Virgin Tiger Moth

Posted on August 13, 2021 by tspuckler

While looking under pieces of plywood on an open field in search of snakes, I came upon the pupa of a moth. I took it home and set it up in a little terrarium. A few months later the moth emerged.

The Virgin Tiger Moth is a member of a large group of sometimes dramatically patterned moths who whose fuzzy offspring are called “wooly bears” or “wooly worms.”

Tiger Moths are unusual among moths because they have tymbal organs, which can be used to produce ultrasonic sound. These ultrasonic emanations are thought to startle bats, warn bats to stay away, or to “jam” their bat radar.

The Virgin Tiger Moth is found in woodland and wetland edges, clearings and fields east of the Rocky Mountains, though it’s uncommon in the far South.

Its caterpillars eat bedstraw, clover, lettuce, plantains and other low-growing herbaceous plants. They are often seen in the Fall crossing roads as they look for sheltered areas to overwinter.

In the Spring the caterpillars become active again and begin feeding. After a few weeks they form a pupa and in late Spring or early Summer they will emerge as adults.

The striking stained glass-looking forewings along with the bright underwings, used to scare off predators, make encountering one of these fine insects a memorable experience.

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Chipping Sparrow

Posted on August 6, 2021 by tspuckler

For me sparrows are hard to identify, because they all pretty much look like little brown birds.

But if you look closely, the Chipping Sparrow has a distinctive bright rusty crown, black eyeline and unstreaked grayish belly.

I was lucky enough to come across a Chipping Sparrow nest on a hillside across the street from me this Summer.

The nest is made of woven grass and some hair. The pale blue-green eggs had markings of brown and purple; they took 10 to 12 days to hatch.

These birds favor areas with open lawns and seems to benefit from urban sprawl. They are very common in suburbs, city parks, orchards, pastures, other altered habitats.

Although they are highly migratory, very few spend the Winter in Ohio – these often appear at feeders. (Baby sparrows at 11 days after hatching.)

Chipping Sparrows migrate by night and their flight calls are a characteristic sound of the night sky in spring and fall in the United States. In the warmer months Chipping Sparrows mostly eat insects, including grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles and leafhoppers. In the colder months, they mostly eats seeds.

This bird gets its common name from males, which sing a long, dry trill of evenly spaced, almost mechanical-sounding “chips.” It’s one of the most common sounds of open woods in Spring . (Baby sparrows at 14 days after hatching.)

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Japanese Beetle

Posted on July 30, 2021 by tspuckler

This half-inch insect makes its presence known at this time of the year. It is easy to find in my backyard or while hiking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

It has iridescent copper-colored wing covers and metallic green head and body. A row of white hair-like tufts is present just below their wing covers.

Though not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural predators, in North America, it is a noted pest which attacks rose bushes and a variety of other plants.

Japanese Beetles damage plants by skeletonizing their foliage, eating only the leaf material between the veins; they may also feed on fruit on the plants if present.

Feeding adults release a congregation pheromone with attracts other adults as they emerge later, so that masses of adults gather on unfortunate victim plants.

Japanese Beetles can apparently live anywhere there is sufficient foliage to feed on. They are not limited to forests or grasslands, but often live on farms, cities and even your garden.

It is thought that beetle larvae from this insect entered the United States in a shipment of iris bulbs prior to 1912 (the time when inspections of commodities entering the country began).

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Deptford Pink

Posted on July 23, 2021 by tspuckler

This is not a native plant, but it’s hard not to like it. It native to most of Europe. The name “Deptford Pink” was coined in the 17th century by naturalist Thomas Johnson, who described a pink flower growing in Deptford in South East London.

This species usually grows in full sunlight in dry conditions. It appears to flourish in a clay-loam or gravelly soil that is somewhat compacted and heavy. Hard to identify when not in bloom, its grass-like leaves are up to 3 inches long and 1/8 inch wide and are finely hairy around the edges, especially near the base.

Deptford Pink’s flowers are solitary or in clusters of 3 to 6 at the top of the stem and the occasional branching stem in the upper plant. The nectar of the flowers attracts small butterflies, skippers, long-tongued bees and bee flies. The intensity of their bright pink color masks the great beauty of their extravagant patterning.

Despite the intensity of the coloration, it is interesting to note that the name “pink” probably derives from the loosely serrated edges of the flowers’ petals (think “pinking shears” rather than the color pink).

It is hard to call a flower as dainty and attractive as the Deptford Pink “invasive.” In fact, the skinny-leaved plant usually behaves well, mixing invisibly into the weedy wildflowers and vegetation of dry fields.

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Northern Black Racer

Posted on July 16, 2021 by tspuckler

This speedy snake is native to my home state of Ohio, but seems to be far more common in the southern part of the state and not as often encountered in Cuyahoga County (where I live). It ranges from southern Maine, west to Ohio, and south to Georgia, Alabama and parts of Tennessee.

The Northern Black Racer is an alert, day-active species that despite its Latin name of Coluber constrictor, is not a constrictor – rather it subdues its prey simply by overpowering it.

Its food consists of smaller snakes, lizards, frogs, birds, chipmunks, mice and other small rodents. Juveniles tend to eat mostly such as butterfly and moth larvae, insects and spiders.

This long, shiny, black snake can reach 6 feet in total length, though most adults that I’ve come across range from 3-1/2 to 4 feet. Although this reptile is swift, its top speed is about 8 to 10 miles per hour, about the same as a quick jog.

Upon hatching, juveniles have a dorsal pattern of dark-gray to reddish-brown blotches on a light-gray to brown body. The juvenile’s pattern becomes obscure with age, eventually resulting in an all-black snake.

Northern Black Racers are terrestrial and are found in open, grassy areas. They prefer open, lightly wooded habitats, powerline rights-of-way, roadsides, and transitional zones between forests and fields.

These serpents migrate to their winter dens by late October, often using the same den year after year and sometimes sharing them with other Northern Black Racers as well as other snake species.

Northern Black Racers usually emerge from their dens in Spring and begin breeding shortly afterwards. A clutch averaging 16 eggs is laid in June-July. Egg clutches are hidden under logs or in burrows, where they hatch in August-September. The eggs are distinct in that they have a rather granular texture.

If cornered or agitated, this non-venomous snake may lash out in defense and bite, expel musk or discharge feces. Though its most common way of dealing with a threat it can avoid is to simply race away.

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Greenside Darter

Posted on July 9, 2021 by tspuckler

While exploring a creek near Youngstown, Ohio, I came across one of these neat little fish for the first time. Greenside Darters have an elongated body with a long and rounded snout. Their body typically has U- or W-shaped blotches along the side. They typically grow to be about four inches long.

This fish is an insectivore, mainly feeding on insect larvae, crustaceans and other invertebrates found on the bottom of the waterways that it resides in. The name “darter” refers to the way this fish moves. Rather than swimming like most fish, the darter darts forward then sinks to the bottom.

It does this because its air bladder is greatly reduced, interfering with the darter’s ability to stay afloat. This allows it to live in riffle areas where fish with air bladders would have the disadvantage of floating and being swept away by the water current. When a darter comes to rest, its fins and tail fin prop up its body in sort of a tripod position with its head angled upward.

Greenside Darters primarily live in larger streams with cobble, pebble, and gravel on the streambed. In order to survive, they need waterways with high water quality. Due to this attribute, they are often viewed as an indicator of good water quality.

This was a great and unexpected creature to come across while out and about.

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Eastern Carpenter Bee

Posted on July 2, 2021 by tspuckler

The Eastern Carpenter Bee is the carpenter bee most often encountered in the eastern United States. Similar in size and appearance to a Bumble Bee, the Eastern Carpenter Bee lacks a fuzzy abdomen, though it may have a few short hairs here and there.

These insects can be important pollinators, especially of open-faced flowers, though they are also known to “rob” nectar by boring holes in the sides of flowers (thus not accomplishing pollination). They don’t seem to mind sharing flower patch territory with other varieties of bees.

They sometimes bore holes in wood dwellings (hence the name “Carpenter Bee”) and can become minor pests. They use chewed wood bits to form partitions between the cells in their nests.

Eastern Carpenter bees are not solitary bees, but are not truly social either. The weak form of sociality they exhibit, with one female doing the majority of the work, and caring for her sisters, may be a transitional step in the evolution of sociality.

Though noisy and imposing, males do not possess stingers and females (which have stingers) are not aggressive. Though each male will stake out a small area and defend it from anything that comes near. He’ll attempt to drive off rival bees, other insects, and even animals or people.

This is truly one of the “big bugs” of Summer that is easy to notice.

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Seaside Daisy

Posted on June 25, 2021 by tspuckler

While on the Pacific Coast in April, I came across this cool-looking plant. This wildflower is native to the coastline of Oregon and California where it grows on beaches, coastal bluffs and dunes.

Seaside Daisy is a low-growing perennial, which forms a cushion of semi-double, lavender-to-pink flowers adorned with yellow centers.

This plant blooms for months from mid-spring until late summer, when its blossoms almost cover its leathery foliage of thick, spoon-shaped, blue-green leaves.

Its Latin name is Erigeron glaucus. The name erigeron is from the Greek eri meaning “early” and geron meaning “old man,” referring to the fact that the flowers bloom in spring, then turn gray like hair.

This fine plant is also known as Seaside Fleabane and Beach Aster.

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Snakefly

Posted on June 18, 2021 by tspuckler

While at my friend’s house in California in April, I noticed this cool creature on the screen door. At first I thought that it was a Mantisfly, but closer examination showed it to be an insect that I had never encountered before.

Snakeflies are family of predatory insects. They are a relict group and have been considered living fossils, as species from the early Jurassic period (140 million years ago) closely resemble modern-day species.

An adult Snakefly resembles a Lacewing in appearance, but it has a notably elongated thorax (which look like a neck) which, together with the mobile head, gives the group their common name. Snakeflies have transparent wings that are longer than their actual bodies.

Females (like this one) have a large and sturdy ovipositor. This tubular structure is at the end of the insect’s abdomen and is used for depositing eggs, often in a well-hidden location. It is thought that they lay their eggs in the crevices in the bark of trees.

At less than an inch in total length, adult Snakeflies are territorial and carnivorous organisms. They are diurnal and are important predators of aphids and mites.

This was a very cool and unexpected find on my latest visit to the Golden State.

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Southern Alligator Lizard

Posted on June 11, 2021 by tspuckler

This is a relatively common lizard native to the Pacific Coast of North America. I enjoy seeing it when I visit California.

Their backs are brown with black spots that form numerous bands across the body’s width. They sometimes feature orange, yellow and white markings.

These reptiles live in a variety of habitats. I tend to find them in grassy, brushy, or rocky openings within forested areas. I often find them hidden underneath logs.

The common name “alligator lizard” is a reference to the fact that the back and belly scales of these lizards are reinforced by bone, as they are in alligators.

This creature has small legs and a long, somewhat prehensile tail that can be twice as long as its body. Like many lizards, they can detach their tail deliberately as a defensive tactic; the tail will grow back, although generally not as long as the original.

One interesting characteristic this lizard has is a fold along each of its sides. The folds allows its body to expand to hold food or eggs.

These lizards are thought to be more closely related to snakes than most other species of lizards. Like snakes, they shed their skin in a single intact piece by turning it inside out as they crawl out of it.

The Southern Alligator Lizard eats small arthropods, slugs, lizards, small mammals, and occasionally young birds and eggs.

This a a neat “classic” American reptile that is fun to come across while out herping.

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Tim Spuckler's Blog

Reptile Ramblings and More

Yearly Archives: 2021

Virgin Tiger Moth

Chipping Sparrow

Japanese Beetle

Deptford Pink

Northern Black Racer

Greenside Darter

Eastern Carpenter Bee

Seaside Daisy

Snakefly

Southern Alligator Lizard