Harvester Butterfly
Here is a shot of the Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius) butterfly in its natural habitat, the world around it is as green as can be. Get out in that hot air today and dig up some treasures for yourself! Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser in Connecticut while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreCicada Season
Cicada season has arrived! The first chorus of the season is sounding from treetops across the local landscape. These fascinating insects spend many years subsisting in the subterranean realm feeding on tree sap before finally emerging for their brief nuptial song and dance. Listen for their rattling cacophony and look for their crunchy molts on tree trunks over the next several weeks.
Read MoreDeer Tick
Whether it is a warm and sunny day or a cool, cloudy one you can now expect to find some ticks outdoors, especially in edge habitats. The photo shows a tick I recently pulled off of my dog on an inch ruler. In western New York this is rarely a problem, and only a handful of sites have any ticks to be found. However, in places like Connecticut the population is robust, booming, and filled with diseases. Any time that you or your dog goes outdoors this spring, and throughout the year really, you should be mindful of ticks. The best way to protect yourself is to stay covered, change your...
Read MoreHarvester (Feniseca tarquinius)
It might not look like an unusual butterfly, but the Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius) is North America’s only carnivorous butterfly. That’s right, flying around in our very own woodlands is a carnivorous butterfly! Its larval stage feeds on aphids usually found on Alder trees instead of a host plant. The adults will eat the honey dew excreted by aphids or tree-hoppers. These butterflies can be very difficult to find, usually only discovered while resting on the ends of leaves during territorial and mating disputes. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your...
Read MoreWhat’s the Scoop on Poop?
Via the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy! Kids love poop. That’s why the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History have teamed up to put on a family event called “What’s the Scoop on Poop?” We invite you to bring the kids in your life and join us at 10:00 AM on Saturday, June 20th at our Dobbins Woods Preserve on Bly Hill Road in Ashville, where we’ll talk about how valuable poop can be to biologists and what impacts it can have on our waters. Then we’ll take a hike to find some scat! This event is free and...
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