The original plan for this trip was to do a paddle and clean-up on the Perkiomen Creek in Montgomery County. What I didn't think about was the lack of rain in the area. The creek was too low to paddle and any attempt to do so most likely would have been miserable. Instead I ended up getting a tour of some of the smaller parks in Montgomery County, guided by my friend Andrew Curtis. We found that the parks are really clean, the above pile came from White's Mill, which seemed to have the only problem with littering. After this photo was taken we did pick up some more recyclables, but not enough for a photo. Only picked up a couple cans at one of the other locations, the other had nothing.
Since there wasn't much trash to pick up, we decided to try to get some good insect photos. If you are interested in insects this is a good time of year to go out looking for them. There are lots of plant species flowering and they attract both pollinators and predators. In the above photo Andrew is taking a shot of a Fritillary Butterfly. I did not get any good photos of it myself so the Fritillary is not in the post.
This is a Sulfur Butterfly feeding on Iron Weed. Sulfurs are very common and will be around well into fall.
Andrew spotted these mating Hummingbird Moths (Clearwing Moths). Neither of us had ever come across Hummingbird Moths mating before and it was an interesting sight to see.
This orange and black Dragonfly is called a Halloween Pennant. It was one of the most abundant Dragonfly species at the first location we went to.
This is a Robber Fly and it is eating a beetle. Almost every time I come across a Robber Fly they are devouring some kind of insect. I do not know what the specific species is on this fly and I have never seen a Robber Fly this colorful before.
This is an Annual Cicada, there are multiple species of annuals that all look similar. I do not know the exact species. The Cicadas are almost done for the year here in Pennsylvania and soon their sounds will be replaced with that of Katydids. In some locations I have already heard the change over starting to happen. To me this indicates that fall is on its way.
The last insect I will be sharing with you in this post. This is an Eastern Pondhawk. All of these insects are relatively common. Many people do not realize the diversity in life we have all around us. I hope you have enjoyed these photos and there should be many more to come in future posts.
Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA
No comments:
Post a Comment