Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Summer insects - Part 4

Suddenly September!

Although the bulk of summer has come and gone, we still have many summer insects in the city. Below are some recent favorites. 

Trigger warning: there are some (non-insect) spider photos at the end of the post.

Cute little Skipper in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn:

SKipper.

Skipper.

This is a Common Meadow Katydid nymph on Governors Island. It's extremely tiny - barely the size of my pinky nail. As they were jumping around in the grass, they looked like fleas.

Meadow Katydid nymph.

Meadow Katydid nymph.

Check out the enormously long antennae on this one. The insect was so small, I didn't see the antennae until I enlarged my photo.

Meadow Katydid nymph.

Pretty emerald-colored Sweat Bee:

Sweat Bee.

This Long-Legged Fly is another tiny creature, but is really beautiful when viewed close up.

Long-Legged Fly.


Green Bottle Fly.

Common Buckeye butterfly:

Common Buckeye butterfly.

Common Buckeye butterfly.

Common Buckeye butterfly.

A pair of Eastern Pondhawks mating. The male is the blue one up top, and the female is bright green and has her abdomen curled under the male. They will then take off from this perch and the male will dip the female into the water so she can lay her eggs.

Eastern Pondhawks mating.

These dragonflies were laying eggs in one of the water features at Green-Wood Cemetery. As they did this, turtles who were lurking below the water's surface would snatch them. This kept happening, but I wasn't able to get a photo as the turtles were so quick...and terrifying!

Female Pondhawk:

Female Eastern Pondhawk.

This is a Marl Pennant Skimmer and was not seen in NYC, but further south when I took a trip. They generally do not venture north of Virginia in the East.

Marl Pennant Skimmer.

 
Spiders below...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I wait all year to find these little guys, and this year, I found more than I ever have before, which I hope is a good sign. These are Bold Jumpers, and they are also only about the size of my pinky nail.

Bold Jumper.

Bold Jumper.

They noticed me right away and would skitter away if I moved too much, so I stood back about four feet and had to use my telephoto lens to get these pics. A macro lens would reveal more of their beautiful details, like the iridescent greenish-blue mouth parts.

Bold Jumper.

Bold Jumper.

Bold Jumper.

It's hard to see in this photo, but the spider has several eyes and it looks like they circle back around the head.

Bold Jumper.

This informative video has some really nice footage of a jumper, and is a good starting point for getting to know these cool little creatures.


Monday, August 26, 2024

Update #2 on the hawk fledgling taken to rehab

After being taken to the Wild Bird Fund on August 14, we've been told the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledgling is doing better, and has been transferred to The Raptor Trust in New Jersey. The goal is to release the hawk back into the park once it has regained its health.

Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledgling.

Fledgling in Tompkins Square on July 29, 2024.

 The Raptor Trust has rehabilitated many city hawks and other birds. You can learn more about the organization here. Please consider making a donation, or check out their selection of merch.

When we know more about a possible release date for the hawk, we'll update here.

Previously.


Thursday, August 22, 2024

Summer insects - Part 3

I've made a concerted effort this summer to document insects around the city. It's been a fun and rewarding activity, and below are a few recent highlights photographed at Governors Island and Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Ailanthus Webworm Moth:

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

Some type of Skipper:

Skipper



Snowy Urola Moth


Sweat Bee


Asian Lady Beetles


Milkweed Assassin Bug





Locust Borer Beetle


Great Golden Digger Wasp


European Paper Wasp


Two-Spotted Longhorn Bee


Gold-Marked Thread-Waisted Wasp


Bumblebee


Thick-Headed Fly

Steel-Blue Cricket Hunter taking a seed pod to its burrow:

Steel-Blue Cricket Hunter


Previously:  

Summer insects - Part 1 

Summer insects - Part 2


Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Summer insects - Part 2

Continuing with summer insect sightings, below are some more pretty little things I've seen recently.

Halloween Pennant dragonfly:

Halloween Pennant dragonfly

Halloween Pennant dragonfly

Blue Dasher dragonfly (male):

Blue Dasher dragonfly

Blue Dasher dragonfly

The back of a female Blue Dasher resting in the sun:

Blue Dasher dragonfly

June Beetles in Tompkins Square Park:

Junebugs

Japanese Beetle (invasive species):

Japanese Beetle

Japanese Beetle

American Lady butterfly:

American Lady butterfly


Northeastern Plumetop


Cicada Killer wasp

Cicada Killer wasp

Eastern Amberwing dragonfly

Eastern Amberwing dragonfly

Eastern Amberwing dragonfly


Long-Legged Fly

Long-Legged Fly


Fly with red eyes

Previously:  Part 1