the clearest shots of a bee's face I've gotten.  Getting their backs is pretty easy.  I get the impression a lot of the time that if you're behind them, you aren't of interest, so they keep doing what they're doing.  But if they can see you they tend to take off.  Yes, they have stingers, but I'm probably about one million times their body weight or something.

Bending Bee

Here he is again.  I've never seen a bee 'bend at the waist' before.

Hover Fly on Arrow Root

 I think in a previous post I may have labeled this insect as a wasp, but further digging has me coming up with the fact that it's a Hover Fly.

Arrowroot, Flies Right (and Left)

As I was watching, he got a friend. :)

Goldenrod Reaches Out

This is a goldenrod branch in very bright light (so I could use a very fast shutter) in very strong wind.  It reminds me of the kid who realizes they're shooting the news near him so he starts sticking his head or hand into the frame, just because he can.

White-Faced, Faced Away

Alright, I can't see his face, but I'm pretty sure this is a White-Faced Meadowhawk, he has the white tail-tip of the species.  He's smaller than the Red Saddlebags, and has, you know, no saddlebags.  He's also smaller than the Band-Winged Meadowhawk and doesn't have the brown patches on his wings.  So, deduction leaves me with White-Faced Meadhowhawk.  He's a perfect example of what I was saying when I said some of the insects and animals found a place to cling to and held on for dear life as the wind picked up.

Not the Gator You Thought I Was

 What do you see?  I saw a very small alligator, which, this being Northern Illinois was pretty improbable, but I did a double take!  It's a bit of duckweed on a piece of reed.

Home-making, Spider-Style

 This appears to be a Common House Spider.  She was busily spinning her web as I watched.  (Now if I could just do *something* about the spider that's living in my wing mirror, who makes a new beautiful web after every time I drive my car, but keeps hiding in the mirror housing, so I can't relocate her to somewhere more stable.)

Leopard Frog Tadpole (Can we get another Animal in there?)

 There were two of the three frog species I found in my last post.  Here's a tadpole of one of those frogs.  Go figure, it's a Southern Leopard Frog Tadpole.  Even as a tad his spots are obvious.

Telling Polliwog Tails

 And here's what happens when he starts to grow up!  I actually contacted some herpetologist friends of mine because I was worried that there was some kind of mutation happening here.  I'm not used to seeing a frog with such well developed limbs and frog face-structure with so much tail.  I've been assured it's what's called a polliwog and he's perfectly normal.  (If a bit odd looking. :)

Business End of a Wasp

And then there was this.  A really cool picture of a Yellow-Jacket's backside.  The details of his stripes are clear as is the veining of his wings.









Okay, about half-way done I think. As I got going around the tamarack forest I got some really amazing landscapes.  Not my usual fare, but some really amazing pictures. :)