On The Trail With Mark

Was out looking for snakes this afternoon when I happened across this large Imperial Moth.  This guy was spotted attached to a hanging twig dangling in an undercut along Popes Head Creek.  I thought it was dead but when I went to detach it from the twig it dropped to the base of the cut then exuded some sort of musk out its vent. The substance looked something like reptile musk but didn’t have the smell.  Maybe taste bad but I was not tempted to perform that test.

 Didn’t see any reptiles today.

Ventral View

The team assembles!

Method of collection using a kick net

Above: netted macros taken to a table for sorting

Above:Students begn the tedious process of sorting  invertebrates into sampling trays for analysis

Above: a volunteer Id’s and records the number of each type  macroinvertebrate collected

Above: Sometimes ID requires careful scrutiny. Here a student uses a field microscope to properly ID a specimen

Sampling tray (above) Hellgramite larva (below)

 Students from Lake Braddock High School practice utilize acquired skills in AP Environmental Science this year to collect macroinvertebrates in Popes Head Creek.  A sample of size of 700+ macroinvertebrates were collected.  Prior collections indicated a rich diversity of macroinvertebrates in comparison to other Fairfax County streams.  However, diversity doesn’t always equate to “good” stream quality. The abundance or dominance of  pollution tolerant species over less pollution tolerant species collected  indicate a poor rating for stream quality on this occasion.

I found this beast hanging around a friend’s porch ceiling. I never have seen one before and now I know why. Walking Sticks are so cryptic and had it not been for the white background of the ceiling I would never have noticed it.  a really cool animal. This one was photographed along Bull Run Post Office Road

All of the Monoarch stages of development were taken with a Nikon pocket “point and shoot” camera so the quaility of photo isn’t great.  My purpose was to try and document a gradual transitional stages of the Monarch life cycle .  Note that this chrysalis is attached to, not a Milkweed plant but instead the underleaf of a Canna.  Just minutes after this pic was taken the adult form emerged

Monoarch Chrysalis late development stage.  Most likely around two and half weeks since it was formed.