Vaccinium ovalifolium “Oval-leaf Bluberry” Ericaceae
Mount Rainier National Park, WA
August 9, 2013
Robert Niese
Uncategorized
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.
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.
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.
Salticus scenicus “Zebra Jumping Spider” Salticidae (female)
Missoula, MT
June 26, 2014
Robert Niese
This abundant, charismatic jumping spider was introduced to the US from Europe, but can now be found throughout most of the North American continent.
Thanatus formicinus Philodromidae
Missoula, MT
May 13, 2014
Robert Niese
Thanatus formicinus literally translates to “ant-like death spider.” Fortunately, these large, agile spiders do not live up to their names and are completely incapable of killing anything larger than a nickel. Look for them along dry, rocky river beds or open talus slopes.
Northwest Naturalist 