When I originally posted this blog, I thought that the small round objects on this dragonfly’s abdomen were eggs. Not so. Jeanine reached out to a friend who directed us to a blog by Kent MacFarland at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies whose description I have included below.

I really don’t like weeding. So it was with great pleasure when just moments into the task I spotted a dragonfly acting strangely on a nearby plant. What immediately caught my eye was a pile of tiny, red, egg-like sacs all over its thorax. I ran to grab my camera, and at this point, I am sure my wife was rolling her eyes. Anything to get out of weeding. But heck, I was just about to bear witness to phoresy.

Frankly, I didn’t know the term either. But it turns out that those little red sacs weren’t eggs at all, but rather larvae of water mites hitching a ride on the dragonfly. Ecologists call it phoresy, the process of using another organism to move about.

Arrenurus water mite adults are a mere three millimeters long and usually brown or greenish so you wouldn’t notice them in the water unless you were really looking for them. They mate in spring, and the female lays up to 400 red eggs on underwater objects, one egg at a time.

The six-legged larvae hatch in one to six weeks, depending on water temperature, and they immediately swim around looking for an insect larva. When they find a mosquito, stonefly, damselfly, or a dragonfly larva that is in its late stages of growth, they grab onto it, waiting until the larva goes airborne.

As the dragonfly larva crawls out of the water and sheds its exoskeleton, the mites jump off the cast shell and onto the dragonfly. Now they are not only hitchhiking, but they also become parasites. They form a tube that pierces the exoskeleton of the dragonfly so that they can feed on the victim’s hemolymph, kind of like blood in an insect’s circulatory system. After the mite grows enough, its exoskeleton becomes like a sac and inside the larva develops into a nymph.

When the nymph is fully developed, it just drops off the host when it is over water. Now, like all arachnids, it has eight legs and looks similar to an adult water mite. They eat the same foods as adults too – tiny insects, worms, and even other mites. After they eat and grow, if they avoid being eaten themselves, they find an object to attach to and form another sac to develop into an adult.

I did not need to take more than 10 steps from our backdoor to find a bunch of dragonflies this morning. Maya thinks the photo above looks more like a painting. Other than slight exposure correction and sharpening it is straight from the camera but I do share her opinion. The dragonfly below looks less vibrant, partially due to the fact that it was perched upside down on our photographically bland doorstep.

Today’s post comes in the form of a quiz. How many turkeys are in this picture? For the not so obvious answer, solve the following math problem.

42-19 +28-46

Congratulations if you answered correctly on the first try. Keep at it if you think I got my math wrong. Click on the photo and then zoom in for additional clues.

Addendum: In response to the overwhelming insistence that there are only four turkeys in the photo above, I am providing evidence to confirm that there are indeed five. Also, I watched as the family of five traversed our field before I could get my telephoto lense fitted to my camera for the shot.

Jeanine and I attended an outdoor concert this evening. It has been a long time since we spent an evening outside of the house, let alone while being entertained. This is the first post in 15 years that features an audio clip rather than a photo. See if you can identify all of the instruments in the band. Hint: there are far more than you might think at first.

After work, I swung by Great Meadows for an evening walk where I encountered this Osprey and his dinner companion. Shooting birds in flight is fairly challenging and always satisfying when you find something interesting in the frame. Technically speaking, the photo is not that great. I had zero time to adjust the settings on my camera and was lucky to capture a few frames in focus. Quality notwithstanding, I like the shot.

I left the house early this morning for some nature photography despite the very overcast skies. I thought I would visit my favorite owl family but the density of mosquitoes and my lack of repellent convinced me to turn back halfway down the trail. On my return drive, I spotted a pair of red-tailed hawks high up in a dead tree. Fortunately, they remained there long enough for me to park, grab my gear, and walk close enough for a decent shot. The female mallard is generally not one of my go-to subjects, but the one pictured below was very adorable as it took a bath and dried off afterward.

For everyone who believes they have a perfectly good flashlight on their cell phone, my collection of flashlights may seem ridiculous. With another one on the way, I thought I would take a full inventory and reassess assignments. Twenty flashlights may seem like more than enough for a small police department but I can assure you, each is put to good use.

• 3x one for each car
• 5x one for each room (bedroom, study, shop, kitchen, work)
• 2x his and her camping headlights
• 3x one for each kit (toolbox, camera bag, travel kit)
• 3x the one in my pocket (S, M, or L depending on the activity)

All lights use high-performance LEDs and rechargeable lithium-ion or nickel-metal hydride batteries (21700, 18650, 16340, 14500) and some have built-in USB chargers. Most in the back two rows can output 1000 lumens or more. The fat one is good for 9000 lumens. The smallest one does not get used. It was just too cute to resist. For those keeping track, that leaves 2 unallocated lights and the new one on the way. What can I say? I have a few older lights that do not perform as well as those with the latest technology or have a user interface that I find tedious. Stay tuned for a post on my newest light when it arrives.

A photograph of Jeanine will be featured in an upcoming exhibit at the Concord Museum (more info on this in a future post). This morning we spent some time at the Open Table facility shooting environmental portraits designed to show Jeanine in her work surroundings. None hit the mark and we will try again with a different setting but I did rather like this one of Jeanine and her truck.

I spent the bulk of the day helping Maya to install the washing machine in her tiny home. Most of our time was spent making modifications to the plumbing. We wanted the water shutoff valves located in the adjacent cabinet rather than behind the machine. This will make it possible to turn off the water and winterize the supply lines without moving the very heavy machine. We also made cleats for the leveling legs to prevent the washer from moving when the tiny house is being towed.

Dinner was courtesy of Kyle and Klaida who really outdid themselves.

While walking to the Black Lives Matter protest earlier this week, I paused for a few cityscapes. I thought I would post these today to give followers a break from all the recent wildlife photography.

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is a short walk from our house and traverses a wetland that skirts our neighborhood. Early this morning, Jeanine and I completed a three-mile circuit during which we spotted a swans nest. After dinner, we made a second lap, this time with my telephoto lens in tow. Just as we arrived at the nest, we spotted the family returning from their evening swim.

On our morning walk, I spotted this painted turtle with a slug on its shell.

I had a provocative conversation with Kyle this morning about the state of race relations in our country. We shared views of the systemic problems in our society but differed slightly on the best course of action to effect change. I am entirely supportive of peaceful demonstration and civil disobedience. I draw the line at vandalism, property damage, or violence of any kind. When my boss invited employees to take time off to help make a difference, I decided to join a late afternoon Black Lives Matter demonstration on the Boston Common. I was both a participant and an observer, maintaining much greater physical distancing than most at the event. The Boston and military police were both present in large numbers, positioned to protect property but giving a wide berth to the marchers. I was surprised, pleasantly, to see so many white people supporting the cause and was proud to be among them.

Apparently the “Make Way for Ducklings” were also marching in support of the cause and were being carefully monitored by the police as well.

I am not sure what the tiny little creature in the foreground is, an aphid perhaps, but I am fairly certain he is shortly going to be a snack for the approaching ant. When I took the photograph, I was busy trying to capture focus on the ant and did not realize what was about to happen. Ants are omnivorous and will eat just about anything.

Five minutes into my lunchtime walk, I discovered this little fellow enjoying his noontime meal. About half the size of a pencil eraser, the only way to find a beast like this is to sit still and watch for movement. Nailing focus is a hit or miss endeavor and it took twenty shots to get just one keeper. I have no idea what type of insect this is but I have named it nonetheless. If there are any entomologists out there, I would love an identification. Having had to curtail all my travel plans due to the Covid-19 pandemic, my new macro lens has opened up a whole new world for exploration.