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Yesterday I went out to the woodlands near University of Toronto Mississauga with Gil for a springtime walk. We were hoping to see some post-breeding Ambystoma salamanders, and whatever else caught our eye…After a long cold and largely photo-free winter, this outing proved to be rather awesome…
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The first big spider we saw was this pretty amaurobiid.
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Their velvety abdomens are quite lovely in soft light.
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On one of the treetrunks we examined, we saw this gorgeous little male jumper.
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What a stunning little spider! What could he be? He looks reminiscent of Habronattus…
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Turns out this is Naphrys pulex, indeed a Habronattus relative, and such a handsome fellow!
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Gil found this anyphaenid (ghost spider) and as soon as I saw it, I knew Catherine would be very excited. We don’t have a ton of these in BC, but it seems Ontario has a few more.
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What an elegant looking ghost spider!
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We did find some Ambystoma, starting with this awesome Jefferson’s salamander
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And a spotted salamander was a real treat to see in the wild!
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Look at the pretty spots! So cool to see in a burrowing salamander.
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I did find a lovely ant in the genus Aphaenogaster…This somewhat large red one should be easy to ID to species, but my book is at the ROM currently…
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And the absolutely, most fabulous find of the day (in my opinion) was this absolutely stunning hibernating queen European Hornet…
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We do not get these in BC, so I was hugely impressed by the large size and vivid colours of this monster of a queen!
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I am sure this is one of the most lovely social wasps I have laid eyes on in North America….
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The day was rounded out nicely with the find of a pair of Platycryptus undatus, larger eastern versions of the Platycryptus californicus we are used to from BC
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Really impressive jumpers these P. undatus are, with gorgeous fuzzy faces!