Blue Dasher Stare
You feel like having a staring contest? This Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) is game. Good luck! You’re going to need it…
Read MoreChinese Mantis Nymph
RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser saw and photographed this Chinese Mantis nymph hanging out in a garden, already trying out its hide and attack strategy. He is eager to see the adults in action this summer.
Read MoreLettered Sphinx
This is a Lettered Sphinx (Deidamia inscriptum) moth, resting out of the way on a warm and sunny spring day. It probably looks like a dead or decaying leaf to predators with jagged edges and all of that brown.
Read MoreFish Crow Marauders
This is a marauding Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus), as identified by voice, flying through a neighborhood and searching for nests to raid. If you have a lot of experience with them you can get used to picking out the slightly smaller Fish vs. American Crow as well. Whether it is tiny hatchlings or developing eggs the many nests that fill our lands, from forest to shore, are often extremely tempting targets for corvids at this point in the season. Both a male and female Baltimore Oriole were aggressively attacking this bird until it vacated the area. Groups of Fish Crow are an enormous threat...
Read MoreJumping Spider
This looks to be a jumping spider, though what species I cannot say for sure – I am no spider expert and this is as good of a look as I got from afar. It was hunting a local pond as so much more life is suddenly jumping out at this point of the spring. Why are “we” as a people so afraid of spiders anyway? With such a tiny percentage of all spiders having the ability to do us any potential harm we should probably stop worrying about them already! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach
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