Cicada Larva on Lower Monument Canyon Trail

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We found this cicada larva walking across the Lower Monument Canyon Trail on June 14th, 2014. We placed it in a bush nearby. Below are a couple of pics and a video.

Cicada Larva Video

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Nature Walk - June 7th, 2014

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On today's nature walk, along the Mica Mine Trail and at Connected Lakes, we saw a black-throated gray warbler, yellow warblers, and several other regularly seen seasonal birds. This morning's highlights were a pair of wood ducks, several species of butterflies, a reddish-colored weevil, and a bullfrog.

A reddish weevil on the Mica Mine Trail.
Possibly a Rose Curculio (Merhynchites sp.)
Or more simply... a Rose Weevil.

Weidemeyer's Admiral (Limenitis weidemeyerii),
Spotted on the Mica Mine Trail.

The water in the Connected Lakes area has risen
dramatically over the last few weeks.

A young, small bullfrog spotted in the Connected Lakes.

A blue damselfly at Connected Lakes.

A pair of wood ducks in Connected Lakes.

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GJ Mantis

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Probably the last one of these (and the largest) we'll see this season. We found another one just like this one in the back yard exactly one year ago. Check it out here:

 http://skunktracks.blogspot.com/2012/10/big-praying-mantis.html

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Police Car Moths on Turkey Flats Trail

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Today my friend Scott and I went for a nature hike on Turkey Flats Trail, near Glade Park, Colorado. We discovered a "new-to-us" moth, which turns out to be a Police Car Moth (Gnophaelia vermiculata). At first I wasn't sure that this was a moth and not a butterfly. It has a relatively delicate build, apparent during its clumsy flight, and looks more like a butterfly while flying. Upon landing, however, its resting delta wing pattern and characteristic moth-like antennae give it away. This moth features bold black and white coloring, along with bright orange coloration of the frontal thorax region, which could be reminiscent of two police car siren lights when viewing this moth head on.

Police Car Moth

Short video of a police car moth.

Can you find all three?

A female is on the left, a male to her right.
You can tell by looking at their antennae.
The male's antennae are more feathery and broad.

Police Car Moth - showing bright orange frontal thorax region.

Head on view showing the thorax "lights" of the police car moth.

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Cool Moth Spotted in Ohio

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My sister spotted this cool looking moth in Bellefontaine, Ohio. It was resting on a pumpkin leaf. I have no idea (for the moment) what kind of moth this is. I'm guessing that someone out there will know. The moth is characterized by its "beefy" front legs, clear to iridescent wings (depending on the viewing angle), a tuft on its rear abdomen, and the raising of its abdomen while resting. Any suggestions?

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Wild Bee's Nest in Grand Junction, Colorado

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A short video of what I suspect is a leaf-cutter bee's nest.

Found in Grand Junction, Colorado.

June, 2013.

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Hummingbird Clearwing Moths on Turkey Flats

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We saw quite a few hummingbird clearwing moths on Turkey Flats Trail in the Grand Mesa National Forest this afternoon. I like to call them "bumble moths."

Here is a short (not-so-hot-quality) video of a clearwing moth"bumbling" around a flower.

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No Thoroughfare Trail and Bighorn Sheep

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Today we went for a walk on the No Thoroughfare Trail in the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, Colorado. Signs of Spring were everywhere. The special treat was spotting a group of six bighorn sheep passing by the first pond on the trail.

Closeup using my cell phone held up to a pair of binoculars.

Click on the pic above to see the whole group.

Looking out towards the trail...

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There were several different types of bright flowers already blooming along the trail.

A few species of wild bees could be seen droning around.

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Digging wasp alongside the trail.

One of several lizards that crossed our path.

A caterpillar tent in the brush.

A beetle (Paracotalpa sp.) on another caterpillar nest.

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Tobacco Hornworm in the Driveway

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This past Tuesday, I spotted this tobacco hornworm  ambling across our driveway in Grand Junction. 

I've always thought of these as tomato hornworms, but when I looked this one up to verify the identification, I discovered that the tomato hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) are actually a little different. This one is a tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). 

It was out looking for a spot to dig into the ground and pupate. I took a few pictures and then put it into the snake terrarium. Within 30 seconds it had already dug itself into the ground. Hopefully we'll see a tobacco hornworm moth in a few weeks.

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BIG Praying Mantis

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We found this praying mantis in the back yard on Oct. 1st. I'm pretty sure it's the largest praying mantis I've ever seen in our yard.We took a few pics and then let it go.

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Funnel Weaver Spider (a.k.a. Grass Spider)

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We discovered this funnel weaver spider's home in our backyard in late July. These spiders are very common around Grand Junction, CO. this time of year.

Everyone knows how big an egg carton is, right?

Now you know how big this spider's web was.

If you look carefully, you'll see the spider in the funnel opening.

My best efforts to capture a clearly focused picture of this creature were stymied. I don't know exactly what this is for sure, but it is probably an Agelenopsis sp.

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Sphinx Moth Caterpillar Eats and Grows

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The caterpillar on Thursday July 5th, 2012

Look at the bottom of this page for day by day progress pics.

The caterpillar eats quite a bit daily.

Monday, July 9th 2012

Tuesday, July 10th 2012

 Note: On Wednesday, July 11th 2012, this caterpillar dug down into the soil at the bottom of its cage to get ready to enter its next stage. We'll see what appears after a while.

Wednesday July 18th

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