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Ambush Bug, about 2 mm long, Durham, NC, 6/30/08.
Very tiny, but already an accomplished predator! |
Early-instarLeaffooted Bug nymph,
Durham, 6/6/05. Some babies take a while to get their act
together, looking for eats in all the wrong places (such as this car).
This one was a herbivore. |
Wheel Bug nymph, Durham, 6/2/06. This bug, not so well-fed, has its beak inserted in a
flower. Predatory insects supplement their diets with nectar as a rule,
perhaps for the same reasons we drink soda. |
Mirid bug nymph (Lopidea genus), Penny's Bend, Durham County, NC,
5/5/06. This herbivorous bug was about ¼ inch
long without the antennae. Thanks to Eric Eaton for ID. |
Stink bug nymphs, Penny's Bend Nature Preserve, Durham County, NC, 6/25/11 |
Leaffooted bug nymphs, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 6/15/06 |
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Leaffooted Bug nymph, 7/14/06. Much smaller than adults:
only about a half inch long. I found this one in the street and
moved it to a plant on my lawn. |
It looks like an armor-plated terror, but it's just an herbivorous
1-mm-long Acanaloniid Planthopper nymph. When it gets older, the
white stuff covers it like a thin cotton glove. |
Golden Tortoise Beetle larva, Durham, NC, 7/6/07.
How could you resist the appeal of those pudgy yellow legs and fancy
little spines? Granted, it's hard to see that in
the heap of protective fecal matter on top (barely visible). |
Very well-fed Wheel Bug nymph, Durham, NC, 5/10/08.
Alas, a drought starting soon afterward took the fat babies away. |
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Spined Assassin Bug(Sinea diadema)
nymph, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road
access, 8/17/08. Very tiny, and it's a good thing, too! |
Flea beetle larva (Trirhabda
bacharidis), North Charleston, SC, 3/28/06. It's an herbivore and
named for the adult's tendency to jump several inches under stress
despite being only 3 or 4 mm long. |
Casebearer beetle larva, Jordan Lake
Gameland, Chatham County, NC, 6/19/07. You can see the little legs on
the bottom of this imposing tower of protective fecal matter. |
Flatid Planthopper nymph, Durham, NC, 7/6/07.
It's covered with this cottony substance, but you can see a couple of little
eyes near the top. |
Green Lacewing larva (Durham, NC, 8/11/08), carrying a large white clump of white
matter meant to hide it from potential predators. The larva is
facing the camera, with its brown pincers facing forward; note the four
stripes on its head. When we
see a white fluffy mass moving around a leaf, this is what's underneath. |
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Puss Caterpillar, the cute-looking but dangerous larva of the Black-waved Flannel Moth (Megalopyge crispata) . It was
not quite an inch long. Under the cute-looking hairs are poisonous
spines: resist the urge to pet it! (And if you've already done it, see WebMD's relevant page for further information and consider
consulting a physician). |
White Flannel Moth (Norape ovina), caterpillar, Umstead State Park, Wake County, NC, 9/5/04.
Like the Puss Moth caterpillar, this caterpillar is poisonous. |
White-Marked Tussock Moth (Orgiya leucostigma) caterpillar, Durham, NC, 9/17/06.
This caterpillar is cute and harmless. |
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Mantid nymph, Eno River
SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, Durham County, NC, 5/29/05. This insect was about an
inch long, had no wings. I can't tell whether this is a
Chinese Mantis or a Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) at this stage;
other possibilities are unlikely. |
Mantid nymph, Pine Knoll Shores, Carteret County, NC, 7/23/08.
This nymph was about 2 inches long. |
Southern Dog Day Cicada nymph, Durham, NC, 8/15/07.
You can see the clay caked on this nymph from when it crawled out of
the ground. |
Oak Treehopper nymph, Duke Forest, Korstian
Division, 5/3/06. |
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Leafhopper nymph, Penny's Bend Nature
Preserve, Durham County, NC, 5/24/08 |
Bark louse
nymph,
Durham, NC, 5/1/08 |
Small Honey Ants. You can see
some brown pupae; the one on the right has adult features showing
through. You can also see developing legs on the white larvae.
Unlike other ants in the Formicinae subfamily, these pupae don't spin
cocoons. |
Flower fly (Syrphidae family) larva, Duke
Gardens, Durham, NC, 7/3/07. Note the two little breathing tubes
at the front and back. ID thanks to John R. Maxwell. |
Leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae family) larva, eating what I suspect is an
oak leaf. You can tell it's not a caterpillar because it has only
six legs. |
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Fledgling Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos),
Durham, 5/23/05. Fierce-looking, but undisputedly cute! |
Fledgling Carolina Wren, Durham, 5/20/06. |
Fledgling male Eastern Bluebird, Durham, NC, 9/19/05 |
Fledgling female Eastern
Bluebird, Durham, 7/2/05. |
Fledgling Blue Jay, Durham, NC,
6/15/09. It flew away after looking confused for a while. |
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Half-grown Boat-tailed
Grackle (Quiscalus major), Kure Beach Pier, New Hanover County, NC,
11/19/04. Perhaps the most popular image on my website, this
odd-looking bird has an appeal that needs no explanation (except to
me...) |
Young Purple Martin, Durham, 7/5/05. As
adults, they're a magnificent purple-hued black, but I think they're
much more charming going through their gargoyle stage. |
Young Ruby-throated
Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), NC Arboretum, Asheville, NC,
7/8/05. |
Young Red-shouldered Hawk,
Durham, 7/6/07. |
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Tadpole, NC Botanical Garden, Orange County, NC, 5/24/06. This was a
relatively large tadpole (over 2 inches long). Many adult, though
recent metamorphs, frogs and toads are temporarily much smaller than
this. |
Tadpole with hind legs, North Carolina Botanical Garden, Orange County, NC,
5/24/07 |
Tadpole, Durham, 4/15/05. This large tadpole
(about 5 inches long) was surprised by shallow
water in a creek. It did quite a bit of splashing around,
eventually making its way to deeper water. Maybe it was an
American Bullfrog; ID based on the USDA Forest Service's American Bullfrog page. |
Copyright © 2008-2019 by Dorothy E. Pugh