Central Washington

[zonbonzovi]

A little compilation of pictures from the last month or so from a few different locations E. of the Cascades

Phidippus audax & others? I've never seen this any audax in WA before. TravisK and I had the opportunity to "raid" a tropical plant nursery where these were thick. Our campsite turned up many more.

Stenopelmatus sp. After a rainy night 3 of these had burrowed under our tent.

Phrynosoma douglasii. This was a first for me. It's amazing what you can miss depending on what you're looking for. Once we found one they seemed to be everywhere. They blend well.

Flora and various habitat shots.

More later...

 

[Shrike]

Love the horned lizard, especially the pic showing how well they blend in. What a find!

 

[zonbonzovi]

Mosquito repellent...Achillea millefolium

More flora

Hidden canoeing gem

More habitat

More horned lizards, habitater

More herps, Pituophis catenifer

Crotalus oreganus oreganus

newborn

Uta stansburiana male
IMG]http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt127/zonbonzovi/P1090210.jpg[/IMG]

More verts
Asian carp zombie

Sentinel

illiterate bird

More inverts
Thomasid w/ thatching ant

Pacifastacus leniusculus, 1st time catch with my $8 trap and a cheap hot dog.

Latrodectus hesperus

This beetle has more chest hair than I

That's it for now. Thanks for looking!

 

[tarcan]

I lot of really cool finds, love the habitat shots, looks like a gorgeous place. The Crotalus shots are awesome and the hairy beetle is very cool!

Thanks for sharing

Martin

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

I had just begun an email to ask about trip results when it dawned on me that there might be a thread. What gorgeous photos! How big do those horny little lizards get? They look a lot like our bearded dragons so I can think of somebody whose face would be squinching up at the cuteness of it all.

Wow, some really nice finds there. Wish I could have gone, but we packed in an overnight birthday party for T and all his 12 year old friends and kept a watch on prom aftermath for the eldest. I was warm and dry and so were the J. crickets I see! (nice finds! Could have doubled that count with another tent, it seems.) Pretty place and appreciate the multiple shots of the non-bug stuff to provide setting.

Those fuzzy scarabs are awesome. Did you find them in any numbers? Love them! I had a recent and surprising success egging out and hatching larvae of our local Dichelonyx scarabs.

Thanks Z! I'd like to read some thoughts from Travis on the trip too!

 

[zonbonzovi]

Thanks, Peter. The horned lizards don't get much past 4" that I could see and yes they look like mini-beardies! Tarps will be carried for J-crickets in the future. Those scarabs are Paracotalpa granicollis and I did see a lot flying about but only brought home a sample- I'm thinking some lights in a wildflower/sagebrush hotspot would yield quite a few. Nice on the Dichelonyx...I've never seen any. Maybe Travis will stop in when he's done playing pastry chef. We'll have to get back into the field when I get return...

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

Are your Paracotalpa day fliers too? I wonder if we might entice a few people from the mammalian-pet throngs over to the beetle hobby with these fuzzy-wuzzies!? I know, probably not, but with all that fuzz and no fangs, it's as close to a gateway bug as I can imagine. Tell me they purr and I'm packing my lights immediately!

Is s/he perching on a slice of apple in your photos? Evidence of feeding?

 

[zonbonzovi]

Yes, they are! I thought I was getting bombarded by horse flies or bumblebees when one bounced off my head. They are as loud as some of their larger cousins and have that pesky inclination to fly as soon as your lens is focused. That is an apple slice and it soothed the beast enough to get some shots. They did land on flowers but didn't appear to feed. No word on the what the larvae eat but the location was typical grassland/wildflower/foothills stuff...maybe native grass roots?

 

[grayzone]

nice stuff... makes me wanna get outdoors and see what i can find... never heard of catching crawdads with hot dogs before lol.

 

[Michael Jacobi]

Great thread and photographic depiction of what can be encountered in this incredibly diverse state. We're very fortunate to be able to within one afternoon's drive go from rain forest, to ocean shore, to snow-capped mountains, to scrub desert to rolling wheat fields.

I spend too much time here on the coast and need to get my camera out east more. If you ever want to share any recommended spots privately, please email me at exoticfauna@gmail.com. I take only photos, leave only footprints.

 

[zonbonzovi]

Thanks, Michael and I agree completely. As much as I complain about the rainy season there are few places that match the beauty of the NW during the drier months. I'll shoot you an email and maybe try to get you out and about some time

 

[Fingolfin]

Very nice pics, enjoyed all of them. I live on the other side of the border, just north of Bellingham and its very interesting seeing habitat east of the Cascades! I've never been to that side in Washington, but its beautiful, like all of the West coast.

 

[Shrike]

I will see your zombie carp and raise you a zombie snakehead. The local Potomac fishermen kill them regularly and leave them out for the birds. Unfortunately it isn't putting a dent in their population.

 

[grayzone]

are the pics from this thread from the same place the NEW trip Travis is planning?
Lots of interesting stuff.. Im DEFINITELY hoping to attend my 1st outing/trip/adventure

 

[zonbonzovi]

Fingolfin, join us some time.

Shrike, I just found out that WA state is permitting for use of carp as biological control for weeds. So many of these waterways are linked via agriculture & sloughs that I can only see an emerging nightmare. Makes me want to popularize invasive hunting/fishing.

grayzone, yes, the pics are a pretty even split of locations near Potholes Res. & the Yakima River Valley. Hope to see you there!

 

[grayzone]

although its not set in stone, im definitely planning on it.. Work schedule is crazy, but working for myself means i can work on my OWN time :biggrin:
Only prob i forsee is transportation. Currently my gf and i are sharing the new car i bought last summer. She seems pretty interested in coming along (although its not her thing persay) for the experience.
I told her that if we go her and our daughter would have fun (my daughter likes collecting bugs believe it our not.. she keeps potato and lady bugs like i keep ts.. she ISNT too fond of spiders YET, but she is fascinated with peeking at my collection) so we may come along.. if not maybe i can carpool and split gas/travel expenses with a local so they can keep the car.

 

[Anthony Jensen]

My step-brother lives in Ellensburg and we have found Rubber boas and Gopher snakes near his house, it's awesome! I defiantly love the Eastern part of the state more than the Western, my mom lives in Bellevue and we have had no luck herping in King Co. Have you found anything in that area?

 

[zonbonzovi]

My step-brother lives in Ellensburg and we have found Rubber boas and Gopher snakes near his house, it's awesome! I defiantly love the Eastern part of the state more than the Western, my mom lives in Bellevue and we have had no luck herping in King Co. Have you found anything in that area?

Too many humans but if you go N /and or E and get away from "civilization" a bit there are some garters unique to the NW, a number of salamanders, newts, frogs, etc...it just really depends on what time of year and the habitat as to whether you'll happen across anything or not.