We stayed on the trails mostly on the Jan. 26th outing. But this drew us off for a bit. Hey, what can I say…LOL
So we did not get off the trail until we saw the old man. Ok there was that short cut too, but I am not counting that. 😉
Definitely an ole bearded man! LOL. Nice job beavers!
Up close, we could see the beautiful patterns from the insects!
More patterns!
Did you notice the critter above? I am leaning towards it as a possible Spider Wasp (Pompilidae). Furthermore, stepping out on a limb or log in this case, guessing that it may be in the genus Dipogon. Perhaps a female searching for nest placement on the old dead wood.
There was still a bit of bark on the ole man. Of course, we took a peek under the hood. Something scurried away.
Missing the shot several times, I finally caught up with one! It was about four to five millimeters.
They wanted to hide and who could blame them!
A hairy Springtail! Springtails are no longer considered insects. They are still arthropods, but now in a subclass of Collembola. Sizes of springtails range from .2 mm to 10mm long. This one was about 2 or 3 mm. Why are they not insects you ask? They have hidden mouth parts, no wings and don’t undergo a complete metamorphosis in the same way as a lot of insects. Springtails develop in three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Insects have four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Of course there are some insects, that also undergo incomplete metamorphosis. Several examples of these rule breakers are true bugs, grasshoppers, cicadas, cockroaches to mention a few. But remember the hidden mouthparts and no wings of the springtails. Otherwise like insects, they do have six legs, antennae, and abdomen. Springtails are detritivores and microbivores.
Indeed, you never know what you can find under that piece of bark!
Looks like a raccoon to me 🤣
Ok if i squint I can see a raccoon 🦝😊
Cool find under the hood. Love the insect tracks. Beautiful art work.