Native stinkbug?

True bug of some kind.

Bedraggled tiger swallowtail

Part of its wing is missing. It seemed to be looking for nectar.

August flowers

Looking for ferns, finding the kitchen sink

Beetles on blackberries

This snake was basking near the bridge.

I think this is a kind of coral fungus.

  

Moss with spores

Closeup of spores

  

A tiny mushroom with a velvety cap. Not sure what kind.

This looks like a teeny oak apple gall, but it also seemed lodged in the log, so maybe it's some kind of fungus.

A nice stand of monotropa uniflora

Blue stump

 

Puffball mushroom--I can't begin to figure out what genus and species!

THE FERNS:

 

 

  

  

A very pretty evil bug

Colorado potato beetle found in St. Nicholas church garden, July 18, 2014.

Wasp

Sitting on the steps at DEEC,  Friday, May 30, 2014.

Five salamanders

Today is rainy and cool. Here are some salamanders at Middle Run Nature Preserve. As we learned in last year's class, some types of salamanders lay eggs in water in the early spring, and the tadpoles live in the water for a few months as they develop. Then they leave the stream and find burrows under logs. At least one of these is a red-back salamander, which doesn't have an aquatic stage of life.

Besides the salamanders, I saw lots of plants in bud. I will work on identifying them.

Birds today included an Eastern towhee, a couple of woodpeckers I couldn't identify, and this mockingbird with an amazing repertoire.

Lastly, let us not forget this millipede.