May 2011
Sandy Creek Park, Durham, NC 5/31/11
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| Dion Skipper on Purple Coneflower | Red-necked Cone Borers (Agrilus ruficollis): One female, two males, mating going on... | Moth Mullein | Female/immature Widow Skimmer |
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| Robber fly (Laphria divisor) |
Durham, NC 5/30/11
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| Luna Moth in flight | Same Luna Moth in flight | Same Luna Moth perched |
Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC 5/29/11
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| Dogbane Beetle | Another Dogbane Beetle | Checkered beetle (Pelonides quadripunctatus). ID thanks to Blaine Mathison. | Tiny mantid nymph | Flower (crab) spider and bee on Viburnum genus flower |
Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, Orange County, NC 5/27/11
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| Ashy Clubtail | Crab spider | Red Clover blossom, a composite of typical legume family (Fabaceae) flowers | Lightning bug beetle | Northern Pearly Eye |
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| Seven-spotted Ladybug Beetle | Small fly | Jumping spider with fly prey | Crane fly |
North Carolina Aquarium, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC 5/24/11
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| Albino American Alligator. According to a volunteer, it's the offspring of two alligators living in the wild in Louisiana, with the egg obtained by an appropriately licensed professional. |
Fort Fisher Recreation Area (Basin Trail), New
Hanover County, NC 5/24/11
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| Golden-winged Skimmer | Katydid on Prickly Pear flower | Diamondback Terrapin | Tricolored Heron (in Cape Fear River) | Sphecid wasp (Palmodes dimidiatus) |
Fort Fisher Recreation Area (Battery Buchanan Tour Stop), New Hanover County, NC 5/24/11
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| Yellow Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta qudrivittata) | Yellow Rat Snake |
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| Male Sand Fiddler Crab | Male Sand Fiddler Crabs: they competed for a crab hole, and the one on the right won. |
Fort Fisher Recreation Area (Battery Buchanan Tour Stop), New Hanover County, NC 5/23/11
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| Great Egret | Wharf Crab | Wharf Crab | Sand Fiddler and Brackish-water Crabs |
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| Great Egret | American Oystercatcher | Salt Marsh Skipper | Blooming Marsh Pennywort |
Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 5/23/11
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| Black Skimmer, Lake Park, at 5:48 PM | Black Skimmers | Eurasian Collared Dove |
Carolina Beach State Park, New Hanover County, NC 5/23/11
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| Flower longhorn beetle | Mourning Doves | Bee fly (Exoprosopa genus) | Phaon Crescent |
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| Prickly Pear flower with flower longhorn beetle. The beetle finally got out of the flower after some struggling. | Tread-softly (Cnidoscolus stimulosus), a member of the spurge family. It has stinging hairs. | Prickly Pears with flowers | Robber fly |
Fort Fisher Recreation Area (Battery Buchanan Tour Stop), New Hanover County, NC 5/22/11
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| Red-winged Blackbird | Snowy Egret | Campsomeris plumipes wasp on Firewheel | Prickly Pear in flower |
Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 5/22/11
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| Mallard family with frisky duckling, apparently out of control, Lake Park | Common Starling | Eurasian Collared Dove | Young male Red-winged Blackbird, Lake Park |
Durham, NC 5/21/11
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| Sooty Crane Fly (Tipula fuliginosa). ID thanks to Chen Young. | Spotted Cucumber Beetle | Common Buckeye |
Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC 5/20/11
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| Question Mark, ventral view. You can see the white "question mark" on the hind wing. | Question Mark, showing dorsal view | American Snout | Hiding Zebra Swallowtail | Hiding American Lady |
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| Green lacewing larva | Little Wood Satyr | Striped Lynx spider |
Durham, NC 5/20/11
The only evidence of 13-year periodical cicadas in my SW Durham neighborhood showed up on the ground in two widely separated locations:
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| 13-year periodical cicada wings. Top: hindwing; bottom: forewing. |
Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, Durham and Orange Counties, NC, 5/18/11
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| Dark variant Silvery Checkerspot | Silvery Checkerspot | Great Spangled Fritillaries | Asian Multi-colored Ladbybug Beetle larva | Male Zabulon Skipper |
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| 13-year periodical cicada exuvia and adult. Notice tiny beetle? on the exuvia. | 13-year periodical cicada exuvia | Another 13-year cicada exuvia | 13-year periodical cicadas emerged through these holes. Two exuvia are shown. | Mason Wasps (Monobia quadridens), Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 5/18/11 |
Durham, NC 5/16/11
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| Variegated Fritillary | Question Mark | Chipping Sparrow | Same Chipping Sparrow |
Durham, NC 5/15/11
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| Green Six-spotted Tiger Beetle | Stink bug nymph (Menecletes insertus) | Shield-backed katydid | Venus- Looking Glass | Boxelder Bug nymph |
Durham, NC 5/14/11
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| Dirt-colored Seed Bug (Rhyparochromidae family), Myodochini tribe, possibly Slaterobius genus. ID thanks to v belov. | Orange Sulphur | Rove beetle | Pillbugs |
Durham, NC 5/11/11
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| Venus' Looking Glass | Scarab beetle |
Penny's Bend Nature Preserve, Durham County, NC 5/10/11
I heard two species of cicadas, not always in the same places. You can report these sightings at https://www.magicicada.org, but need to have exact GPS coordinates to get on their map. That website shows you how to identify species by sound and by ventral-view photos.
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| 13-year Periodical Cicada (Magicicada tredecim? trecassini?) | 13-year Periodical Cicada, recent metamorph | 13-year Periodical Cicada: adult and exuvia | 13-year Periodical Cicada with an incompletely dried forewing | 13-year Periodical Cicada exuviae. You can see that the nymphs had little wing pads. |
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| Eyed Click Beetle | Aphid | Front view of a 13-year Periodical Cicada |
North Carolina Botanical Garden, Orange County, NC 5/9/11
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| Backswimmer | Water strider (Trepobates genus), about an inch long, the biggest I've ever seen | Water strider (Trepobates genus) exuvia | Silvery Checkerspot on the hand of an unknown butterfly whisperer | Mirid bug nymph |
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| Picture-winged fly | Click beetle | Eastern Indian Paintbrush | Virginia Spiderwort | Bluet |
Boone, Watauga County, NC 5/7/11
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| Song Sparrow |
Blue Ridge Parkway (Mileposts 299-300), NC 5/6/11
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| Sessile Bellwort (Uvularia sessifolia) | True Strawberry |
Tanawha Trail (Mileposts 299-300), NC 5/6/11
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| Dwarf Crested Iris (I. cristata) | Canadian Violet | Halberd-leaf Violet | Another Halberd-leaf Violet |
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| Painted Trillium (T. undulatum) | Red Trillium (T. erectum) | Veery (a kind of thrush). Thanks to Simon Thompson and Dave Lenat for ID. | Same Veery |
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| Tiger swallowtail | A creek | Mayapple flower | Small crane fly, about the size of a mosquito |
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| Canadian Mayflower (Maiathemum canadensis), Liliaceae family member |
Copyright © 2011 by Dorothy E. Pugh. All rights reserved. Please contact for rights to use photos.
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