Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Emerging Eastern Hognose Snake - Heterodon platirhinos


Thanks to Mike Phillips from Orange for calling me and telling me about the emerging Hognose snakes he discovered today while walking in Quabbin. I have seen more Hognose snakes today than I've seen in the last 20 years. Four!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story
dave@dhsmall.net
http://dhsmall.blogspot.com/

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Wall - Moth season winds down

For the last 2 summers I have been operating my Mercury Vapor light on most any warm night where I have the chance to check it through the evening. Moths being night beasts they often are showing up long after I should be in bed. But the lure of discovering something new outweighs the logical impulse for a full nights sleep.

The season for moths evolves like it does for many taxa. I admit to only focusing on the larger or more colorful well marked species. Spring and early Summer are filled with nights of Giant Silk Moths soon followed by Sphinx moths named for thier various food plants: Laurel, Virginia Creeper, and Northern Pine Sphinx.

The group that has really tickled my fancy this year are the Underwing Moths of the genus Catocala These guys somehow eluded my discovery last year and have been high on my "want to see list" all year. First of all they don't seem to fly until August which this year coincided with the first dry nights of the summer. Second they have a tendancy to not show up until after the Red Sox have completed a 12 inning night game...
8801 Catocala ilia - Ilia Underwing


But they are worth the wait with such common names as: Inconsolable, Dejected, Widow, Sad, Graceful, Wayward, Girlfriend, and Once Married they certainly have caught the imagination of early entomologists. We are fortunate to have the leading expert on this genus living right here in Massachusetts. The definitive work on the group is:  Legion of Night: The Underwing Moths by Theodore D. Sargent (Dec 1976). I first saw Ted in 1970 or so at UMass where Mass Audubon held the conference "Focus Outdoors" a weekend of  talks on all sorts of natural history subjects. At the time I was still pretty much following birds but was drawn to the engaging talk where I learned of some different uses for Dad's stale beer. Underwings can be attracted not only by lights but by an aromatic concoction of stale beer (actually yeasty micro brews are best) some brown sugar, Bananas, and other over ripe fruit, left to get pretty well fermented then smeared on tree trunks to await the evening moths...

Well so far my baiting for Moths has been less than productive but I have seen a half dozen species of Catacola so far. My latest is: 8805 -- Once-married Underwing Moth -- Catocala unijuga


It may be near the end of the moth season for us here in Athol but I'll still check on those warm Indian summer nights just to see what might show up.

For another look at Catacola's in Massachusetts see bill Oehlke's web site. Bill has been invaluable in helping me identify not only Catacolas but many of the Sphinx moths. Always if trying to identify moths from your pictures try the Moth Photographers Group and of course BugGuide for more help. Now time to go check the "Wall" one last time before hitting the rack... I may be back

http://dhsmall.blogspot.com/
Addendum

The Betrothed - Catocala innubens
No sooner had I hit the "Post" button and headed out for one last look at "The Wall" when I spotted this interesting speciman. The Betrothed! I will hate to see the hard frosts ahead as they will end my fascination with "The Wall" for this year...

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Saturday, September 19, 2009

Smooth Green Snake


Friday was one of those magic fall days. The foliage of Red Maples showing subtle shades of pink and yellow around wetlands. Clear bue skies dotted with occasional fair weather clouds hide the distant shapes of Broad-winged Hawks and Accipiters.
   Over the last couple years I have placed a few cover boards, 2' X 4' pieces of plywood in managed fields at Quabbin. These boards have been used by researchers to monitor many species of vertebrates including snakes and salamanders. These boards for the most part are great for attracting crickets and ants, fun for some of us, but a pain for budding herpetologists. One board out of all the ones I have placed has been a gold mine of snake encounters. Snakes including Common Garter Thamnophis sirtalis, Ring-necked Diadophis punctatus and Brown Storeria dekayi have all been found under this particular board in 2009. This time lifting the board produced the awesome sight of this Smooth Green Snake Opheodrys vernalis.


It has been a couple years since my last sighting of this species. Growing up in Royalston I encountered them often around the yard at Tully Dam. I would see them in the overgrown lawn when mowing and the pattern of the cutting would show the swerve as I moved to miss these little guys in their escape. Intensive mowing, domestic animals, and general habitat loss have taken their toll on these beautiful creatures and now I am thrilled to find even one of these emerald jewels.

I would be interested to recieve images and location information on snakes in the Central Massachusetts. Hognose Snakes Heterodon platirhinos is of particular interest as they are now hard to find in many historic locations. Remember to always report observations of state listed species to MNHESP

There are still warm days left and time to have our last looks at our reptile friends before they disappear for winter.

dave@dhsmall.net
http://dhsmall.blogspot.com/
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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Summer passes in The yard

Its been really great to watch the yard mature over the summer. The pond I originally thought was a vernal pool, when constructed last April, has blossumed into thriving mini ecosystem. Tadpoles of all forms, diving Beetkles Whirlygigs, Odonates laying eggs in the newly planted Pickeralweed... A lot of fun to watch... All the rain was hopefully abnormal and next year it will perhaps be a vernal pool. But no complaints here.
The hundreds of Gray Tree Frog tadpoles have matured. Many have succumbed to the visiting Great Blue Heron or the Blue Jays and Crows that spent time near the waters edge. Now the survivers can be seen on any day one spends the time to look. The tiny green metamorphs slowly taking on adult coloration and growing noticably each week.
One of the great things about deciding to leave a section of the back yard unmowed is seeing the late summer asters, goldenrods and other wildflowers overgrowing the grasses. The second much more plentiful, brood of Pecks Skippers is flying. American Copper, Great-spangled Fritillary, and American lady butterflies are all taking advantage of the combination of planted ornamental and the wild flower patches. All this life has brought along a few predators as well. No less than 5 Argiope aurantia - Yellow Garden Spiders grace the patches of tall flowers, while wasps of many species including the a female Velvet Ant were observed this past Monday as friends Lynn Harper, Eric Eaton, Jen Carlno and Nancy Goodwin cruised the yard with Shelley and I. (all of us "Entomologist Mimics" as Jen would say) Striped Garden Caterpillar - Trichordestra legitima (above) was observed feeding on Asters as were several Cucullia asteroides - Goldenrod Hooded Owlet caterpillar (below). It never ceases to amaze me what wonderful new animals we can find so close to home 



dave@dhsmall.net
http://dhsmall.blogspot.com/
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Saturday, September 5, 2009

Watching Whales


One of the best things about New England is the proximity of so many varied habitats. This summer has been one for cloudy skies interspersed with torrential rains... At least that is how it seemed. As August turned to September the skies have cleared and fantastic warm dry weather has prevailed. Time to get out and enjoy it!
One of the summer adventures Shelley and I had been hoping to take part in came to pass this Friday, a trip to Stellwagen Bank. My sister Diane and nephew Sean arrived from Virginia to visit and joined by my other sister Ruth and husband Wayne we all embarked on a noon Whale Watch out of Long Warf in Boston.
The speedy catamaran ferried the 300 passengers to the edge of the Bank in less than an hour where a fleet of small fishing boats were observed. Among the small vesseles there were several Humpbacked Whales basking near the surface and lazily rolling in the quiet waters.
Of course I was also interested in any pelagic birds I could glean from vast waters and was not dissapointed as Greater Sheatwaters, Northern Gannet, Wilson Storm Petrals and several terns past by the boat as we searched for more Whales. We observed more than a half dozen different Humpbacked Whales and the much smaller Minke Whales also made appearences.
This was a great way to spend a family outing, enjoying the views of Boston and her harbor Islands, seeing a great show of the spectacular marine mammals and an assortment of birds, and catching up with family matters in the warm sunshine... But not the least of all was a post trip stop at Legal Seafoods for some great local cousine. The Bluefish and Grilled Scallops was wonderful supplemented with a nice Sam Adams Octoberfest. I want it on record that I actually left the comfort of Central Massachusetts to look at something other than insects... And enjoyed it immensly. Maybe next time I might even venture west of the Connecticut River...

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