The Earth-boring Dung beetle usually is found in woodland edges and fields. Their larvae take about 5 months to reach adulthood which usually only eat fungi in the beginning.
This specimen was caught by shocking Walnut Creek, at site #9 in Chicopee Woods. Along with the Nocomis, this fish is a good indicator of the stream's improvement. Although, the creek is still in a less-than-optimum state, judging from it's lack of velocity regime diversity, large amount of erosion, and huge banks of deposition. A notable feature of this genus is the very distinctive full, fat and fleshy lips on its sub-terminal mouth.
This fish was roughly 15 cm. One notable feature of this genus is the minuscule barbel at the corners of the mouth, which is all but invisible. This specimen (along with the Moxostoma) was caught at Chicopee Woods, site #9, in Walnut Creek, by shocking the creek. The creek itself was of low health, with large areas of deposition and heavy erosion.
Trophy golden shiner caught in the Tumbling Creek wetland. The angler is my daughter.
This is probably a breeding male as indicated by the reddish fins.
It was really hot and we were glad that the shaded pavilion was nearby. It was built by students and faculty to honor the memory of Ed Mayhew, a professor who worked at the college in days past.
Mimics a wasp in the family Pompilidae with dark, purple-iridescent wings. A gorgeous and very large rove beetle. Crazily active, crawling around and flicking its wings in a VERY waspy way.
American Lady - Vanessa virginiensis
This butterfly is a dull orange color with white spots on the black parts of the wings and a brown body. The American Lady has big eyes. There is a distinctive mark that is helpful in identifying this butterfly - there is a small white spot on the orange part of the forewings (this can seen in the picture). This butterfly is common in the southern United States. It is found in open areas like meadows and fields.
This American Lady was observed on the Gainesville State College Campus. The class was in the wetlands located in the Tumbling Creek Woods on campus.
Caught in pitfall trap near Gainesville, Hall County, GA. In mature hardwood forest, near a spring-seep wetland. These big black spiders are related to tarantulas. They are very rarely seen because they are strongly nocturnal and spend most of their time in cryptic tube-shaped webs. The web extends from a tunnel and runs up the base of a tree trunk for a few centimeters. The spiders detect prey crawling on the outside of the tube and grab the prey from INSIDE the web. They feast, and repair the damage later. Neat hunting strategy. The males wander in search of mates, and I suppose that's what this guy was doing when it blundered into our trap.
Bases of antennae are very close together, a characteristic of Gryllacrididae (camel crickets and kin). Camel crickets are usually found in crawl spaces, sheds, etc. We set out pitfall traps in hardwood forest, pine-hardwood transition forest, and even a privet-choked old home site... and captured these guys at all three spots. Yet you never see them during the day; they must hide under logs and in animal burrows.
Large sized woodpecker inhabiting eastern Northern American deciduous forests. Mostly black with red crest and white stripe down the sides of the head and throat. Diet consists mainly of insects and will often seek out by chipping holes in trees. The red line near the bill indicates it is a male.
Field thistle blooms around summer and fall can be either pink or purple in color. It can grow up to 6 feet in height. The Field thistle can be found on eastern United States. This particular thistle was found on the edge of a pine forest.
Brown Daddy-long-legs - Phalangium opilio
The Brown Daddy-long-legs is a member of the Phalangiidae family. It has four pairs of very long and slender legs. The second pair of legs are much longer than the other pairs and they are used as antennae. Commonly called "Harvestmen". The body is a reddish brown color. The eyes of this harvestmen are on a black projection; one eye to the left and one eye to the right (as shown in picture). They frequent habitat such as tree trucks and on open ground. They are found throughout North America. They feed on small insects and decaying organic matter.
This Harvestmen was captured in a pitfall trap that was set in a privet plot on the Gainesville State College campus in the Tumbling Creek Woods. It was then observed in lab and pictures were taking using a photographic microscope.
Eastern Daddy-long-legs - Leiobunum sp.
Daddy-Long-Legs are a part of the Phalangiidae family. They have four pairs of very long and slender legs. The second pair of legs are longer than the other pairs and they are used like antennae. They do not have the ability to regenerate their legs. They are commonly referred to as "Harvestmen".
The Eastern Daddy-long-leg are yellowish to greenish brown and have a stripe along the midline as seen in the picture. The stripe looks like a rounded hour glass. The end of each leg has a microscopic claw (shown in picture). The Eastern Harvestmen are frequently found in shady areas and on tree trunks. They are found east of the Rocky Mountains. They eat tiny insects, mites, and plant juices.
This Eastern Harvestmen was collected in a pitfall trap that was placed in the hardwood plot along the south trail of the Gainesville State College Tumbling Creek Woods.
Southern Red Oak - Quercus falcata
The Southern Red Oak is a medium to large tree that can grow to 90' tall. It is deciduous tree. It is distinguished from other oak trees by the leaf shape and the hairy underleaf. The leaf base is U-shaped and the underleaf has rusty hairs. Oaks are widespread and dominant in many forest types especially in the southeast. In the United States oak trees account for roughly half of the annual production of hardwood.
This Southern Red Oak was observed in Oakwood, Georgia on the Gainesville State College Campus just off of the South Trail. The leaf had both of the characteristics mentioned above and the bark was ridged but not peeling. It was slightly darker in color compared to surrounding trees.
Pinus Virginiana; Grows in poor soil along the Appalachian mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama. It is not limited to poor soil and can flourish in nutrient rich soil.
We encountered this specimen in the Tumbling Creek Woods, in a dense section of privet. It has a very distinctive hindleg, which is curved like a leaf. It had an interesting texture and great coloration.
We caught this chorus frog adjacent to the wetlands in the Tumbling Creek Woods, on the GSC campus.
This unknown dragonfly was surprisingly comfortable and allowed me to get pretty close, the closest I've ever been to none, in fact. There were quite a few of them flitting around. Sharing the same order (Ordonata), dragonflies are closely related to damselflies. In fact, the two are often confused for one another, due to the fact that they share habitats, life cycles, and general characteristics. However, there are several differences which, with careful observation, can help distinguish between these two suborders. Damselflies have eyes positioned far on the sides of their heads and have slender abdomens, compared to the thick abdomens of dragonflies. Dragonflies have a hindwing which is thicker at the base than the forewing, while the wings of the damselfly are relatively the same. Also, there are differences in the ways that they hold their wings. Dragonflies have theirs laid out horizontally while damselflies have wings that are angled above or in line with their abdomen. Their activity yields some distinct traits as well. Damselflies are less powerful than dragonflies and so tend to perch until prey flies by. Dragonflies actively fly in the open and swarm to catch prey. If you are lucky enough to observe a nymph, then it is easy to determine the correct identification. Damselfly nymphs are slim and small, while dragonfly nymphs are football-shaped and large with a point at the end of their abdomens. This particular specimen was chasing another dragonfly around, perhaps a possible mate. My proximity may have been possible because of this fact and the presence of the other dragonfly.
This is a red dogwood, observed next to the access road, near the wetlands, in the Tumbling Creek Woods on the GSC campus. On it, I noticed several spittle bugs and a caterpillar. It seemed to be a very popular specimen.
This blackberry was off of an access road in the Tumbling Creek Woods on the GSC campus. They thrive in disturbed areas, such as vacant lots, wastelands and ditches.
