We came across two large black beetles yesterday just off the path around Jamaica Pond. The beetles were possibly engaged in the act of mating. If so, the female beetle was much larger than the male and her orange belly was showing.
Continue reading
I took photos of a wealth of natural life at the Arnold Arboretum yesterday. Among the birds, dragonflies, frogs, and plants, only one of the subjects was accessioned: Wilson’s spiraea (Spiraea wilsonii).
Yesterday was the last in a long streak of sunny and dry days in Boston. I visited Forest Hills Cemetery to see what I could find.
I saw this eastern forktail damselfly resting on a reed at the edge of Lake Hibiscus. Damselflies rest with their wings closed or only slightly open. According to A Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts, eastern forktails emerge early in the spring and are very common in this area.
Continue reading
I saw two birds for the first time yesterday. First, a pair of double-crested cormorants were lounging in the middle of Leverett Pond, black but for their orange chins.
Continue reading