On a Lifelong Journey to Learn my Place
Update: After taxonomic revisions, these are better known as Operophtera occidentalis Rowan pointed out a moth on the side of a house and then we noticed there were several more. I was able to get these pictures of two different individuals. With help from bugguide.net they have been identified as the Winter Moth (Operophtera bruceata) … Read more
St. John’s-wort is introduced in Southeast Alaska. While it is an invasive plant in many regions, to this point it does not seem to have made in-roads around Sitka, as I have only noticed it growing at the edge of the long term parking at the Sitka airport. It will be interesting to see what … Read more
Coral Slime (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa) seems to be one of the more common slime molds around Sitka. Individuals growths are small and can be easy to to overlook when they occur in small clusters. I associate this slime mold mostly with rotting wood in coniferous forests. I’ve also only noticed it at lower elevations, though this … Read more
This photo is from a hike up Indian River in 2006. I noticed a metallic gold beetle crawling on the zipper of my backpack while stopped for a break. Only recently did I get around to posting it on bugguide.net, where it was quickly identified as Lioligus nitidus by v belov, who noted it was … Read more
In May Connor found and brought me this Thallophaga hyperborea which had been crawling up a stake he had pounded in the ground. It seemed a strange place to find a moth, but upon learning its identity (via bugguide.net) and reading a little about the life history, it made more sense. Larvae of this species … Read more
Variable Carpet Moths (Anticlea vasiliata) are aptly named for their diverse array of color morphs. This May I photographed two different ones, to go along with one I photographed April 2009. Information I’ve seen about larval food plants does not includes only raspberries, which many people raise, but they are not especially common. It is … Read more