Animal/ Bird track, Canada Goose footprints in mud at the edge of a lake, shows size roughly 11 cm long, 5.5 cm wide, walking gait prints, Close up photos of the goose and feet. This goose was not fearful, most likely due to frequent exposure to non threatening lake fishermen.
Plant gall/insect track. Two split goldenrod galls shows presence of cocoons with gray colored silk-like wrapping. The cocoons were dissected, inside were a soft and mummified larvae, 2 mm body length. The gray wrapping appears to be a fungus, (Phycomycetes) as seen in microscopy (last 2 photos).
Bird nest/ bird track. A brown feathered, immature Bald Eagle was observed flying onto the nest.
Found along shoreline in tall grass. 14 mm long, 10 mm wide
22 mm long, 14 mm wide, found in sand on beach of Chesapeake Bay.
Small, 10 mm long, 4 mm wide, found on beachhead in grassy area
12 mm diameter, with three small “teeth” (photo3) at opening of operculum, found in sand along beachhead
Minute, 3 mm body length. Found under bark of a fallen tree.
Minute, 3 mm long, found under bark of a fallen tree with dermestid beetles.
Winged male 22 mm long, soldier 10 mm long, worker 8 mm long.
Mammal bones, animal track of White-tailed Deer. Female sex. The bones were found at the bottom of a ridge near a creek. Decomposition was complete. There are rodent gnawing marks on the bones. Bones were washed in hydrogen peroxide-water soak then soil was brushed off. Based on the anatomy of the maxillary teeth( the mandible was not found), I estimate the deer to have been 2.5 years old. Bones displayed are : cranium, right rib, hemi-pelvis, femur, tibia, metacarpal, metatarsal, humerus.
Animal skull, mammal track. Skull of black form of an Eastern Gray Squirrel found dead on a grassy path in a public park. Taphonomy consisted of burial in clay soil for 4 weeks then H2O2-hot water bath cleansing. A few maxillary and mandibular teeth were lost.
Adult form, Female, sitting in nest. Male was flying nearby.
Animal (mammal) skull, deer track. Male sex. The deer was found dead at the bank of a creek on 11/24/2022. The hind quarters, pelvic and abdominal contents were shredded and mostly missing. I suspect the deer was mauled by coyotes. Based on the mandibular dentition, I estimate the deer to have been 3 1/2 years old. The head was removed, buried in clay soil for 15 months, taphonomy was complete with only remnant soil to remove.
Soft, jelly-like, approximately 3 cm. Long
Animal track. Fox scat adjacent to an American crow kill site. Scat measures approximately 6-7 cm long, 1 cm wide.
Animal track, bird skull, American Crow with dimensions. Found dead in a wooded area. Carcass measured 44 cm. long. No evidence of predation, bird might have been poisoned. Large cranium and heavy beak present. Taphonomy by burial in soil then hydrogen peroxide-water soak and remnant soft tissue dissected off.
Animal track, Robin skull with dimensions. Bird was found dead on ground. Taphonomy by burial in soil for 14 days then hydrogen peroxide and water soak for 3 days, debris dissected off. Photos also show bird carcass and feathers under stereomicroscope.
Animal track. Skull bones of Common Raccoon. Female sex, as the sagittal creat is flat, not thick as would be found in a male. Skull length 11 cm, width 5 cm. Animal was found dead on a rock at edge of a creek, it most likely fell from a great height, no evidence of predation found when body was examined. Skull was removed and taphonomy process was burial in soil for 15 months, remnant tissue cleared with hydrogen peroxide and water.
Hosting several Locust Borer beetles and Eastern Yellowjackets, insects display Batesian mimicry.
Found on a fallen branch on the ground. Microscopy of spores and hyphae.
Stony coral, small specimen, 8 mm length, found in superficial beach sand.
Animal track, mammal, in clay/sandy soil along a creek edge. Stepping gait with near overlap of hind- front paws. Stride is roughly 18 in. , paws size roughly 2 in.
Bird track. Feather retrieved from a dead robin’sbreast plumage at transition zone between red and gray feathers. Photos are of front and back sides of feather with close up of proximal rachis where it enters the skin.
Small, sand dwelling Gastropod, Approximately 4 mm long, found in superficial layer of beach sand, Carolinian fauna Provence
Animal track, canid, in sandy soil. Large size paw, roughly 3.25 in. length, deep fingernail imprints and wide phalangeal imprints, prominent heel pad. Most likely a large dog. Adjacent area had human shoe imprints compatible with the domesticator’s footprints.
Gall and Insect Track. 28 mm diameter. This gall was one of many in a section of withered and woody Goldenrod plants. Dissection did not yield a larva. I suspect the large burr holes, which show incisional track marks, were made by an avian predator, the smaller hole is an exit hole burred by a pupa.
Found in woods. Fruit is approximately 3 cm diameter.
Insect track. Wasp nest found approximately 10 ft. high on a distal branch of a medium size tree just interior to a gravel walking path in Winter after a snow storm and heavy rains. The majority of the cells were empty. Last two photos show a retrieved mummified wasp.
Winged male. 4 mm body length. Found swarming with many others on a wet tree trunk after snow melt, ambient temp was approximately 60°F.
Deer Animal Track. Portion of broken deer antler with attached cranial bone found at the bottom of a ravine after a snow and wind storm. The antler has a traumatic fracture, and the separations at the cranial-orbital sutures are non-traumatic, implying that the animal died some time ago, and that the cranium separated by weakening over time. There are no obvious predatory teeth marks to suggest scavenging on the specimen, however, the antler itself has an irregular break mark and may have been chewed off by a predator. Interestingly, the inner aspect of the cranium shows brain gyral ridge impressions. Judging by the size of the antler diameter, 3 cm., the deer must have been older than one year. To orient the reader, Photo 3 shows the specimen juxtaposed in anatomical orientation with another one of my collected and previously posted specimens.
Bird track. Foot prints in snow showing a hopping pattern. The small passerines frequently seen are Slate-colored Juncos, Carolina wrens, Black-capped chickadees, Titmice, sparrows, and Blue-birds.
Animal track. Rabbit footprints in snow, showing front and hind feet length and stride length.
Animal track. Bounding and trot pattern in snow. Tail track is seen in image 1.
Animal track. Foot prints and hole dug by White-tailed Deer searching for grubs , low vegetation.
Approximately 125 um. Fresh water creek specimen.
The largest sycamore leaf I’ve ever found, retrieved from the edge of a water creek. Leaf measures 28 cm top to bottom and 44 cm side-to-side.
Fresh water diatom. Approximately 50 um length.
Aquatic annelid form. Found in a fresh water creek attached to the bottom of a rock in shallow, slow moving water. Approximate size: At rest 3 cm long , stretches to 5 cm long. Distal end has strong attachment to surfaces. Moves by characteristic inching steps. Head will raise up and search up-down and side-to-side.
Minute size, 2 mm body length, female workers, reproductive male winged form, developing eggs, found under bark of rotting, fallen tree.
10 mm body length ( excluding cerci) 22 mm with cerci, 2 mm wide. Found at nighttime creeping within rocks of a retention wall in wooded area. Photo 3 shows triangular ocelli, photo 4 medial appendix dorsalis and two cerci, photo 5 magnification of mouth parts.
Approximately 30 mm long.
Animal track. Found on a city street. Tuff of hair from squirrel tail, evidence of a struggle. Carcass nowhere in the vicinity. Suspected predators are the many hawks, red foxes and the few cats in the neighborhood.
Insect track. Cocoon, 55 mm long, 15 mm wide, two round puncture wounds show evidence of parasitic attack. Last photo is of a dry tulip tree flower stalk, to demonstrate how the cocoon mimics the appearance of the tulip flower stalk.
Approximately 40-50 mm long.
Nymphs in various stages huddled on a dry milkweed flower pod.
Small 4 mm body length, 4 mm euthanized wingspan.
14 mm body length, 38 mm wingspan.
12 mm body length, 7 mm wingspan
Female. 9 mm body length, 14 mm wingspan.
Large, 18 mm body length, 38 mm wingspan, flying with bees and wasps on a tall flowery bush.
Minute insect, 4 mm body length, found on a bird feather on woodland soil.
Small, approximately 10 mm long, 8 mm wingspan, flies along edge of trail
Observed in a man made pond, roughly 20 inches long excluding the tail.
Ground beetle found in superficial soil layer. Approximately 12 mm body length, 4 mm body width.
Larva, 18 mm body length, 2 mm body width. Found in superficial soil layer under heavy leaf litter.
Small, 8 mm body length, 4 mm resting wingspan. Found on leaf in dense woods.
Nymph. 20 mm body length, 4 mm body width. Found in a meadow.
18 mm body length, 40 mm spread wingspan.
22 mm body length, 40 mm wingspan.
14 mm body length, 12 mm wingspan.
8 mm body length, 6 mm wingspan.
Found resting quietly during morning hours on tulip tree bark showing protective color mimicry.
38 mm body length, 14 mm width.
Was quite orange colored when first caught, now slightly discolored from euthanasia. 14 mm body length 4 mm width.
28 mm body length, 14 mm resting wingspan. Second photo shows closeup of epsilon markings.
8 mm body length, 2 mm width.
10 mm body length, 3 mm width.
12 mm body length, 28 mm antennae length.
28 mm body length, 24 mm resting wingspan.
Larva stage. Small, approximately 10 mm long, and soft, resembles bird dropping, with white saddle near middle.
Two swallowtails , both female, yellow form and black morph, having a drink of nectar on a hot sunny day.
Approximately 27 mm long, congregated, resting on over and undersurface of a milkweed plant leaf.
Colorful, small , approximately 8 mm body length, 4 mm body width found on leaf surface in area of tall grass and vines near a fresh water drainage stream. Could it be a Caddisfly? iNaturalist does not identify.
Larva form of moth. 38 mm long. Seven diagonal lateral lines, red tail. Found on tomato plant in garden.
Minute size beetle, 7 mm body length, 3 mm body width. Heavily infested with mites, especially on ventral side as shown in last 3 photos. Found in woods
Unfortunate extensive descaling wing damage. 10mm body Length, 30 mm wingspan
Found in woods. 10 mm body length, 18 mm wingspan.
22 mm body length, 22 mm wingspan.
Minute, 6 mm body length, 3 mm body width.
20 mm body length, 44 mm wingspan.
22 mm body length, 35 mm wingspan
Minute size, 1 mm diameter, instar stage, found on undersurface of a leaf in a meadow
40 mm body length, 74 mm wingspan. Elusive and hard to catch, while hunted learned to land on tall grass at lake periphery ready to escape.
Larva of Rove beetle. 26 mm body length, 2 mm width. Very quick on the ground. Found near grass
Large wasp, 30 mm body length, 40 mm wingspan.
Large wasp, 28 mm body length, 34 mm wingspan, found hunting along periphery of a lake. This specimen has a red abdomen, different from the wasp I posted on 07/15/23 which has a black abdomen.
Insect track. Leaf mining by moth. Photos show leaf dissected exposing the larva, scat and body morphology including head and tail end. Small, approximately 1 mm body length. Last photos are of another two leaves with lesser and more mature larvae.
Microlepidoptera, 8 mm body length, 1 mm width. Seen resting on leaf with wings spread.
Minute 6 mm body length, 4 mm wingspan , found on low shrub at the edge of a lake.
Larva in 8 mm fecal case, resembles bird dropping. Found on top of a leaf.
12 mm body length, 25 mm wingspan. Found in a fallow meadow off a city street
Larva of Lady Beetle and eggs on tree bark.
12 mm body length, 2 mm body width. Found at edge of fresh water stream.
Walking foot prints of front and hind feet. Found on dirt trail adjacent to a fresh water creek.