"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.
Aldo Leopold
Yellow-fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)
With the help of a friend, over the last few weeks I’ve been able to get a good start at finding and photographing as many of the 35 +/- orchids that can be found in Missouri. The yellow-fringed orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) is known from only a handful of threatened locations in the state. I was really thankful to be shown these in full bloom where they reside in acidic seeps in St. Francois County.
I had seen rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera pubescens) before, as its wonderful evergreen leaves stand out during winter hikes. This was the first time I’ve seen them in bloom. Photographed in Ste. Genevieve County.
Not the greatest photo of the greatest specimen, but this seemed to be the absolute last grass pink orchid (Calopogon tuberosus) to be found in bloom for the season at this location in St. Francois County.
Here is one of the interesting visitors I had to my black lights at Hawn State Park this summer. Bolitotherus cornutus, or horned fungus beetle is in the darkling beetle family, Tenebrionidae. I wish I knew of their preference for polypore fungi as larvae and adults so that I could have photographed them on more suitable substrate.
Members of WGNSS Entomology and Nature Photography Groups met on June 24th, 2017 to see what interesting insects could be found. In this post I am sharing a few of the more interesting that I was able to get photographs of during the day. The find of the day had to be the Cerambycid pictured above that was, by no surprise, found by Ted MacRae.
Delta Flower Scarab
We found that blooms were a great way to find beetles. It is easy to see how the delta flower scarab (Trigonopeltastes delta) got its name.
Flower Longhorn
Cerambicids like this flower longhorn can readily be found on blooms.
Banded Netwing
The banded netwing beetle (Calopteron reticulatum) are easy to find, often located in the open atop vegetation. They rely on aposematic coloration to advertise that they carry aboard chemical compounds that make them a distasteful meal.
Agapostemon sp
The Hymenoptera were well represented on blooms of wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), Queen Ann’s lace (Daucus carota) and as pictured above, fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica). I find the native bees to be tricky to identify by photographs, but I believe this can be placed in the genus Agopostemon. These bees nest in the ground and to promote them, leave patches of soil exposed somewhere in your yard.
Not to leave out the Leps, this double-toothed prominent moth larvae was found. These guys have developed very effective camouflage that allows them to blend in and resemble the toothed, wavy margins of their elm (Ulmus) host plants.
During our search for insects at Council Bluff Lake, the WGNSS Nature Photography Group stumbled upon this cooperative and gravid female northern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthus). She allowed our close inspection as she attempted to bask and warm herself on a rock.
Black Carpenter Ants Feasting On Ring-necked Snake
This series was taken on the joint outing of the WGNSS Entomology and Nature Photography Groups at Council Bluff Lake. Here we have eastern black carpenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) feeding on a freshly dead ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus).
Black Carpenter Ants Feasting On Ring-necked SnakeBlack Carpenter Ants Feasting On Ring-necked Snake
Along with finding the typical rarities that everyone looks for during spring migration, I will not count spring as arriving until I lay eyes on a male Blackburnian Warbler. This past Saturday, not only did Miguel and I find my prize at Carondelet Park, but I got my best photos to date of this tree-top dwelling, piece of greased lighting.
Blackburnian Warbler, Carondelet Park, May 2017
With a throat this bright and luminous, a song that is so high-pitch that dogs aren’t safe for blocks and a never resting habit, more than one birder has assumed these guys must be powered by a battery. Seriously, there’s a reason these guys eat all day long. They have to!
Blackburnian Warbler, Carondelet Park, May 2017
Well, hopefully I might have another before the season has completed springing. If not, I’ll always have something to look forward to next year.
Miguel Acosta and I decided, along with many other birders and bird photographers, to head to Tower Grove Park to check out the latest migrant action. Although the migrant songbirds were overall pretty disappointing, the morning was surely not a bust for me as I was able to photograph my 282nd species in Missouri and contiguous states – the Veery.
Veer!
This guy’s polyphonic vocalizations have been among my favorite of bird songs for a long time. On the rare occasion these guys sound off during migration, the songs come from a deep thicket and I rarely get to lay eyes on the songster. The beauty of migrant traps like Tower Grove and Carondelet Park in the heart of the city is being able to get great looks at these northern nesters.
