A fall ramble: High Park and Humber Bay

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Because Ontario is harsh, and the invertebrates are quickly going to ground, I decided to do two days of outings this weekend! In addition to our trip to Leslie Spit on Saturday, I went out alone to High Park on Sunday to see what I could find.

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The herbaceous vegetation was mostly dead, with very few insects out and about.

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I found these Leptoglossus occidentalis (western conifer seed bug) behind some boards, getting ready to overwinter. These were not present in Toronto when I was a kid.

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Behind the same boards I also found a Agelenopsis on an egg sac. I replaced her carefully after this shot.

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This very orange Araneus diadematus was also on an egg sac. She also posed, and then I put her back on her sac. It is doubtful the adults ever survive the winter here.

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This Phidippus audax was much more orange than others we have found so far.

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Not sure why it was missing a palp, but it will probably regrow, as this one was still small.

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At Humber Bay, I found some hungry wasp queens. Luckily I had a vial of honey on hand. This one ate so much she could barely fly afterward, but it should fatten her up for the winter.

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Yum!

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I was delighted to find this brown snake, AKA Dekay’s snake (Storeria dekayi) moving along a fence.

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I encountered these small snakes often when I was a kid. The juveniles of this species are quite beautiful,and the adults have their own subdued charm.

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These snakes are natricines, related to garter snakes. They occur in Eastern N. America all the way down to Guatemala.

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This shot shows the faint iridescence of the scales

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All in all, I was glad I went out! This kind of break from the downtown chaos will hopefully keep me sane!