Another Bug Bite

 This time, I know exactly what bit me. I picked up a piece of log, and got bitten for my efforts. Something jumped away, and this was the culprit. Here's the deal though. Praying mantises can bite, but that's truly what it is, not a sting. They don't inject any venom. They just bite if they feel threatened. No clue if it is a boy or a girl. But it has wings, so it's fully mature. The log was hollow, so it probably thought it had a nice safe place to hunker down until I intruded. Not a serious injury to me, and I apparently didn't hurt it either.

Also, today, for the first time ever I noticed that the maple behind the mulberry had turned orange. In 1990, The mulberry was small, and I planted the maple as a tiny seedling. It's actually starting to look like a tree rather than a sapling. Only took 35 years, eh? Last fall, I worked on clearing some of the brush around them (autumn olive, what else?), and I hope to do some more this fall yet.

I worked on all my projects. Wrote chapter 28 in Vacation from DMS, 750 words. Omer and I watched a movie this evening.

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Plant Day & a Bug Bonus

You know it's a good day when there is a new-to-me plant. And I have two new ones!

This is Lance-leaved or Panicled Aster, Symphyotrichum lanceolatum. The flowers are small and really similar to Calico Aster, but the shape of the plant and the leaves are not. I may not have been paying enough attention before. It's supposed to be really common, but variable and maybe hybridizes. This tightly panicled shape seemed new to me.

The other new one may also not be brand new. But I certainly noticed it more carefully. This is Persicaria sagittata, Arrow leaved tearthumb. It's one of the knotweeds or smartweeds. Actually a semi-quality plant. Coefficient of Conservatism is 5 (scale 1-10). Supposedly, the arrow-shaped leaves are a bit unusual. Flowers range from white to pink. I may have seen the pink one with less pointed leaves. Note the deep cleft where the leaves join the stems. It's viney and clingy. The flowers don't open much more than what you see here.

Now for some plants that weren't new, but are fun. This is Beechdrops, Epifagus americana. I've shared those before. Here they are in winter.

The alien orchid, Helleborine, Epipactis helleborine, looks like a droopy, sad little mess until August when it perks up and blooms. Here are the seed pods.

Here's a more familiar one. Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum, in seed. The first picture shows a seedpod cluster that is turning from green to red and a tiny green cluster, just starting.

Here's one where the color is fully developed, but it's an odd angle. The plant had fallen over and I'm looking down at it.

Lots of lovely fall flowers. We also saw some nice gardens, but I try to limit the pictures a bit. But I can't skip the bonus section.

BONUS SECTION: praying mantis

Do you remember (probably not!) in September of 2009 I told you I caught a fairy? Well, today Marie saw one and said, "What is that!?" And I knew the answer- it was a praying mantis. I got one picture today in flight- very poor- it's the white blob at the top center. The picture in the link is slightly better. They fly somewhat upright- a very distinctive posture. If you ever see one you won't forget it.

But here is the handsome guy between flights. I did some research. Not all mantises develop wings, but the ones that do are usually males. I also learned that only about 80% of males get their heads bitten off after mating.

Conservation Trail, 7.8 miles today from Cattaraugus Creek to Matteson Road.

See What Happens When You Wear Long Pants

German Yellowjacket- It's What's for Dinner

 
These wasps have been building a nest inside our kitchen wall since August. Wasp spray doesn't seem to deter them hardly at all. We've been operating under an uneasy truce whenever I open the kitchen door. So far, I haven't been stung.



I've been waiting for a freeze so they will be slowed down and I can seriously bomb that space with something stronger. They are really fast, and I haven't gotten a good focused picture of a live one.



There are enough dead ones lying around the house that I can look at under magnification to tell you that these are (what else?) alien, invasive wasps. It's Vespula germanica, the German Yellowjacket.

I'm not sure we'll get rid of them without professional help, but I'll give it another try after a freeze.

Meanwhile, someone is happy to have German Yellowjacket for dinner. I don't think he or she is going to eat fast enough, however, to really help.





Accountability Report:
Read a book.
Worked a bit on sorting stuff around the house.
Started Chapter 51 of Dead Mule Swamp Druggist.

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No Question of Gender Here

 
Sometimes telling the gender of an insect is super easy. If it's actively laying eggs, it's pretty safe to assume it's female!



As to her choice of location... not the greatest. I was trying to get some edging put in around a flower bed, but didn't succeed- I think it's been rolled too long, it wouldn't cooperate. Anyway, I was going to throw it in the shed for winter, but discovered it was in use.

I left her to finish the work, and I won't disturb it any more.

Questions in the comments lead me to add that the eggs are encased in that tan foamy stuff. It hardens into something that feels a little bit like styrofoam, and is easy to recognize as a mantis egg case.

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Green Teenager

 
I'd been watching a praying mantis egg case on my kitchen steps all winter. A few days ago it disappeared, but I hadn't seen any babies. The babies are about 1/2 inch across. I showed a rather bad picture of one at A Diversity of Wildlife.

Apparently I missed that stage of these babies, but today I found a teenager on my kitchen door. Just one. Maybe he/she ate all the siblings. Yes, they do that. But I hope more of them lived.



They go through several nymph stages before they gain their wings as adults. No wings on this one yet, I think. The body is only just over an inch long.

Do you remember that I caught some flying around? See I Caught a Fairy

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I Caught a Fairy!

What an amazing piece of luck! With the help of Maggie to rustle the grasses, I transformed a praying mantis into a fairy while I had the camera turned on and pointed in the right place.



Now, this is not a great picture, but it's a little better than snaps of the Loch Ness Monster or Sasquatch.

Do you see it? I'll help you a little bit.

OK, I know it's lousy photography, but at least you know I didn't make up the entire fairy story!

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See A Fairy Tale in Green and White

Monsters and Fairies

The fairies were still there today! I saw two more flying above the field. Yet, it is the sad truth that when the fairies come to rest it turns out that they are indeed the Tyrannosaurus Rex of the insect world. Who guessed it's identity?

I sure did not know that when a praying mantis flies that the undersides of its wings are white! Praying mantises are large insects, three or more inches long. They are vicious predators in the insect world. Larger species not native to the United States even eat small frogs and lizards. AND the female eats the male after mating! They will be happy to pinch or bite your fingers if you pick them up too.

The other choice I gave you yesterday was a Katydid. Katydid's are actually related to crickets. They can pinch or bite, but rarely do. I pick them up almost whenever I see them. They are a wonderful part of my childhood memories, even if they aren't fairies. Their name comes from the sound the males make by stridulation- rubbing together of their wings. I remember many summer evenings with the calls of "katy-did, katy-did-did-did" filtering through the screen door of the kitchen.

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A Fairy Tale in Green and White

Four days ago I was using the riding lawnmower to mow my walking trails through the fields near my house. As I stirred up the tall grasses many insects were flying around and trying to get out of the way. Suddenly, a large, slim fairy, pale and illuminated, as if it somehow was able to surround itself with moonlight even in mid-afternoon, fluttered away. Its wings were long, and it scurried through the warm air, then dropped into the grass, disappearing.

As I continued mowing, more and more fairies sprang away from my noisy and disturbing activity. Each was that eerie pale white, occasionally flashing gold edges from their backs and wings, as if they flickered between sunlight and moonlight. Who were these mystical, enchanting visitors to my field? I'd never seen them before.

The next day I went walking with my camera, thinking that I would capture a fairy in pixel dust. Wrong! You already knew that you can't capture fairies, right? Well, I did see several of them, but when I took a picture, this is what showed up.



So, I found out that you can't take a picture of a fairy! The next day I saw more fairies, and the next day too. Today I saw one more.

I did manage to follow several of the little teasers to where they had alighted. But each time I found the landing place, I discovered that the white fairy had disappeared and left a green monster in its place.

Which green monster do you think the fairy became? Tomorrow I'll tell all!