Field Notes Update

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle at Caledon /  by Todd Henson

The six-spotted green tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata). Notice the white mandibles and large eyes.

Six-spotted tiger beetles (Cicindela sexguttata) are not an uncommon sight at many of the locations I’ve photographed, and they’re easy to spot because of their flashy metallic green coloration, especially when the sun hits them. But they can sometimes be a challenge to photograph as they most often seem skittish and are very quick to skitter or fly away. Thankfully, I found a willing subject in late May of 2022 at Caledon State Park in Virginia.

Looking down on a green six-spotted tiger beetle on a sandy part of the trail

The green of the six-spotted tiger beetle stands out no matter where you find it

I’ve most often seen them in the forest skittering around on some of the paths, the forest floor, or on fallen trees. They’re not particularly large beetles, around a half inch or so in length. As you might guess when you spot their white mandibles they are a predatory species, hunting other small insects.

Saying goodbye to the six-spotted tiger beetle

You can see another example of a six-spotted tiger beetle in One Afternoon Six Critters, where this shiny green beetle was one of six creatures we found while hiking Prince William Forest Park.

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Ghost Pipes of Caledon /  by Todd Henson

Ghost pipes of Caledon

This week we get a view of a cluster of ghost pipes growing in Caledon State Park in Virginia. I photographed these in late May of 2022. Ghost pipes (Monotropa uniflora) are a very interesting plant, especially in that they don’t contain chlorophyll. Instead they pull energy through a parasitic bond to a type of fungi, which itself has a parasitic bond to other plant life, such as trees.

Even though it may not look like it, these are flowering plants producing a single flower bud atop each stem. You can see the buds in this photo. Apparently they do produce pollen and bumblebees are one of their more common pollinators, though I don’t recall seeing any around any of the plants I’ve found.

I found a similar cluster of ghost pipes during our first visit to Voorhees Nature Preserve in July of 2021.

Have you ever stumbled upon ghost pipes in any of the woods you’ve hiked?

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Blushing Young Trillium /  by Todd Henson

Blushing Young Trillium

Towards the end of April my father and I were fortunate to visit a location near what appeared to be peak bloom for white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), a beautiful spring wildflower that is larger than most other spring wildflowers in this area. The forest floor was covered with flowers. It was overwhelming for me as I bounced from one flower to another, trying to find scenes that might make pleasing photographs.

I’m still going through my photos, but today I’m showing the first photo I’ve finished from this day. Instead of focusing on the trillium in full bloom I decided to go with one just opening, and to use as shallow a depth of field as I could, throwing most of the flower and background out of focus.

This particular white trillium has a lot of pink to it. There were a number of flowers with more pink than white in this area. My understanding (possibly wrong) is that they are all still Trillium grandiflorum, just with a range of colorations from white to light pink. Let me know if you know more about them.

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