March 21, 2021

Martha O'Kennon



The Winter Aconites are almost gone, and now the Early Crocus is fading, but the "Easy Spread" Crocus are doing fine, and some of the larger cultivated Crocus (like this big striped one) are blooming well for the moment.

Remember that there is information in the name of the file for each image. You can see it by mousing over the image - look at the lower left of the screen. Or you can click on the image to get to the (usually) larger image. Then the info is displayed in the address line above. Sometimes the second click will actually display a different view of the original image.

This shiny Carpenter Ant (genus Camponotus) didn't want me to notice it so I only got one shot of it yesterday. The Western Honey Bees are crazy for the nectar of the "Easy Spread" crocus.



There has been the tiniest bit of action among the Barklice that I have been able to see and photograph. Just little signs, but it's a start.. First we see some little creatures that seem to have hatched from the eggs whose empty rings show that something has hatched, but the little creatures don't seem to be alive. But pictures 2 and 3 shows some changes in the weird "oatmeal flakes" on the North Wall's panel 6.



On the East Wall, panel 8, there were several hatched nymphs on March 12. On the 15th, the three nymphs had moved on and left one to hatch. By March 19, it too had hatched and moved on.



But we'll keep watching those Barklice and I hope that in a couple of weeks we will see more signs of life. Here are the three worst potentially Beetle pictures from out front.



Here's a lovely little Assassin Bug, but this is Zelus Tetracanthus as you can see from its non-red eyes. It reacted to my presence by drawing up its Mantis-like front legs in a defensive stance (pictures 2 and 3).



High overhead, this little bug looked sort of like a leafhopper, but maybe it had been injured. I think it is a relative of the Psyllids.



Here is what I think is a little Psylloid. It is between 1 and 2 mm long, extremely small.



Our little friends of genus Balclutha is still here. Look at those big yellow eyes.



Into the Flies! First, this good-sized Fly was identified as belonging to genus Leucophora. Second is a Gall or Forest Midge. Third is still unidentified but is probably related to number 2.



Some more flies. First, a tiny non-biting Midge.



This Fly? looks as if it is dancing with its shadow. The third one was such a mystery until Even Dankowicz said it too was a Non-biting Midge.



The world seemed yesterday to have been made of tiny spiders. Here are a bunch of (pictures of) tiny little Thin-legged Wolf Spiders. These little critters can fool you into thinking you're dealing with teensy Jumping Spiders. They aren't Jumping Spiders, but boy, can they jump around! There are several of them around right now, though you might not see any in a particular photoshoot. Last is one admiring its shadow.



We couldn't escape seeing a Common House Spider, could we? I always think the middle one has a face like Trump. In picture 3, we see its Cobweb Spider roots.



This next little fellow is a Lyric Cobweaver.



This is another view of the Lyric Cobweaver.



A lovely female Linyphiid (Sheetweb or Dwarf Spider)!



I think this one is a male Linyphiid, and probably in genus Grammonota.



Those big Crab Spiders, genus Bassaniana, look so small until you get your camera right in their face. They're one of my favorites now. I love that heart-shaped carapace. Since I only had two shots of this one, let's finish off the Crab Spiders with a cute little Running Crab Spider.



Well, that was a nice display of Spiders, wasn't it? Now we get a big surprise. I couldn't believe my eyes when the honey-bees morphed into Wasps! If you don't look carefully you might miss the Dark Paper Wasps in the flowers. You might want to click once or twice to find the wasps in the enlarged versions.



Some more lovely Crocus solos.



Well, I did what I'd been threatening to do for a while - put on my double-hung mask and headed for the local Family Fare (grocery store). I didn't buy a lot, but it felt good to remember my favorite parking place, and get my favorite cottage cheese, some corn on the cob, just a few things. Chaim got shot one, and seems to be satisfactorily reacting. My Physical Therapy is going splendidly (I'm knocking on wood as I say this). I'm getting closer to being able to get up if I find myself sprawled on the floor. That place is amazingly good. They are able to get you to work hard and not complain. The College President is now saying that AALL can have their fall classes in college rooms. Won't that be nice! I hope you are all also progressing toward freedom. I wouldn't go into a building without a mask, but it sure will be nice when we don't have to. Please take good care of yourselves.

Love, Martha

OH. I have a picture from cousin Renee in Florida. This is her lily pond. Thanks Cous!



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copyright Martha O'Kennon 2021