Home | Field and Swamp: Animals and Their Habitats |
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My Neighborhood Power Line Cut Mini-Swamp (Durham, NC)
This special habitat is actually to the side of a power line cut where there is a small marsh with a group of puddles that vary in size and location with maintenance work done to keep plants from encroaching on the power lines. But no matter how much work is done, it still manages to revert to its natural wildness -- in a different way each time.
Beetles
Tortoise Beetles have something extra: A transparent, reflective "shell." Sometimes you can see the red-orange elytra of the Golden Tortoise Beetle right through the shell; at other times, you simply get a reflection of the surroundings. That has to be even better than camouflage for confusing prospective predators! These are tiny beetles, about 5 mm long maximum.
Golden Tortoise Beetles (Charidotella bicolor)
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Golden Tortoise Beetle, Durham, NC, 7/1/07. | Same Golden Tortoise Beetle, in a different light | Golden Tortoise Beetle, Durham, NC 9/10/06, taken in a better light. |
Clavate Tortoise Beetles (Plagiometriona clavata)
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Clavate Tortoise Beetle larva, Durham, NC, 7/6/07. This insect was about 3 mm long. ID thanks to Donald S. Chandler. |
Burdock Beetles (Leptinotarsa juncta)
Rhubarb Beetles (Lixus concavus)
True Bugs
Dragonflies
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Male Common Green Darner, Durham, 7/27/06. This darner was constantly in flight at the edge of a swamp, but hovered long enough for me to take this photo. |
Frogs and Toads
These frogs and toads lived in what were really no more than puddles at the edge of the power line cut.
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Northern Cricket Frog, Durham, 10/28/05. | Northern Cricket Frog, Durham, 3/5/06. | American Toad mating pair, Durham, 3/4/06. The blue and white beads are apparently eggs. |
© Copyright 2005-2019 Dorothy E. Pugh. All pictures copyrighted.