An absolutely gorgeous vernal pool, full of so much life.
Caddisfly larva casing, and you can see the caddisfly larva itself sticking out in the lower left.
So many tadpoles!
Looks like Simocephalus in Cladocera:
Daphnia? It’s not a great photo, not easy to be sure.
Ostracod:
And here’s the same individual — I think it’s using its antenna for filter feeding
I don’t know what this egg-like thing was. Of course, it wasn’t glowing, but it seemed it was very reflective when I shined the light on it.
“Flatworm, probably Rhabdocoela”
From Wikipedia:
Rhabdocoela is an order of flatworms in the class Rhabditophora with about 1700 species described worldwide. The order was first described in 1831 by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.[1] Most of rhabdocoels are free-living organisms, but some live symbiotically with other animals.[2]
…
Most rhabdocoels are freshwater organisms. Some groups, such as typhloplanids, are predators, the main prey being cladocerans.[6] Others feed on algae and may incorporate them in their tissues.[7]
Lots of Polistes cf. fuscatus all about. At this time of the year, I think they were likely to be foundresses waking up from overwintering.
Coleoptera
Gorgeous red beetle, need to identify. Best guess is Microrhopala vittata, Goldenrod leaf miner beetle.
Scarabidae. Looks like Bumble Flower beetle, Euphoria inda.
Eyelashes 🙂
And another:
Rove beetle, Staphylinidae:
Hemiptera
Very cute little bug. Isthmocoris piceus, in Geocoridae.
Diptera
Tons and tons of Bibionids, probably Penthetria, mostly males. Notice the larger eyes.
And here’s a female (note the difference in the eyes):
Sarcophagidae. Note that relatively sharp bend in the “M” vein below, which means Oestroidea, rather than Muscoidea. And the three black stripes on the scutum tend to indicate Sarcophagidae. This is perhaps Sarcophaga sp.
I don’t know what this fly was doing, but it was very engrossed and let me take lots of photos — this is a little unusual. Also Oestroidea?
Trichoptera?
I don’t know what this is, but my best guess is caddisfly. Phryganeidae seems plausible.
Ephemeroptera
Lots of mayflies looking for mates. I don’t think we were that close to water, so a little surprising.
And finally, the vernal pool (off the Vernal Pool trail).
Some nice choreography, Mother Nature! Well played.
A classic Hollywood horror movie jump scare, while I was poking around in a vernal pool with the Laowa 24mm probe lens.
It gives out a thin beam of light, so you can only see a limited angle. Everything is totally, unnaturally still and quiet. See some movement out of the corner of my eye. Root around in nooks and crannies looking for what was scuttling, and suddenly come face to face with this impressive beast.
Once my heartbeat calmed down again, nothing but respect, well played.
EDIT: “That is the rear end of an aquatic isopod. Most likely family Asellidae. Maybe genus Caecidotea
April 8th, 2024: My second total eclipse — 44 years, 1 month, 3 weeks after my first one.
An absolutely stunning experience. I had forgotten how eerie the sixty seconds before the eclipse are. I brought along a white sheet, and was able to see the shadow bands for the first time, which was a huge thrill.
Photography wasn’t a priority, visual observation was. And honestly, I was lost in the moment and didn’t really even pay attention to details, was just feeling how amazing it was.
All shots were exposed for the corona, rather than the chromosphere. I wish I had at least one shot exposed correctly to bring out the chromosphere.
First of all, checked on the amphibian egg clutches. There are now three egg clutches I can see! Not sure if they’re salamander or frog. They look a little smaller in size, so if they’re salamander, then they are probably blue-spotted salamander. But what do I know. They’re either far away or covered in lots of algae, so I don’t know if I will be able to take photographs as they develop.
Secondly, Daphnia! For some reason, I’ve hitherto spent hours looking at the vernal pools and marsh without really seeing something I could point to as Daphnia, even though it’s supposedly one of the more common invertebrates there. Anyway, here’s one I’m fairly confident of.
In this next photo, we can clearly see the digestive tract. The bump closer to the start of the digestive tract *may* be the heart. I don’t know if those are eggs towards the right.
Springtime at Moose Hill means vernal pools, wood frogs crying, salamander eggs, fairy shrimp…
First, salamander eggs:
Tried for one of those fancy photos showing both above and below water. You will agree that the level of success is very moderate.
Caddisfly larvae with casings:
You can see the actual larva peaking out of the casing here:
And here is video of one of them moving around. You don’t usually see them poking out this much, but I think it was trying to navigate through the algae.
Here was the vernal pool:
Please listen to this video with your volume turned up. The sound of the wood frogs is incredibly moving.
a little wild 