Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Finally, good timing...

  A view from my driveway.  Low-hanging Black Oak and ground cover with Thimbleberry and Oregon Grape.  At this time of year, I have to check the branches within reach for Oak Treehoppers. But I was only carrying my phone.  Very hard to photograph these tiny critters with a phone camera.  So, I took a few blurry pictures when I found a group on a low branch.  Then I realized I live only 100 feet away.  Go get the "real" camera.  So, here are the results.
 An adult on the left and a crop of young from middle to right.  I haven't studied these "scientifically," but I've done a fair amount reading about them.I'm assuming the large one on the left is female because I like the idea of an insect caring for its young.
 Here's a closer look at the adult.  Click on it to get even closer.
And these young ones are probably the fourth or fifth in a series of molts that occur over a period of several weeks.  The ones in this photo are approximately 1/8" long.  The next molt will yield some new adults.  I'll probably post about these insects one more time, and when I do, I'll explain what happens to these insects during the winter.

No comments:

Post a Comment