More Local Arthropods

Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Arthropods, those joint-legged animals that include insects, spiders, crustaceans and millipedes, are the most diverse group of animals on earth.  With at least a million species, arthropods vastly outnumber all the other groups of animals.   A surprising number live in our area, and this blog will continue discussing some of these interesting arthropods. 

Greater Bee Fly (Bombylius major).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Greater Bee Fly looking for wasp or bee nest in the ground.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Flies (Order Diptera) include flies (of course) but also mosquitoes and midges.  Diptera have one pair of wings rather than two pairs like most insects.  The Order Diptera has more than 150,000 described species.  The Greater Bee Fly (Bombylius major) is a regular visitor to our garden sipping nectar from a variety of flowers.  The Greater Bee Flies, as the name suggests, mimic Bumblebees (Bombus sp.).  This fly’s resemblance to the sting bearing Bumblebees means predators avoid it.  The Greater Bee Fly has an interesting reproductive strategy.  Greater Bee Flies parasitize solitary bees and wasps that nest in tunnels in the ground.  Female Greater Bee Flies hover over a tunnel of the host bee or wasp and deposit fertilized eggs in the soil.  The fly larvae burrow into the nest and eat the bee or wasp grubs.  The Greater Bee Fly is found in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere around the world. 

Transverse-banded Drone Fly (Eristalis transversa). 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Drone flies also mimic bees.  They have large black eyes and yellow and black stripes on their abdomens.  We found a Transverse-banded Drone Fly (Eristalis transversa) drinking nectar from a yellow flowered Coreopsis. This striking fly is found in Eastern North America.  

The fruit fly Eutreta novaeboracensis.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Another fly found in Eastern North America is Eutreta novaeboracensis.   This colorful fruit fly has a reddish-brown thorax, red eyes and white-spotted black wings.  Eutreta novaeboracensis larvae feed on the rhizomes of Goldenrods (Solidago sp.).

Golden-backed Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus thoracicus).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Golden-backed Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus thoracicus) has a stunning color pattern with black eyes, head and wings.  The abdomen is black with white spots and there is a bold gold patch on the top of the thorax.  Golden-backed Snipe Flies live in forests and are found across Eastern North America.

Grasshoppers and katydids are classified in the Order Orthoptera.   This large group of insects have large hind legs for jumping and two pairs of wings in the adult stage. Orthoptera are omnivores feeding on leaves and other plant material, but some katydids are carnivorous or even cannibalistic.  The name katydid is onomatopoetic, coming from their three-note call “kay-tee-did”.    

Differential Grasshopper.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis) is up to two inches long with striking black chevrons on their large back legs.  These grasshoppers are found throughout the United States, Southern Canada and south into Mexico. Differential Grasshoppers are common in our area and can be found on plants throughout the summer. 

Greater Anglewing Katydid (Microcentrum rhombifolium). 
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

The Greater Anglewing Katydid (Microcentrum rhombifolia) is a large and green with wings that look like leaves right down to the leaf veins. These large insects can fly but if they land of leafy vegetation they blend in and disappear.  One evening while on a boat trip to see birds, a Greater Anglewing landed on the boat seat and rode with us for a while and let everyone get a good look. Greater Anglewings are found throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Beetles, Order Coleoptera, are the largest group of insects with over 400,000 described species.  Like most insects, beetles have two pairs of wings.  In beetles the front wings are modified into hard protective covers called elytra and the rear pair of wings are used for flight.  

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus). 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus) is a large, impressive insect.  They measure nearly two inches long, are dark gray in color and the elytra are decorated with white spots. The most striking features of these Click Beetles are the large, black eye spots on the thorax.  The eye spots are thought to confuse or frighten predators. Click Beetles get their name because they can rapidly flex the joint between the thorax and the abdomen.  With a click, the beetle launches into the air and escapes. 

Snout beetle (Curculionidae) and Delta Flower Beetle (Trigonopeltastes delta)
on Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare).
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 

One day, while hiking in a field of Oxeye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) we found one flower with two beetles on it.  One was a small snout beetle or weevil (Curculionidae) the other was a Delta Flower Beetle (Trigonopeltastes delta).  The Delta Flower Beetle is native to the Southeastern United States and is classified in the Family Scarabaeidae, the scarab beetles.  This group includes dung beetles, Japanese Beetles (Popillia japonica) and June Beetles, also know as June Bugs (Cotinis nitida).  The Delta Flower Beetle has light brown elytras, a black thorax with a golden triangle and a black head with yellow lines.  The black and yellow on the head and thorax resembles the color pattern of a wasp and bee so provides protection to the beetle. 

Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

A Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) caught our attention one day sitting on a yellow flower. It had gold and black on the elytras and thorax. They are usually found on flowers, particularly yellow flowers where their color pattern provides camouflage.  Goldenrod Soldier Beetles eat nectar and pollen but will also consume aphids (Aphidae) and other plant pests.  

Eastern Leaf-footed Bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus)
on Marsh Pink (Sabatia angularis).
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 

We found an Eastern Leaf-footed Bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus) crawling over the flowers of Marsh Pink (Sabatia angularis).  This true bug (Order Hemiptera) is chestnut brown with a white stripe across the back.  They are called leaf-footed bugs because males have leaf-like extensions on their hind legs.  These leafy decorations may be involved in mating displays.    

Black-and-gold Flat Millipede (Apheloria virginiensis).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

 Millipedes are not insects but are arthropods in the class Diplopoda.  Black-and-gold Flat Millipedes (Apheloria virginiensis) are large, up to two inches long.  They are gold and black and while the name millipede means 1000 feet this species has 30 pairs of legs in males and 31 pairs in females.  Black-and-gold Flat Millipedes are supposed to produce cyanide as a protective adaptation but despite this they are sometimes kept as pets. 

I am always impressed with diversity of size, form and color of arthropods. If you get tired of the same old mammals and birds around the neighborhood, you can get out and find an insect or spider or maybe even a millipede you have never seen before.                   

St. Paul Island, Part 2

 

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) calves.
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

St. Paul is one of the Pribilofs.  These small, tundra covered islands are hundreds of miles from mainland Alaska in the middle of the Bering Sea.  St. Paul Island has huge Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) rookeries, seabird nesting cliffs and many species of water and land birds.  St. Paul also has its own subspecies of Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) and an introduced herd of Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).

Reindeer herd.
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus).  The blue subspecies
is endemic to the Pribilofs. 
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

The King Eider Hotel. 
The airport hangers are on the right. 
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 
Photo courtesy of Mr. Steve Kline. 

Our group of four birders stayed at the King Eider Hotel at the St. Paul airport in June.  Despite being right next to the single runway we were not bothered by aircraft noise.  There are only three scheduled flights per week.  Our St. Paul Tour guides shuttled us between the good birding locations on the island in a spacious blue van and we never got stuck once.  

St. Paul Island Tour van.
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 
Photo courtesy of Mr. Steve Kline. 

 

Eurasian Green-winged Teal (Anaus crecca crecca).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Ducks and geese are found along the coast, on freshwater ponds and in marshes across the island.  The North American Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca carolinensis) is a small dabbling duck found across North and Central America, including St. Paul Island.  Mixed in with the North American Green-winged Teal were a smattering of Eurasian Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca crecca).  The Eurasian subspecies is found throughout the Old World and reach their easternmost limit in Western Alaska.  They look very similar to North American Green-winged Teal but lack the white vertical line on the side.  Some author ties consider them two different species. 

 

Male Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) showing his tuft. 
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

A few Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula) were diving on freshwater ponds.  These Eurasian ducks are related to Greater and Lesser Scaup (A. marila  and A. affinis) but the male Tufted Duck has a crest on the back of the head.   

 

A flock of Harlequin Ducks (Histronicus histronicus).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Harlequin Ducks (Histronicus histronicus) are sea ducks found along coasts in winter but breed in the rapids of rivers.  We saw many Harlequin Ducks along the rocky shores of St. Paul Island.  The males are spectacularly patterned ducks with bold white, black, gray and chestnut feathers. 

 

Male King Eider (Somateria spectabilis).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

King Eiders (Somateria spectabilis) are large sea ducks that breed on the tundra of the high arctic.  These impressive ducks have a black-and-white body, buffy breast, blue head with a pale green cheek patch and an orange knob over a pink beak.   

Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

One day we were lucky enough to see an Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) on the north end of the island.  This beautiful Eurasian goose is barred gray and black with a black throat and white head.  There is a breeding population of Emperor Geese in Western Alaska but the one we saw on St. Paul was probably migrating.   

 

Rock Sandpiper (Caladris ptilocnemis),
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

There were shorebirds on St. Paul, but most were not on the shore.  We found them around ponds and in marshes.  The most common of these was the Rock Sandpiper (Caladris ptilocnemis).  Rock Sandpipers are found in Eastern Siberia and Western Alaska. During the breeding season they have a reddish brown and black back and the Pribilof subspecies has a black patch on the belly. 

 

Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarus).
St. Paul Island, Alaska.

Red-necked (Phalaropus lobatus) and Red Phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarus) were on the ponds stalking the shallows and spinning to stir up their food. 

 

Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

The Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) breeds from Scotland to Russian Siberia and is a regular migrant on St. Paul.  We saw several Wood Sandpipers feeding in shallow ponds around the island. 

 

Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

There are only a few species of perching birds on St. Paul Island.  Lapland Longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) were on territories across the tundra with males singing from the tops of small sticks. Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) flashed black and white before us as we walked.

 

Gray-crowned Rosy-finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis umbrina).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Gray-crowned Rosy-finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis umbrina) watched our coming and goings with interest.  These large finches have a gray head, black face and its body feathers are brown and pink.  We saw the endemic Pribilof Island subspecies of the Gray-crowned Rosy-finch on St. Paul Island.

 

The Pribilof subspecies of
Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus alascensis).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

The Pribilofs also have an endemic subspecies of Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus alascensis).  The Pribilof subspecies is larger than its mainland counterpart and has a longer beak.

Siberian Rubythroat (Calliope calliope).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

One of the reasons birders flock to St. Paul is the chance to seen vagrant species from Asia.  During our week on the island, we had opportunities to see some of these Siberian birds.  On our first afternoon we went to the Upper Quarry, a chasm filled with lichen-covered boulders. In the quarry our guide heard the song of a Siberian Rubythroat (Calliope calliope). A native of Western Asia, this Siberian Rubythroat was off course on its migration from Southern Asia to Siberia.  This small brown bird had a black and white face and an iridescent red throat. 

 

Female Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) are small birds with large, seed-crushing beaks, gray bodies, white patches on the wings and a black chin.  A pair had taken up residence on Hutchinson Hill at the northeastern corner of the island and may be the founders of a breeding population. 

 

Female Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

We saw a female Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) at the top of the cliffs at Marunich on the north side of St. Paul. This tiny bird was brown with faint stripes and a little finchy beak.

 

Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). 
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Common Cuckoo.
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Our guides worked very hard to show us a Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) that appeared on the island. This fascinating bird is usually found from Europe to East Asia.  Common Cuckoos are nest parasites.  Female Common Cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and the baby cuckoos are raised by the foster parents at the expense of their own nestlings. This Common Cuckoo was near the Zapadni Ravine on the south side of the island.  We made numerous visits to the area but finally, on our last full day, the cuckoo flew across the road in front of the van.  It perched on rocks and on the top of Puchki (Angelica lucida) stems.  It flew across the road into the nearby seal rookery and let everyone get a good look.  

Arctic Willow (Salix arctica) in full flower.
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

The compound leaves of Nootka Lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Nootka Lupine flowers.
St. Paul Island, Alaska.

Langsdorff's Lousewort (Pedicularis landsdorffii) in flower.
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Our visit was in June and spring as was beginning on St. Paul.  The hardy tundra flora was putting on a show.  Arctic Willow (Salix arctica) only grows a few inches tall and was in full flower.  Nootka Lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis) with its compound leaves and blue flowers was just coming out.  Langsdorff's Lousewort (Pedicularis langsdorffii) has lavender flowers and stood out on the tundra. 

Lichens on boulder.
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis).
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

Lichens, those odd symbiotic fusions of fungus and alga, encrusted rocks from the Quarry to the nesting cliffs of seabirds.  There are a few trees on St. Paul Island.  Members of the United States Coast Guard planted a small stand of Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) near the Coast Guard Station.  These trees are decades old and have reached a height of just over a foot.  The locals call this the "St. Paul National Forest".

St. Paul Tour guides; Mariah, Luis, Sully and David.
St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

We would like to thank the folks from St. Paul Tour; Sulli, David, Luis and Mariah.  They helped us have an unforgettable experience on this remote island.