So excited to see this amazing Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) last month. About 10 miles from Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, the highest peak east of the Mississippi.  I think it’s Pseudotriton ruber nitidus, the Blue Ridge Red Salamander. It lacks the black chin of other subspecies. Red Salamanders are in the family of lungless salamanders (Plethdontidae).  They have neither gills nor lungs, but breathe through their skin! Their skin has to stay moist for them to breathe, which is one reason salamanders are more common at higher elevations with greater rainfall and cooler temps. The lungless salamanders are a huge family of salamanders in N.C.  I haven’t seen a Pseudotriton in 20 years!  I’m grateful they’re still alive.

Why did this beautiful Black-eyed Susan have red on it while all the others were yellow? I came across them yesterday in a city greenway.

These are native plants, growing wild.

Saw this lovely little bug plodding patiently along a wall at a local park last week.  She inspired me!

She’s a wingless nymph (sub-adult) in the family Reduviidae.

Same bug. Photos, Sally Kneidel.

Eyed Click Beetle, also called Eyed Elater. Sally Kneidel

Saw this beautiful big click beetle on the deck a couple of days ago, about an inch long.  If clicked away after one picture, disappearing into the brush.

The two black spots are fake eyes that startle birds and other predators and give the beetle a chance to get away. Lots of butterflies and caterpillars have fake eye spots for the same reason.

Click beetles move by suddenly snapping their body at the middle — they do that by pulling a peg on the thorax out of a tight groove, sort of like pop beads. When they do that, their body flips away, accelerating  faster than any other animal on the planet.  They don’t go very far, especially the little brown click beetles that are so common. But this Eyed Click Beetle moved fast enough to get away from me and my camera.  I couldn’t find it again.

Thank you little beetle for letting me take the one picture!

MOM! WE’RE HUNGRY!!

I saw this family of Great Blue Herons yesterday at a wetland along a city greenway.  After watching this sequence, I understood why Mama usually rests with her bill pointed way up in the air.

OH ALL RIGHT. NOW MIND YOUR MANNERS. DON’T GOBBLE!

They try to get mom to give up some fish from her mouth.  One of the chicks hustles to be first.

JEEZ, CALM DOWN. YOU’LL GET SOME!!

Their enthusiasm overtakes them….

HOW LONG TIL THEY GRADUATE?

Red Milkweed Beetles mating on Common Milkweed. Photo by Sally Kneidel

These beetles must spend a lot of time mating. Yesterday was only the second time I’ve ever seen them, and both times, every beetle in sight was so engaged. Dozens of them.  On both occasions, they were on patches of Common Milkweed. I was taking a walk when I saw them yesterday, hoping to spot Monarch caterpillars on the milkweed, to report to the website Journey North. Was disappointed to find no Monarchs, but enjoyed seeing the lovely Red Milkweed Beetles  instead. They’re in the family of longhorn beetles, Cyrambycidae — notice the long antennae. Not to be confused with the much more common Milkweed Bugs, which are also red and black, but are not even beetles. Milkweed Bugs are in the order of true bugs, Hemiptera.

It’s not a coincidence that Red Milkweed Beetles, Milkweed Bugs, and Monarchs all are red or orange — “warning” colors to birds and other predators.  The Monarchs and Red Milkweed Beetles and Milkweed Bugs are all toxic to predators because of toxic chemicals in the milkweed they eat.

Whenever I see milkweed, I look for monarchs.  These celebrated butterflies are declining because milkweed is declining.  The over-spraying of herbicides on genetically modified crops in the Midwest is a major reason for the demise of milkweed.   Check out this excellent article from Slate.  Monarchs need our help.  Plant milkweed!  The beetles will enjoy it too!

In this picture, you can see what I think is the spermatophore coming out of the male’s body and being transferred to the female’s body. It looks like an orange sphere. Photo by Sally Kneidel

A mother orangutan holding her baby close, in a refuge on the island of Borneo. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I wish a safe Mother’s Day to all the wildlife mothers across the world.  Especially the world’s primates, most of which are threatened or endangered.

Primates are special, for me.  Most animal mothers don’t provide any maternal care whatsoever.  Instead, they lay eggs and abandon them, never seeing their own babies. That includes most (but not all) fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, crustaceans, and lots of others.  Sounds cruel, but it’s not.  The hatchlings in those cases are equipped to fend for themselves.  It’s nature’s way. Mortality is high, but the mother lays lots of eggs, so it works out.  (When humans stay out of the way, that is.)

Birds and mammals are different as a group in that they all provide some degree of maternal care for their young. Bird and mammal moms invest huge amounts of energy into feeding their young, cleaning them, keeping them warm, protecting them from predators, and so on.

Long-tailed Macaque mother and child in Sacred Monkey Forest in Bali. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I love seeing primates and their babies. To me, primates share our essence — they can be tender, loving, playful, and smart.  But unlike humans, they’re innocent. They’re not destroying the planet!

Mother and child, White-faced Capuchins in Costa Rica. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Today, on Mothers Day, I’m celebrating some of the primate mothers and babies I’ve photographed around the world. These pics were taken in some of my happiest moments – seeing primates doing their own thing in their natural habitats. I am very grateful for those opportunities.

Help protect the world for animals that can’t fight back. Work to stop habitat destruction due to global warming.  One way to do that is to get involved with Greenpeace (https://www.facebook.com/greenpeacenc).  I recommend it.  Greenpeace is a hard-working, dedicated group of people I’m proud to volunteer with.

A White-handed Gibbon and her youngster, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Adult monarch on milkweed next to my house. Not this year, they haven’t reached my state yet this spring.

Monarchs have started their spring migration from Mexico to the United States and Canada. These unique and beautiful butterflies migrate farther than any other butterfly, often more than 1000 miles! They’re reported to have left their Mexican wintering area on March 24 and crossed into Texas on April 2.

If you grow lots of milkweed in your yard, some may stop there to lay eggs.

You can follow their progress on the website of Journey North, which posts frequent (weekly?) updates on the monarch’s progress northward.

You can also easily report any monarch sighting of your own, and watch the dots pile up on the map of sightings. This is Citizen Science at its best. The Journey North website is a great resource for teachers, students, and anyone who loves butterflies.

Monarchs need help, they’re in trouble due to the overuse of pesticides and loss of habitat. Plant milkweed! It’s easy to order seeds online. Just Google.