Ensign Coccid
Ortheziidae
This looks like an insect to me, as it seems to have six legs. Beyond that, it does not look like anything I have ever seen before. It is very small, perhaps 3mm long and I found it at the base of a Swamp Gentian (Gentiana douglasiana) I collected in a bog. Any help with the identification is definitely appreciated.
Update 21 September 2007: With help from bugguide.net, I now have a family for this insect.
(Flower) Rove Beetle
Eusphalerum sp
This species of beetle is easy to find on many different species of flowers during the summer in Sitka. They are quite small, I would say less than .5 cm long. When I have observed them, they never seem to be in any hurry. Even after they have landed, it takes them a little bit of time to get themselves all tucked in under their elytra (the hard outer wing covers).
(Thanks to Francesco Vitali via bugguide.net for help with the identification.)
Unidentified Sedge
Carex sp.
This is probably a fairly easy sedge to identify, but I’m not particularly competent at graminoid identification. This was was a fairly large plant growing in a disturbed area along the boardwalk at Whale Park. I thought it might be Mertens Sedge (Carex mertensii), but the photos I found on-line looked different enough to make me doubt that.
Unidentified Ant:
Lasius sp.
There are only 19 species of ants known from Alaska, so I am guessing this is one of them. There were lots of these ants taking advantage of the blooming Cow Parsnip. Presumably it was food related, but I am not sure whether it was pollen or nectar that they were getting.
Unidentified Fly
Flies like this seem pretty common in the woods around here. They do not bite in my experience, but sometimes they will land on me by the dozens and just walk around tasting. At least that’s what it seems like, as I see a little probiscus(?) coming down from where their mouth should be. It just touches whatever the fly is walking on and then the fly moves on.
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