I didn’t let summer’s final gasp of heat and humidity deter me from a walk in the Arboretum on Wednesday, although, after a month-long break in 90-degree heat, I felt like I was experiencing the first hot day of the season. I spotted a nursery web spider (Pisaurina mira) biding its time under a leaf. Note how it rests with its two front legs touching each other.
This spider has a dark stripe running down the middle that is bordered by a white margin, which undulates along its abdomen. Also note the white hairs along its body and the black spines on its legs.
I found what I think is an amber snail, although the shell had black markings that I have not previously seen on amber snails.
I uncovered a few earthworms under leaf litter.
A long-legged harvestman, possibly in the genus Leiobunum, sits still. Unlike spiders, most harvestmen have two eyes. You can see them at the front end of the long dark stripe running down its body.
One of the more common wildflowers this time of year is the white wood-aster (Eurybia divaricata). They do well under the shade of large trees, so the Arboretum is the perfect environment for them.
Porcelain berries (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) have begun to ripen. The vine is invasive, but I can see why it was originally planted. The plant has highly dissected leaves, often more so than young mulberry shoots.
The berries start off green but ripen to resemble spotted Easter eggs, in hues of blue, pink, and purple.
