Bob Perkins 5/18/14 Bob Perkins 5/18/14

Calico Pennant

Last Wednesday (5?14/14) my wife and I found a number of active dragonflies at Bass Lake on the outskirts of Blowing Rock, Watauga County, NC. We saw eastern pondhawks, common whitetails, Carolina saddlebags, and Calico pennants. The pennants sat still long enough for me to get a decent photo. Enjoy!

Bob Perkins 5/18/14 Bob Perkins 5/18/14

Io

The Io, Automeris io, is a Saturnid moth that has two adult forms. The dark morph is female and the yellow morph is male. The caterpillar, amply supplied with spurs for defense, feeds on an assortment of deciduous trees and plants including birches, elms, maples, oaks, and willows.

Bob Perkins 5/4/14 Bob Perkins 5/4/14

Artichoke Plume Moth

The plume moths, Pterophoridae, include many species that can't be identified either in the field or from photos. Fortunately there are a few exceptions in our area. This moth is maybe an inch from wingtip to wingtip. Its name, Platyptilia carduidactylus, is longer than its wingspan. Its English name, Artichoke Plume Moth, indicates one of tis host plants, but the caterpillars also utilize thistles, much more common than the garden vegetable in my neck of the woods.

Bob Perkins 4/23/14 Bob Perkins 4/23/14

Crane Fly

Fortunately not everything that comes to lights is a moth. I get lots of beetles every spring and crane flies most of the here . Here is an interesting one from yesterday.

Devin Floyd 3/23/14 Devin Floyd 3/23/14

Chasing Tigers in the Blue Ridge

In the Central Virginia Blue Ridge exists a phenomenal ecosystem, one that was probably shaped by raging braided mountain streams during the last iceage. It contains many disjunct species. In fact, over 90 species that are well outside their typical range have been documented here. It’s an odd mix of coastal plain, Appalachian and northern plants and animals. While several rare and endangered species exist here, today we focused on a well known Blue Ridge phenomenon: Salamanders.

Bob Perkins 3/13/14 Bob Perkins 3/13/14

Plethodon complex salamander

Yesterday, March 12, I photographed a salamander in the yard. After I did an initial search for an ID, I sent the photos to Bill Dunson. He forwarded them to a couple of experts and recommended that I send the pics to the president of the Virginia Herpetological Society, which I did.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts 2/23/14 Scott Jackson-Ricketts 2/23/14

FINALLY...The Elusive Red Crossbill

In the birding world, folks talk about their nemesis bird, the one that got away, that elusive, irritating species that everyone else sees but you. Bragging rights and chest pounding are not uncommon.

Bob Perkins 12/24/13 Bob Perkins 12/24/13

Fox Squirrel

The fox squirrel that first appeared in the yard on December 12 continues to return periodically. This morning, Christmas Eve, it came to the pole feeder in front of the study window, enabling me to take a photo in spite of the cloudy weather.

Bob Perkins 11/15/13 Bob Perkins 11/15/13

Predators on my porch

Bob Perkins 10/11/13 Bob Perkins 10/11/13

September sightings

I had several interesting visitors to my moth sheet and porch during September. The first was an American Toad that was obviously looking for a meal.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts 9/14/13 Scott Jackson-Ricketts 9/14/13

Painful garden encounter

For the first time in nearly five years, I have been able to garden again. It became crucial to create a deer free zone, not an easy task...combining hard work and the cost of fencing.

Bob Perkins 9/1/13 Bob Perkins 9/1/13

What moths do at night

Because we see moths at lights or resting quietly somewhere during the day, it's easy to forget that many of them sip nectar just like their butterfly cousins. Here are two that visited my butterfly bushes on August 31.

Bob Perkins 9/1/13 Bob Perkins 9/1/13

Orange-striped Oakworms

This is the wandering season for oakworms. They come down from the trees and look, sometimes at considerable distances from the trees, for places to pupate in the ground. My wife found one and later I found two more on the back porch. Here's the caterpillar.

Clyde Kessler 6/10/13 Clyde Kessler 6/10/13

Dragonfly Migration at Rocky Knob

Watching dragonflies as they fly southward across the pasture at Rocky Knob is for me the favorite part of the fall migration watch. I enjoy the flights of hawks, and swifts and swallows, and butterflies too. Perhaps a close 2nd to the dragonflies are the hummingbirds.