BUGS!

5/14/14      2:00pm      67*F
              Partly Cloudy

I began this weeks visit by adding the wetlands to my walking tour of the area. It is so exciting to now be able to identify so many different plants without the need for my guide! There is a small bridge/walking path through the marsh area of Madrona Park close to the lake. I was able to find an abundance of black cotton wood, willow, vine maple, thimbleberry, huckleberry, salmonberry, lady fern and of course…salall all in the marsh. There are still a few species I didn't know and will be working to identify to add to my walking tour. The funny thing about today is that there was also an abundance of cotton floating through the air everywhere. My allergies had never experienced berating a little piece of cotton into my nose before. I began mapping out the changes in species as I walk uphill along the path to my observation spot. One thing I noticed this trip was the increase in birds as I walked higher into the trail. My observation point is not the best location for bird watching because all the Doug firs, western hemlock, and big leaf maples are so tall that it is very hard to find all the birds I hear. I look forward to identifying them by call. I did get to see a small flock of about 4 stellar jays that came and left pretty quickly. I could hear the very unpleasant calls of the baby crows that seem to be growing quickly. There was a lot of action with the adult crows and I assumed that they were looking out for the young. They were keeping a close eye on me as I was walking around and they were a lot more active than I had seen them before. I heard a dramatic increase in the bird population overall. There was a wider range of calls and a lot of action. I don't know if this is due to the change in weather or if it is based on my increased knowledge and attention to the bird species of the area. I have throughly been enjoying this section of the course. I find myself bird watching all the time now, always keeping my binoculars close by. As far as the plant species of my observation site, I noticed that the snowberry plants have began to flower and the red currant is beginning to bud roses. Down by the marsh I seen two of the first salmon berries that have turned orange and look delicious. I must say that the insect portion of this week's journal assignment has been by far the most difficult. I really don't like bugs and going out looking for them was a challenge. Luckily I was able to find some without having to do too much digging. Simply by paying attention to the undertow of the forest I noticed a whole other world operating. The first insect I found was a big ant.

It was alone which is different from what I would have expected because ants are known to be very social creatures. I don't know where it was going and it was a fleeting sighting but it was bigger than any ant I'd seen before. I don't know if this was due to age or species. I am hoping that the isolated behavior of the ant is telling of what kind it was. The second insect I found was the "potato bug". After further research in the field guide I found that the latin name for this insect is Armadillidiidae and the common name is the common pill bug. They have 7 legs and two antanea on top of armadillo type bodies with "plates" lining their back making it possible for them t roll into a protective ball very quickly. The two I found were engaged in what looked like a fight. They were rolling around together aggressively. This also could have been contributed to mating behavior. I also found several millipedes.

They have all black bodies with yellowish orange circle patterns on the lower sides where the legs come out. They have several (too many to count) legs and two antanea. The three I found were under a small piece of wood near a snag. They weren't moving. I don't know if they were dead or simply resting. One was rolled into a ball which is a protective stance from predators. According to the field guide they are able to secrete a foul smelling odor when they are threatened.

One of the more active insects I found was working alone on the ground. The yellow-faced bumble bee was busy digging a small hole in soft soil near my observation site. This is a big bee that has long thick black hair. It's face is all yellow as well as it's rear. It has black wings that are pretty noisy (which is how I spotted it). According to the field guide these bumble bees are known to both pollinate flowers but differ from honey bees because they nest underground as opposed to in a hive. They can be found at this time of year only! The last invertebrate I found was a fly of some sort. It looked too small to be a dragonfly but it had the same shape and wing pattern. It is all black with a red head. It has four wings and was sticking close to the snags near my site. I am hoping to get ID help through inaturalist. I do have to say that searching for invertebrates at my site has been the most challenging of the assignments. I am not too fond of insects and definitely never go looking for them. It was nice, however, to get outside the larger scope of things for a moment and notice the ever-changing nature of nature's floor. During future visits I will definitely be more keen to watch my step!

A new and unidentified species.
Stay tuned!