Starting from a relatively lower and wetter area, to a peak with 360 degree views around.
I think Fallugia paradoxa:
Perhaps Eleodes in Tenebrionidae?
There were many of these rocks with veins running through them.
Lots of robber flies everywhere! These are apex predators in their own niche, so if there were that many of them, there were probably lots of bug life that evaded my notice.
At the top:
Panorama at the top:
Pygmy nuthatch
Lots of Syrphid flies
Looks like an elephant, a Ganesha / Ganapati look-alike
Bombyliidae, maybe Geron?
Chalybion californicum, I think, based on the shape of the head
Another robber fly
This fly belongs to Anthracinae in Bombyllidae
A skipper butterfly
I watched as the presumed Mirid bug crawled onto the lizard’s head. The lizard was not amused.
Went with family, so not many photos. Definitely would love to come back and take some time to explore, especially the bugs.
In particular, Rehoboth State Park contains an Atlantic white cedar swamp, which is a habitat I haven’t explored before.
I’m guessing Olethreutes:
This ant and the aphid were interacting, but I couldn’t spend too much time studying it. It was interesting to me that the aphid was winged…so it was less likely to stay in one place, be “millked’ by the ant, and need protection. I’ve heard some ants remove the wings from the aphids to make them more domestic, I wonder if that was in the cards.
Lepturinae, longhorn flower beetle, in Cerambycidae. I think Analeptura lineola.
Firefly
Pisaurina mira
Long legged fly at home, Dolichopodidae, probably Condylostylus
Was here for an astronomy session with the Arunah Hill Natural Science Center in Cummington, MA, so why not mix pleasure with pleasure? Got up early, looked for bugs on the verge of the woods with the lawn.
I unfortunately had problems with my flash all day, which led to some over- and under-exposures, but that’s life. First, a couple of micro landscapes, with no bugs.
Weevil, presumably a broad nosed weevil, Entiminae
I could have sworn I had got the focus :-(. Maybe Podabrus in Cantharidae, but could certainly be Silis instead, I’m terrible at distinguishing between them. Let’s call it a soft focus romantic scene.
Tumbling flower beetle, Mordellidae:
Hemiptera
Fun symbiosis! Ants protect treehoppers from predators, treehoppers give ants honeydew from their anuses. Yum.
I think the treehoppers are Cyrtolobus cf tuberosus, but am not sure. The ant is probably Camponotus.
Is this Clastoptera, a spittlebug?
Orthoptera
There were so many grasshoppers. They deserved better than this crappy photo. Anyway, this is Melanoplus viridipes, the green-legged grasshopper.
Hymenoptera
Lots of wasps. But mostly Dolichovespula starting their nest building process, and Ichneumonids. Here’s one of the Ichneumonids, perhaps Cratichneumon?
Diptera
Tons of crane flies. I wish I had taken more of their photos. Seemed to be plenty of Limoniids in addition to Tipulids, but we’ll never know now, will we, since I didn’t take the photos.
I think Dance fly, Empididae.
Snipe fly, Rhagionidae
A closeup of the eyes:
_____________________
WHO IS THIS GLORIOUS FLY?
EDIT: Glorious is a fair description, I’m not taking it back. This is Microdon manitobensis, which would make it a first sighting in New England. Always a thrill!
Microdon is an interesting species for lifestyle. They are in the order Syrphidae, but are very different from others. Their larvae live in ant nests. Info from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdon:
The real oddity of the genus Microdon is in its larvae and pupae. These are dome-shaped and look like stout little slugs. Their appearance originally led scientists to describe them as mollusks and scale insects.[4] They are slow-moving. Most have the spiracles on a peg-like protuberance extending from the end of their abdomens.
…
Behavior
Adult Microdon flies do not behave like other syrphid flies; they do not hover around flowers, but instead remain very near the ant colonies which serve as larval hosts.
Larvae may be found very deep in ant colonies. Some species actively feed on ant larvae in the colony,[4] others are speculated to be scavengers.[5] Microdon larvae are more or less restricted in their ant host species. Some Microdon species have only ever been found in the colonies of a single ant species, while others are restricted to related ant species or genera. Because these flies have such cryptic life cycles, biological information on most species is limited.
The fly genus Microdon (family Syrphidae) is a myrmecophilous fly world-wide in distribution. The adults are not known to feed while the larvae are found feeding on ant larvae and pupae of their ant host. Adult flies disperse from the nest to mate often in the vicinity of their host ant nests where they lay eggs. Adult Microdon have no special glands or hairs while their unusual larvae have a series of trichomes and associated glands along the margin of their body. The role of the glandular secretions and trichome hairs have not been clearly defined. There are about 250 species in the genus and each fly species has a preferred host ant genus and species.
Spiders
Tons and tons of jumping spiders. I think Pelegrina cf proterva may be the best fit.
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.
a little wild 