natureswondersbyclyde

     During summer, over the years in southeastern Pennsylvania, I've seen many daddy-long-legs on the bark of tree trunks on lawns, and in parks and woods.  They blend into the color of tree bark well and are difficult to see.  Many people never see them at all until those camouflaged little critters are pointed out by people in the know about them.        Daddy-long-legs have eight, really long, thin legs, but they are not spiders.  But they are arachnids, and related to spiders.  These attractive, little creatures, called daddy-long-legs because of their long legs, have quarter-inch, compact bodies raised on stilt-like legs.  They have two dark eyes and feel the vibrations of birds and other predators with their legs.  But these arachnids have no venom, or silk to make webs.        Daddy-long-legs, like all other living beings, are part of several food chains.  They consume tiny invert...

      Common water striders and six-spotted fishing spiders, though not related, have some characteristics in common because of the habitats of ponds and slow streams they share.  Habitats force wildlife into particular physical traits, and behaviors, so each creature can use its habitat to full advantage.  Both these aquatic species are up to an inch long, dark on top, which camouflages them, and feed on tiny invertebrates on and in water.  And both kinds of common, invertebrate predators inhabit much of the United States.         Water striders and fishing spiders are both attractive in somber ways.  And they have intriguing life histories that make them even more appealing to spot and quietly study by a lovely pond or sparkling, little waterway, both of which are surrounded by lovely, lush vegetation.        Water striders "skate" on top of the water's surface without breaking through.  Each str...

     Tiger beetles are a group of attractive, related insects that are interesting, but not well known.  Three kinds of them, including beautiful tiger beetles, six-spotted, green tiger beetles and dainty tiger beetles, live in the northeastern United States, but not often seen there.        Being related, adult tiger beetles have several traits and habits in common, which indicates their common ancestry.  They are all predators, feeding on small insects and spiders.  All are less than an inch long, have six long legs that allows them to run fast to track down prey, large eyes to easily see their victims, and they are camouflaged to avoid larger predators that would ingest them.  That blending in also makes them difficult for us to see in their habitats.  These beetles are also diurnal, sun-loving and have powerful, sickle-like jaws to tear apart critters they caught.      As larvae, tiger beetles again have...

     During summer, I occasionally visit a 24-foot-wide "window" in thickets of lush, green trees, shrubbery and vines to view a stream, and thickets behind that shallow, clear-running waterway in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Seeing wildlife in the air, on the stream or in the water passing by that window intrigued me the most.  Some creatures that passed by on the water first came through green tunnels of leafy limbs hanging over the waterway from both banks.       Early in summer, I see several black-winged damselflies, either sitting on vegetation hanging over the water, or flying over the stream after insect prey or mates.  Males have four, black wings and slender, metallic-green abdomens that shine in sunlight.  These damselflies spawn into the waterway they came from themselves.        A family of mallard ducks occasionally paddled past the window.  A couple times a black and orange male Balti...