Tributary to Stony Creek

Walking along a perennial tributary to Stony Creek in Hamilton County, Indiana, on a glorious February morning.

Stony Creek

It was a pleasant day to stroll around a snow covered floodplain in Noblesville.

December Garter Snake

I didn't expect to find a snake outside yesterday while delineating a wetland in Columbus, Indiana. He was lying there motionless, and I thought he might be dead, until I poked him with my finger. He sprang to life and made several valiant attempts to land a strike. Since he was only a foot long Garter Snake, I did not worry too much. It was fun to get to see him up close. The air temperature couldn't have been much above freezing, but maybe the ground was warmer. I suppose that he will winter in the wetland, since wetlands do not usually freeze solid. Maybe in a crawdad hole. Reminded me of the time I saw one out on a snowy February day.

Jug Rock Found

Today, while driving back from a wetland delineation in southern Indiana, I found Jug Rock. To be fair, I was not the first. But after looking for it occasionally over several years, it was nice to get to see it. The signs welcoming you to Shoals, Indiana tells you that it is the home of Jug Rock. The Martin County tourism brochure even has the picture on the front. Oddly, though, it is not well marked. (See bottom photo)




The green sign along US50, just west of downtown Shoals, indicates Jug Rock.

Hoosier National Forest

Today was a good day at work. The open road, gorgeous weather, hilly Southern Indiana, and fall foliage. It was a pleasant walk down to a project site in Orange County. Everything at work isn't always roses, but sometimes there are days like this.

Grab Bag of August Leps

Butterfly and caterpillar pictures have been piling up on my SD card, waiting to be identified. I believe that the next three photos are of a Tawny Emperor (Astrocampa clyton). There doesn't seem to be too much of difference between this and the Hackberry Butterfly (Astrocampa celtis). Both are supposed to be common, with the Hackberry being more common. These guys seemed to lack the two basal spots in the discal cell, so I guess they are Tawny Emperors.

I guess this one is just a darker Tawny Emperor.


These butterflies were photographed in Clark County, Indiana along the Ohio River, near George Rogers Clark's cabin.

Another example of a food plant making caterpillar identification easy, this is a Catalpa Sphinx (Ceratomia catalpae) munching on a Catalpa in Jennings County, Indiana.


I see them everywhere, but I haven't gotten a chance to photograph Common Sulphurs (Colias philodice philodice) before. This butterfly was on a wingstem flower in Clark County, Indiana.


Northern Pearly Eyes (Enodia anthedon) were flitting through the floodplain woods in Clark County, Indiana. They kept disappearing before I could get a good look. This pair landed on a vine long enough to get a picture.




A Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) paused as it was passing through an emergent wetland in Sullivan County, Indiana.

American Snout (Libytheana carienta) on a Pokeweed inflorescence in Clark County, Indiana. This is the second one I have seen this summer. I love their 'nose'.


I think this is a Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba), an introduced cutworm. I found him on a split on a tomato. Joy was happy she did not cut through the tomato and the caterpillar in one slice.


Another caterpillar from the garden, I think this is a Yellow Bear, aka Virginian Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica). These are exceedingly variable, from black, orange, yellow, beige, to white. I found him eating on our basil.


This little skipper landed on my finger and stayed there for a couple minutes while I was working in Clark County, Indiana. I have no idea what he is, but up close he was very cute.

Update (09/04/10)

Megan McCarty suggests that the skipper is a Northern Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia egeremet).

For those of you who have made it this far, here is a caterpillar quiz. I haven't been able to figure out this caterpillar yet. He was on Wingstem in a floodplain in Sullivan County, Indiana. Any help would be appreciated.

Update (09/14/2010)

Janet Creamer of Indy Parks Nature Blog submitted the identity of Melanchra adjuncta, Hitched Arches. Looks pretty close on Bug Guide. Thanks, Janet!

Don't Tread on Me

This guy was so strikingly patterned. He never uncoiled and he never rattled. He certainly was aware of me, and would track my movements. I saw him from about 3 to 4 feet away. It is a thrill to see them, and it makes walking through a simple field much more interesting.

Assorted Florida Birds

Tricolored Heron swallowing his catch, Cedar Key, FL. I remember how surprised I was when I first saw a Tricolored Heron in real life at how small they are. They are proportioned like a Great Blue, but they are half the size. (WS 36 vs WS 72)

Brown Pelicans in breeding plummage, Cedar Key, are quite dashing.

Female Anhinga on an island in Kings Bay, near Crystal River. Anhingas can rapidly transform from graceful to goofy and then back again. It is very cool to see them glide through the water and slowly submerge out of sight. When they call, they look very odd. I had a laugh out loud moment at an Anhinga's expense one day while working. I was crossing a bridge over a medium sized creek that had trees overhanging the water. I accidentally kicked the guardrail and woke up an Anhinga sleeping above the water, who let out a startled shriek and belly-flopped into the water in a very uncoordinated way. I watched the pool for a minute, and its head slowly came up and looked around. When it saw me, it glared at me and glided away out of sight underwater.

A Sandhill Crane shared a cattle pasture with us in Okeechobee County, allowing a fairly close approach.

Florida Butterflies 2

Viceroy Butterfly (Limenitis archippus) in Okeechobee County. These butterflies were so brilliant and striking that it seemed like criminal to describe them primarily as a Monarch mimic.

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) resting on some Rubus in Levy County.

Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) on a Butterfly Bush in Levy County.

Texan Crescent (Anthanassa texana) on a dirt access road in the floodplain of the Suwannee River, Madison County. This was a new one for me.

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) on a Passionflower in Madison County. I really like the underwing pattern.

Florida Lizards

These are two very common lizards, and are well represented on this blog, but I liked both photos.Six-lined Racerunner, Aspidoscelis sexlineata sexlineata
We are always kicking up Racerunners while we are hiking through dry areas. They sure can speed off quickly. This one was still warming himself in the morning sunshine, so he permitted a closer photo than usual. I love their colors. I don't know how they determined that there are just six lines on them, but I guess you have to name it something.
Brown Anole, Anolis sagrei
These introduced and invasive lizards were all over near Cedar Key. I enjoyed seeing this guy puff out his neck flap.

Ibis

Ibises are a Monet bird. They look good from a distance, but up close they look a little goofy. Weird bulging eyes, maybe. In addition to the Spoonbill, there were White Ibises and Glossy Ibises around where we were working. The Whites were a lot more common. Both of these birds were in a wetland just north of Okeechobee. The brown and white Ibis in the top pictures is an immature White Ibises.

Wood Stork

It is not hard to imagine that Storks might be related to Vultures. These were taken while walking the pipeline in Okeechobee. A flock of storks in a field always looks to me like a group of old men in white robes having a secret meeting together. They soar a lot and are very elegant with their black wingtips.

Gopher Tortoise

Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)
I was excited today to get to see my first Gopher Tortoise while working in Florida, on national Endangered Species Day, no less. I was working north of Ingles, Florida when I saw this guy working his way across a field. It was a treat to watch him make his way to his hole, after waiting for a bit.His hole that he was making his way to. He was a pretty good sized tortoise, I would guess over a foot long carapace.


Diving down into safety in the hole. He made pretty good time.

Scarlet Ladies Tresses

Sacoila lanceolata
This orchid was blooming in an open cattle pasture in Okeechobee County, Florida. It was so conspicuous, we could see them from the highway while we were driving, but couldn't tell what they were until we got up close. It had no leaves, unless you count the ones clasping the stem. It was about 18" to 24" tall.