Euphydryas editha "Edith’s Checkerspot" Nymphalidae
Seeley Lake, MT
July 26, 2014
Robert Niese
The caterpillars of this species will hibernate overwinter and can do so for many years before metamorphosing into adults.
Month: November 2014
Osmoderma subplanata “Leather Beetle” Scarabaeidae
Missoula, MT
July 30, 2014
Robert Niese
These large (3 cm), circumboreal beetles get their name from the leathery odors they emit from their exoskeleton (Osmo- means smelly, derma means skin). Adults spend most of their lives feeding on the decaying centers of fallen logs.
Lewisiopsis tweedyi “Tweedy’s Lewisia” Portulacaceae (Montiaceae)
Pine Flats Campground, Mad River Valley, Wenatchee National Forest
Ardenvoir, WA
May 11, 2013
Robert Niese
Tweedy’s Lewisia is a unique flower native to the eastern slopes of the Wenatchee Mountains in Washington and British Colombia. It is the sole member of its genus and can be found nowhere else on Earth.
Lewisiopsis tweedyi “Tweedy’s Lewisia” Portulacaceae (Montiaceae)
Pine Flats Campground, Mad River Valley, Wenatchee National Forest
Ardenvoir, WA
May 11, 2013
Robert Niese
Tweedy’s Lewisia is a unique flower native to the eastern slopes of the Wenatchee Mountains in Washington and British Colombia. It is the sole member of its genus and can be found nowhere else on Earth.
Frost on Malva neglecta “Common Mallow” Malvaceae
Missoula, MT
October 18, 2013
Robert Niese
Orgyia antiqua “Rusty Tussock Moth” caterpillar Lymantriidae (now Lymantriinae)
Tacoma, WA
July 12, 2013
Robert Niese
This species is widely dispersed throughout both hardwood and coniferous forests in North America. Here in the Pacific Northwest, it tends to be restricted to moist, low elevation forests west of the Cascades. The caterpillars of this species are generalists and can eat both conifers and flowering plants.
Fun fact: female tussock moths are flightless and lay their eggs en masse on their cocoon. In order to disperse into the wide world beyond the cocoon they’re born on, freshly-hatched larvae will balloon away on the wind.
Caloplaca luteominia var. bolanderi "Ruby Firedot Lichen"
Missoula, MT
March 14, 2014
Robert Niese
Caloplaca luteominea is a relatively common endolithic species of crust-like lichen. The little red cups that you see here (<1mm in diameter) are actually the reproductive structures (called apothecia) of the fungus. The rest of the organism lives within the rock (endo = within; lithic = rock), between the cracks and grains of the granite.
Agapeta zoegana “Sulphur Knapweed Moth” Tortricidae
August 14, 2014
Missoula, MT
Robert Niese
These diminutive moths (10mm in length) are obligate parasites of our invasive knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) and were introduced in 1984 as a potential biological control agent.
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) wing, Corvidae
No Data Available
Specimen courtesy of the Slater Museum
Photo by Robert Niese
The wings of Black-billed Magpies are quite striking. The deep black feathers covering most of their bodies are actually startlingly iridescent and starkly contrast with the white windows on their outer wing feathers. This contrast could be utilized as a form of visual communication during flight.
Northwest Naturalist 