May 24th. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) foraging.

 

Must be getting used to me. I was able to walk by quite close without it flying.

 

 

 

Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) at the edge of the trail. Egg laying should start any time now.

 

 

 

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) hunting.

 

Something caught its eye.

 

False alarm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading off to find a better spot.

 

Three particularly nice Pink Lady's-slipper Orchids (Cypripedium acaule).

 

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense).

 

Individual flowers still opening.

 

Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum).

 

 

 

Dandelion seeds (Taraxacum officinale).

 

 

 

Narrow-leaved Bitter-cress (Cardamine impatiens), an invasive.
Read about it here: https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/cardamine/impatiens/

 

Thanks to UConn's Dr. Sarah Taylor for the identification.

 

In all these years on the trail, I don't recall ever noticing Bittersweet (Celastris scandens) in flower.

 

Not much to see, really.

 

A Sawfly larva was curled up on a leaf of the Bittersweet. (Family Cimbicidae; Abia americana I think.)

 

A different Sawfly larva (Family Tenthredinidae) on White Oak (Quercus alba).

 

A Crane Fly (Family Tipulidae) missing two of its six delicate legs.

 

A startlingly bright red female Midge (Family Chironomidae, likely Chironomus ochreatus).

 

Snipe Fly (Family Rhagionidae, probably Rhagio sp.).

 

An Orb-weaver Spider (Family Araneidae, likely the Six-spotted Orb-weaver, Araniella displicata).

 

 

 

Maple Eye-spot Galls made by the Ocellate Gall Midge, Acericecis ocellaris, in the family Cecidomyiidae.

 

May 25th. A midday walk east on the Colchester Spur. Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in flower.

 

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) close up.

 

 

 

 

 

White Clover (Trifolium repens).

 

Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) comes in several colors, often growing together.

 

Zabulon Skipper (Poanes zabulon).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A different species (I think) landed on Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum).

 

It looks like a Hobomok Skipper (Poanes hobomok).

 

A male Damselfly, probably a Bluet, Enallagma sp.

 

 

 

This looks like a male Fragile Forktail Damselfly (Ishnura posita).

 

A male Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) extracting minerals from soil on the trail.

 

The minerals will be passed to the female during mating and be encorporated into the eggs.