June 25 – My Nature Journal
June 25, 2023 Nature Journal
Shield-back Katydid
Atlanticus sp.
This weird-looking insect is a shield-back katydid.
While classified in the same order as grasshoppers (Orthoptera), shield-back katydids go a step further than their plant-eating cousins. While shield-back katydids can feed on vegetation, they also eat their fellow insects, either by attacking them outright or scavenging their bodies after they’re already dead.
Skink Lizard
Plestiodon sp.
I saw two different skinks today. One had the long, skinny tail expected on a healthy skink.
But the other’s tail was missing. It had clearly survived a recent attack by a predator.
Skink tails contain special fracture points that allow the tail to snap off from the body if grabbed or twisted. This defense strategy is called “tail autotomy”; if the skinks are lucky, their abandoned tails distract their attackers while the skinks themselves flee to safety.
Losing a tail causes skinks no direct harm. They evolved the ability to drop their tails without bleeding to death or opening themselves up to infections and skinks can even grow replacement tails. However, because their tails represent their last-ditch defense against predators (their first choices are to run away and hide), they are especially vulnerable to being eaten until their tails grow back.
False Bee-killer Robber Fly
Promachus bastardii
Robber Flies are one of the bad-boy insect predator species.
These large, intimidating insects have excellent vision, thanks to their large compound eyes, and are both fast and agile in flight. They hunt a variety of other insects, including dragonflies, and feed using their stout mouthparts.
Today’s Nature Journal Snapshot
|
Time of Day |
Mid-afternoon |
|
Setting |
Along an oak, hickory, and pine forest stream and adjacent meadow |
|
Temperature |
90° F / 32° C |
|
Weather |
Sunny with a few scattered clouds |
|
Humidity |
47% |
June 25, 2022 Nature Journal
Rabid Wolf Spider
Rabidosa rabida
This Rabid Wolf spider startled me as I was out doing some yard work.
As wolf spiders go, Rabid Wolf Spiders aren’t huge, but they are certainly big enough to spook me when they dart out from beneath a vine of English Ivy and scurry across my hand.
Today’s Nature Journal Snapshot
|
Time of Day |
Mid-morning |
|
Setting |
Suburban backyard |
|
Temperature |
82° F / 28° C |
|
Weather |
Sunny with some clouds |
|
Humidity |
66% |
