Busy Black Swallowtail
After seeing many Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) butterflies and little else on the wing for much of the spring, they have dropped off in number as others increase. What have your observations been? I have been surprised at how (relatively) few Eastern Tiger Swallowtails have been in the air except for a week or two in May. The harsh and historically cold winter likely changed the lepidoptera landscape for us more than usual. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreWild Turkey Poults
It’s that time again! Here we have a hen Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) with a couple of poults, and another a bit further away. There were at least seven tiny young ones with her. They stayed far in the shade of this lawn and quickly ducked back into the woodlands once they spotted me. Have you seen any yet this year? Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreHorseshoe Crabs
If you are on the Atlantic Coast during the late spring you may be fortunate enough to find Horseshoe Crabs during the breeding season. Early June, especially around a new or full moon, is a very busy time for these marine arthropods that are considering living fossils, having existed nearly unchanged for approximately 450 million years. These photos were taken at Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut, an important mating site at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The females will lay eggs on beaches like this one, some subsequently being eaten by migrant shorebirds. The most vivid...
Read MoreCommon Whitetail
Here’s the Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia), certainly one of the more common dragonflies found in ponds, lakes, and waterways at this time of the year. More and more species are being seen flying everyday in the Northeast and Sean will be trying to show you as many as he can in beautiful displays like this one. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Connecticut for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreButterflies Coming
Butterflies like this Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) will be emerging next month! As we near the end of avian migration and enter their breeding season we will be seeing many more of our insect friends taking flight. I have not had a lot of time to spend surveying for them yet, but butterflies I have seen so far this year include Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tailed-blue, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Cabbage White and Monarch. When June hits our staff will be sure to begin surveying sites from our Natural History Atlas as well as other critical habitats, or locations that...
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