Patterns in the Pool, and 2 Moths from May 16, Bar Harbor

Decaying leaf litter in shallow part of vernal pool, May 16, 2017.

Temperature dipped again last night and moths at the porch light were sleepy. I turned light off and hope they went someplace warmer. I’m awaiting confirmation of species ID because each of these has look-alikes, but the Genera are Orthosia and Lomographa, I think.  Update:  Orthosia revicta.  

Adding a couple more recent ones because they are so pretty.

This (above) is , Eucosma tocullionana, the White Pine Cone Borer, I think.  8mm, small. I hope it’s not a terrible pest, like the Spruce Budworm.

This one is a Tortrix Leafroller, Acleris logiana. 10mm   Black-headed Birch Leafroller. Hosts are Alder, Birch and Viburnum, which seem to be doing fine here, so I guess it’s not a terrible problem for them. I like the tufty scales on these. This was on May 11, 2017.

This (above) is Arogalea cristifasciella , White Stripe-Backed Moth; probably given its common name by a guidebook copy-editor. It is listed as common even though its host plant is “unknown” to the Peterson guide authors. 5mm – a micro. At the porch light 11 May. It’s a challenge to get a photo since I don’t have a special lens, just a point and shoot with a close-up choice. You can’t tell from this photo but it has a tuft at its midpoint. I can’t resist the tufts.  Okay, I’ll post my out-of-focus of an earlier individual of this species so you can see the tuft (below). This moth (on May 09) flew in our window when I opened it to hear a Barred Owl.

All IDs are subject to correction!  Correct ID help is welcomed. Thanks!

 

 

Might be Homochlodes fritillaria, or the other one that looks almost the same.

Ichneumon Wasp & Moths at porch light- Bar Harbor, 18-24 April

This is enlarged wing from the individual above. Based on pattern of wing veins (the ones I marked in green) I think this is an ichneumon wasp (rather than a braconid). Guidance was given by a member of Facebook Bugs & Slugs group.  Ichneumon wasps are parasitic and moths are the victims, so no surprise to find this at the porch light.

Cerastis salicarum.  April 18, Bar Harbor.  It is also listed in Proctor, collected Mt. Desert by Brower in 1934.

Feralia jocosa. April 24, Bar Harbor.  This species was also collected, in Bar Harbor by Brower, for the Proctor Insecta: Mount Desert Island Region survey in the 1930s.

Cladara limitaria.  April 23 Bar Harbor.

Eupsilia. I think it is E. vinulenta but there are several similar reported in Maine so I’m not positive.  24 April Bar Harbor.

 

 

 

Micro-Moths and Fungus Gnats

This might be Ypsolopha falciferella, but I have no confirmation. ID help is always appreciated.  About 10mm.

Comparison with examples on BugGuide were encouraging. It’s hard for me to get these micros in focus.

Here are two Fungus Gnats, the green-winged on April 15 and the one with black bristles on its Thorax on April 16. I don’t have ID for them beyond Diptera.  Used guidebooks and Google to get that far.  The larvae are detritivores.

 

 

 

Moss- Bar Harbor, April 14

Ralph Pope’s  Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts describes Bryum argenteum as being “very common”, and “with a frosted look caused by white leaf tips”. Could this be that?

The white leaf bundle is very small, about 1/8″. I’m assuming that the red capsules are associated with the white leaves but I don’t really know.

Animal fur tuft- 03 April, Bar Harbor

Thank you to the Maine Master Naturalists who knew what this is, or made an educated guess.  I never considered the Red Squirrel, and there are at least four to be seen at almost any moment in the yard. Here are the first photos I took after reading the suggestions and – I think this it the one!

 

another photo of same Red Squirrel tail, minus its tip

 

 

Segmented parasite?  (which I am holding by its head?)

25 March 2017, perfect weather for lichens- Acadia National Park

On Soil. Fruticose; Podetia; so far so good. But then I misinterpreted Brown or No Apothecia in the same way that got Oakhurst Dairy in trouble- there is  NO COMMA. So, the Podetia are not brown; they are green. Cups are small and there are not many. Soredia are granular and I’m not sure if “proliferating margins” means that the soredia are found there, or what. So, finally I am not quite sure if this is Cladonia rei , or not.

Here below is another Cladonia, located on the footpath near the one above. I first saw it more than a month ago and it looks none the worse for the recent snowstorms. Grace B. Helped me confirm this and it was my first successful ID using the Hinds Simplified Key, so I am quite fond of it: Cladonia boryi. Maybe I’ve already posted it, but I revisited it today to see how it is doing after alternating warm spells and frigid weather.

Tufted. Main branches 2-5mm in diameter, inflated and irregularly perforated. With its little tufts and perforations, this lichen stands out among the many others along the path.

Because of the farinose soredia, the tiny and poorly formed cups, and the conspicuous primary squamules, this one might be Cladonia coniocraea. The Hinds key adds, “s.lat.” I don’t know what that indicates.  I am also curious about all the juicy yellow things on the substrate. Baby Bryophytes? Next photo is a close-up of those. Nothing is in focus, however. Maybe the yellow spots are an artifact of the strange lighting and and the attempt to zoom in.

Could this one (above and below) be Parmotrema crinitum? It has cilia.

MIneral-gray. broad lobes, isidiate (dense, laminal), apically ciliate.

 

Common Split Gill Fungus on dead tree branch- 06 March 2017- Skaneateles, NY

I photographed this bracket-like fungus on a fallen branch at the edge of a melt-water stream, near the west shore of Skaneateles Lake. The stream-bed was eroded shale. This is in the Bahar Preserve of the Finger Lakes Land Trust.                                     The tiny fungus has a finely scalloped edge which curls toward the underside, and a fuzzy (tomentose?) upper surface. Thanks to those at The Maine Master Naturalist Program who looked at this and identified it as Schizophyllum commune, Split Gill fungus, and provided this link:http://www.mushroomexpert.com/schizophyllum_commune.html

Bud Diary – Red Oak

Dormant:  bud scales tight; no green tissue.

March 14, 2017  Four perfect leaves emerged from the terminal bud. Note the “bristled lobes”.  There is still a trace of the downy fuzz, but the leaves began drooping and fading almost immediately; they don’t belong indoors, they need to be attached to their tree.

Straight-toothed Sallow Bar Harbor 28 Feb. 2017