Monthly Archives: May 2010

Cedar waxwings

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I saw these beautiful birds at one of my bus stops this morning. They are on my shortlist of most beautiful birds in North America – I would set them alongside cardinals, orioles, and painted buntings any day. Their plumage … Continue reading →

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Artwork: Bicknell’s Thrush in Prismacolor pencil

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

Drawing in Prismacolor pencils, in honor of my 194th life list bird. I didn’t think the drawing was finished when I walked out of the room to get a gray pencil, but when I returned, the drawing just worked in … Continue reading →

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RIP, Fluffy

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

Sadly, my little scymnine lady beetle larva has died. *sniff* I just can’t seem to keep this subfamily alive! I saw more larvae in the same milkweed patch, so I’ll try again – but leave some in the wild, lest … Continue reading →

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It’s a lady beetle-eat-lady beetle world…

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

…still, it hardly seems fair for two active larvae to gang up on a prepupal larvae for breakfast. I gave them a lot more aphids and although that particular prepupa is never going to pupate, I hope the rest of … Continue reading →

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“Come up and see my paintings…”

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

Oddest thing happened: I met a friend of my boss while doing an aphid search, got to talking, and he invited me to, well, come and see his paintings. And then he actually did show me his paintings! Not all … Continue reading →

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Buggy goodness!

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

My catch of the day was a 6mm scymnine lady beetle larva, finally! I’ve never been able to raise scymnines – adults haven’t mated or laid eggs in captivity, the larvae I collected last summer all died within days – … Continue reading →

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Posted in Coccinellinae, Flies, Insects, Lady beetles, Life Cycles, Scymninae, Syrphids | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life List Bird #194: Bicknell’s Thrush

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I spent a wonderful afternoon sitting in a willow tree in Philly’s Roosevelt Park (incongruously right across the street from all the sports stadiums, but a great birdwatching location nonetheless). I had my binoculars and one hand and cell phone … Continue reading →

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Posted in Birds, Blackbirds, Mimids, Plants, Thrushes, Trees, Warblers | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The important things

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I managed to miss two buses due to nature sightings – one while I was collected a lady beetle larva, the other when I was trying to ID a warbler’s butt high above me in a tree. I didn’t get … Continue reading →

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Perspective

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I’m probably the only person who looks at a milkweed plant literally encrusted with aphids and says “Oh, that’s beautiful!” Hey, with two dozen tiny coccinellid mouths to feed, it is. And aphids themselves come in a dizzying array of … Continue reading →

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Birds and bugs, oh my!

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I had a GREAT bird and bug commute. Since I left the house an hour early, I spent an hour strolling in Old City, where a single tree had 7, count ‘em, 7 species of warbler, including the very rare … Continue reading →

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Posted in Aphids, Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Insects, Lady beetles, Plants, Warblers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment