Great Black-Backed Gull (Immature)

Great Black-Backed Gull

Black-Bellied Plover

Black-Bellied Plover

Male Wood Duck

Pine Warbler eating a Damselfly

Dave:

Could you give me any idea what insect could be preying on my pea plants. They are up about 5″ and where fine until just recently..The leaves are chewed badly on just about every one of the four rows of about 10′.. I live in Washington state in the Seattle-Tacoma area.

It could be a variety of things, have you noticed anything on the plants in the act or just the damage? It could be some kind of looper or cutworm. Loopers are a caterpillar that are mostly green with white stripes on their sides. They loop their backs as they move across the plants, hence the name “looper”. They usually chew characteristic holes in the leaves.

It could be a bean leaf beetle. They eat rounded holes through the leaf and chew the stems. This insect is probably the least likely to be the one affecting your peas as I doubt the adults are out yet.

It could be woolly bears, which chomp on the foliage.

It could even be garden slugs, which chew very large holes or even eat the whole leaf during the night. They are inactive during the day and usually hiding under debris.

So, I think the first thing that you need to do is get a better idea of what is lurking around your garden in order to narrow down what it is and how to stop it. What kind of damage are you seeing to your pea plants (i.e., small round holes in the leaves, entire leaves defoliated, chewing on the stems)? Do you see any larvae hiding underneath the leaves or on the sides of the stems? Do you see slugs hiding underneath potted plants or other debris in the garden? More clues will help narrow down better answers Let me know what you find.

In addition to getting poison ivy this past week, I saw some good birds. Unfortunately I haven’t had time to go on a purposed birding trip to see the spring migrants come through, so all my birding has been passive birding while working.

Gray Catbird

Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Then there was this Northern Cardinal that thought the competition was a little too hot. Every morning when I left the hotel to get to work he was out there checking out his reflection and pecking at the mirror.

This last bird threw me off at first. But with the help of my friend Jay it has been identified as a black-billed cuckoo with a case of somatic pattern leucism in the wings.

When I sent Jay the picture he wrote back with:

“The white in the wing is leucism – where the pigment cells in one localized area are defective. This manifests itself in all sorts of cool ways in birds. Sometimes it’s irregular, sometimes in a very specific pattern, sometimes substantial (the entire bird is white) and other times just a few or even a single feather. Take a look at these photos (a chipping sparrow and a common grackle) from Wikipedia for some cool examples.”

I did make one special trip out in search of Northern Goshawks last weekend, but no luck.

And lastly, not a bird, but a gorgeous water fall near one of our field sites.

We came across this precious little fawn today in the woods. I’m told by my coworkers that its less than a day old. It took everything in me not to go over and pick it up and cradle it in my arms.

It was just perfect how the sun streamed through the canopy onto this little baby.

Marc:

I found this very strange bug in my yard, so I am going to unfortunately ask you your least favorite question. What on good gods earth is this bug I found in my house/garden? I don’t even know how to describe it. I had an exterminator visit last week in an effort to get ahead of the ants this year. I am sure the pesticide that was sprayed drove this little creature out of his nice home. It kind of looks like it has the back legs of a grasshopper, the body of a moth with a forked tail and wings that aren’t suitable for flying. The head and front legs look like a lobster but instead of claws it has spiked paddle looking things. As of now, it is still alive but suffering the affects of the pesticides. I have seen lots of bugs and usually don’t shy away from them, but this thing has me wanting to move just thinking that he might have friends just like him.

Photo Credit: M. Sorbellini

I love your description. And you have to admit the thing does look crazy-cool. Your mystery bug is a mole cricket (Gryllotalpidae). Good find, because most people never actually see them as they spend most of their life underground. They eat things like other soil dwelling larvae and roots of grasses. Some species can cause a lot of turf problems because of their tunnel systems below the ground…and a lot of companies spray pesticides for them, but that is more for people who really care what their lawns look like, such as golf courses.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in New York has published a feature on Asian Longhorn Beetle and has used one of my photos in their feature. Check it out. Here is the link to the main page and to the article.

Today my baby sister and I went birding/bugging and we certainly came across some fun stuff. The highlight was probably getting to watch this red-tail eat a red squirrel.

And sometimes birds and bugs mix…we came across a dead grebe that was being aided in decomposition by fly larvae and beetles.

To see more pictures from today of birds click here and to see more pictures from today of insects click here.