Bay-breasted Warblers
We are getting to the end of the spring migration season, and as hard as that is to believe our later arriving species are trickling through as many of the species that arrived earlier are getting down to nesting. One of my favorite passing migrants is the Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea), a large and gorgeous species that I believe seems more rare than it is. Bay-breasted Warblers start passing through the region as most of the other spring birds are peaking. These birds remain mostly high in the canopy – above eye-level and out of sight behind recently emerged leaves, and...
Read MoreUnknown Eggs
I found these eggs last month on Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) and Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) leaves. This macro view lets you see they are mostly white, not quite spherical, and feature two gold bands. They are certainly tiny, and they are almost certainly moth eggs…but what species? I have enough of a difficult time sorting through the hundreds and hundreds of adult moths we see, let alone eggs! The closest match that I could find were those of the Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus) which would be exceptional. I saw some caterpillars had emerged with broken eggs and some snacked...
Read MoreSnowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)
There are still clearwing moths on the wing, and in the last couple of weeks I have actually seen a number of Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis) like this one. When there are so many individual flowers to feed on they are all the more difficult to photograph with fast movement back and forth…here, there and everywhere! I thought the reflection of the sun being visible here in those rapidly beating wings was especially cool. Sightings like this underline the importance of having pollinator plants that are blooming and full of nectar during all parts of the warm season. Spring,...
Read MoreSnowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)
Earlier today I enjoyed my second Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis) of the summer, and the first in a situation where it was not unbelievably humid with such a high dew point that my camera immediately fogged up when taking it outside until the moth flew away and I was left with no images whatsoever…woo! All is forgiven, weather, so long as you keep up these beautiful conditions. By the way, moth, I like your bee outfit, too! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreHummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe)
Here we have the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) to kick off National Moth Week (July 23-31), appropriately photographed yesterday in a gratifying yet frustrating experience. I found it feeding on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) while watering in the morning, and because I was watering I did not have my camera (always a great tactic to ensure a good sighting). After running back inside and all the way around…yep, still there. Great. As usual with wildlife I approached it with caution, slowly, shooting while closing in on the moth. The species moves quickly while...
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