The cottonwood leaves are golden. They shimmer against an infinite blue like reflections of the sun’s rays across the surface of the river. They brush against each other in the wind echoing the music of last night’s rainsong. They are starting to fall. Their bodies are forming a patchwork of yellows and browns on the ground. The calls of jays resound through the landscape like a clamoring of sewing machines stitching the leaves together. A pattern that could never be duplicated. Foamy clouds blow in from the ocean and drift by momentarily blocking the lazy warmth of the sun. I am awakened by t ..read more

Most of the creatures described in this column are from insect orders like Diptera (flies) or Coleoptera (beetles) that have hundreds of thousands of species. This week’s subject is from a smaller order with around 11,000 species. It’s the bark louse. Before you stop reading, please note: Bark lice are not head lice. They feed on the algae and lichen on trees and have no interest in hiding in your hair. The bark louse order has been renamed a few times. They were first part of the true bug order (Hemiptera), then given an order of their own called Psocoptera, which in Greek means gnawed or ru ..read more

In the light of the tilting earth, the wind sweeps in rain and cool air, igniting the landscape in a warmth of colors and the plumage of fall spreads its wings in a dazzling display. While our deciduous friends are shedding their foliage and entering a season of rest, licorice ferns are awakening. Their vibrant green illuminates my spirit in winter’s waning light. Their fronds create beautiful patterns as they grow and overlap in a lush carpet on the ground or cascade down the side of a tree. Newts dreamily saunter around in the mosaic of colors blanketing the forest floor, bathing in the moi ..read more

There are some fascinating and peculiar insects under the big tent of wasps and the smaller umbrella called Symphyta, the sawflies and parasitic woodwasps. Today, you’ll meet a woodwasp in the genus Orussus.  Even though some of the information I’ve read online says woodwasps are rare, I’ve seen them twice at Mount Pisgah, most recently in late October. In both cases, they were moving oddly on a human-altered piece of wood, either sidling sideways or tapping the wood, and sometimes lifting up a back leg at an awkward angle. Orussus are ectoparasites, which means their larvae l ..read more

I was on the Arboretum bird walk this month and watched a couple of flickers performing their display used for courtship and territorial defense. During courtship in early spring or summer, they will face off in this display usually while a prospective mate watches. Since it is October, I imagine these two were engaged in territorial defense. The Cornell Lab’s All About Birds describes this display thus: “Two birds face each other on a branch, bills pointed upward, and bob their heads in time while drawing a loop or figure-eight pattern in the air, often giving rhythmic wicka&nb ..read more

This bee-mimicking fly caught my eye the other day because of the vertical lines on its thorax and horizontal lines on its abdomen. Looking for a Halloween costume? This fly is a referee on top and Waldo (from “Where’s Waldo?”) on the bottom.  The narrow-headed marsh fly or Helophilus fasciatus is a fairly large fly, about a half-inch long, and one of the earliest and the latest syrphid flies to be out and about each year.  What is this word, “syrphid,” you ask? It’s short for Syrphidae, a family of flies that imitate bees and wasps, and are important pollinators ..read more

Adult female antlions lay eggs singly in sandy or loose soil. When the egg hatches, the larva digs a conical pit and hides just below the surface at the bottom. When an ant or small insect falls into the pit, the antlion grabs its prey with its jaws (mandibles), pierces its body, and drags it below the surface. The hollow barbs or spurs on the jaws can both inject and suck. They inject poison to immobilize their prey and enzymes to break down the internal tissues. When the antlion finishes sucking the juices out of its prey, it will cast the insect out of the pit and wait for the next one. I f ..read more

When I awoke, the land was damp from overnight showers and the sweet smell of the earth filled the air. The rain has arrived just in time to herald the beginning of fall. It was a cool, cloudy morning, and I went for a walk at the Arboretum. I ambled up the creek trail to the joyous vocals of the Black-capped Chickadees celebrating the rain’s return. They were bursting with energy as they bounced back and forth between the tree canopy and the understory. As I rounded a corner on the path, I could see that they were foraging poison oak berries. They quickly would fly down to a cluster of berrie ..read more

Small, seed-shaped jumping true bugs have a multitude of names, and several different lifestyles. Today, I’m going to focus on one that’s brightly colored as a nymph: a pine spittlebug in the genus Aphrophora. (Side note for people who like words: The genus means “foam-maker.” Aphros is Greek for foam and -phora means “producer of.” The goddess Aphrodite, by the way, was thought to have been created from the foam of the sea.) Spittlebugs are the creatures that make those foamy masses in the crooks of springtime plants. For one to three months, the nymphs suck out the sap of the plant, gr ..read more

Every time I go out to the Arboretum, I remind myself to slow down and take my time. I often begin by sitting on a bench, tuning into my senses, and letting go of all the busyness in my life. I hear chickadees calling, crickets singing, and leaves rustling. I feel the warmth of the sun and the wind brushing against me. I smell the dampness of recent rains and leaves starting to decay. I taste some ripe blackberries. I see insects buzzing in the air, and squirrels climbing through the trees. There are so many discoveries to be made in nature and it is more likely to happen if I start this way ..read more