Cicada(2)

He has just been out of the skin, having spread out the wings in perfect shape, and waiting for the body to color and harden. He is clinging tightly to its old skin. His life probably depends solely on how firm he anchored the forelimbs, which is now a lifeless skeleton.

The color of the newly emerged body was so similar to those of the surrounding green leaves that it took me a while to find him.

Cicada

This year, I've been lucky. I saw all three stages of this cicada (Tibicen bihamatus): the larval stage just before emerging(photo), the stage in which the adult cicada has just been out & still green and the adult stage which is usually difficult to see because they eventually climb so high up to the canopy of the forest.

Evening Event (1)

When I'd seen this couple several minutes before, the male was dancing in front of the female, the one with a larger and plump abdomen. When I came back, the male took her under control and was ready to insert the sperm capsule which looks like a red droplet beneath the red fangs. The courtship of carnivorous arthropods is really a life-or-death event. Males have to pay extra caution not to get eaten by the prospective mate.

It was beginning to get dark. I don't know if the male could successfully flee after mating.

The Pupae

This photo is of another pupa found on the same day. Found only half a meter from the previous one. It seems to be a different species. I can't wait till they come out.

Pupating Caterpillers

This time of the year, I don't have time during the day to take pictures of the living things I love. After my work is over, I rush to the woods while it is still light to manage taking several photos.

I only have about one hour to stroll around and find out how the creatures are doing. It is sometimes too dark for photographing, but very often I can encounter exciting events and animals that I can never see under the hot and bright sunlight.

One of such encounters was pupating caterpillars. They hung upsidedown from a fense surrounding a pond. They waited for the metamorphosis within their body to take place, slowly shedding the skin.

It was getting dark and the forest was becoming silent, which meant that predators were becoming inactive.

I found four of such pupating caterpillars almost in synchrony. The photo is a pupating Argynnis paphia.

The Pond 10 days from then

This photo was taken on April 18 2010. Ten days after the last one.

The Pond

This photo was taken on April 8 2010. The surface was still covered with ice. Snow had melted only around the rim facing south.

Walk in the Woods

Went for a walk in nearby woods. It was still subzero temperature, but the sun felt warm and bright. Shown is a fox trail. It is a fairly old one and the edge of each foot print is melting, resulting in the formation of a ridge.