Field Notes Update

3 Views of Harvestmen /  by Todd Henson

A harvestman carrying something across a leaf.

Today we take a brief look at 3 views of 2 different harvestman species, an arachnid often confused for a spider. Though they do look very similar to spiders, they apparently have more in common with scorpions. Don’t let that scare you, though, harvestmen are completely harmless to people. In fact, they don’t even have venom glands, nor do they produce silk as spiders do.

Harvestmen are one of the species sometimes referred to as daddy-long-legs for their very long legs. And speaking of their legs, one of their defense mechanisms is intentionally dropping one of their still moving legs to get the attention of the predator and let them escape. Unfortunately, the leg doesn’t regrow, so they can’t use this defense very often.

Spying on a harvestman.

I found these harvestmen on leaves along the trail of a wildlife preserve. I was fortunate to have some decent light and non-distracting backgrounds to help the subjects stand out. I believe the black/white/gray harvestman might be a striped harvestman (Leiobunum vittatum). I’m not certain the species of the brown/orange one as there are several that resemble it.

One thing I was fascinated by was how the striped harvestman is carrying something below its body. I’m not entirely sure what it is, perhaps food of some sort. They eat insects and plant material, so it could be a piece of either.

Hello, Harvestman!

When was the last time you sat and watched a harvestman walking? Next time you see one spend a little time with it. They really are fascinating to watch.

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Pewee on a Perch /  by Todd Henson

An adolescent Eastern Wood-Pewee perched on an old stump.

In a previous post we learned pewee’s often perch up in a tree. But that doesn’t mean they always perch up high. Here we see a juvenile Eastern Wood-Pewee perching on an old stump. I think these are beautiful little birds, and I love the coloration of the adolescents, with the pale brown wing bars that typically turn white as they age.

This one was doing what birds are most often doing, out looking for food. But thankfully, it didn’t mind taking a short break and posing for the camera. Positioning myself with the sun at my back on a mostly clear day helped create that nice catch light in the eye, which always adds a little extra life to a portrait of an animal (or person).

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Late Morning With Skimmers /  by Todd Henson

A late morning skimmer

One subject I always enjoy photographing are the many species of dragonfly seen throughout the area. And one challenge, at least for me, is later trying to identify them. It’s quite a learning experience.

I found these dragonflies near the intersection of two paths at a local wildlife refuge on a late June morning. It was actually late morning, almost 10 am, and I was on my way back out of the refuge. But I spotted these beautiful yellow-orange skimmers flying back and forth between perches in a small field on a slight slope. They were far enough from the background I was able to completely blur it out. My focal length was 550 mm, which also helped in blurring the background. I set my aperture to f/8 to try capturing enough of the dragonfly in focus, but you can see the focus was still shallow enough the ends of the wings and “tail” (its segmented abdomen) are out of focus. I do like the look this gives, though.

“Good morning, Skimmer!”

After poring over many online resources, I believe the subjects of today’s photographs are Needhman’s Skimmer Dragonflies (Libellula needhami), but if you believe differently please leave a comment letting me know what you think they are and how you could tell. The Needham’s are in this area, and the coloration and patterns seem to fit. The other species it resembles is a Golden-winged Skimmer, but I believe there are enough indicators to favor Needham’s.

Some of the indicators include the coloration of the lower legs (tibia), the coloration of the front edge of the wings (the Costa vein), and the patterns and coloration of the front portion of the thorax. Based on the overall coloration of the dragonfly I suspect these were female and/or juveniles.

Below are the resources I used in my attempts at ID’ing the species:

And finally, I converted one photo to black and white to showcase the interesting patterns of the wings, one of which is partially missing. Seeing something like this always leaves me wondering what might have happened. Did it narrowly escape becoming the meal of something, and if so what? A bird? A reptile? It would have been interesting to see.

What happened to this dragonfly’s wing?

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