Journal 5: Inverts

Date: 10/30/2018
Time: 1:52pm-3pm
Temperature: 51-52 degrees Fahrenheit
Weather: Cloudy with some sun breaks and a slight breeze
Location: Mill Creek Nature Preserve

Hello again! It's been a while. Here is an update on my location at the Mill Creek Nature Preserve. I arrived at 1:52 pm. The temperature was between 51 and 52 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather was cloudy with some sun breaks and a very slight breeze. The location hasn't seemed to change much from the last time I had visited two weeks ago. There were more leaves falling on the ground. The view from the 50 square meter photograph, there wasn't much of a difference. I noticed that the Common Jewelweed was no longer seen at the site. Most of the vegetation is still vibrant green, however when I looked my at 1 square meter photo, there were more dead leaves. The dead leaves were more of a grey, dull, dying color, with some fresh green and yellow fallen leaves. I saw an Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carlinesis) climb up from the base of a Bigleaf Maple with its cheeks filled with some food getting ready for the winter. The squirrel was getting pretty chunky, as it is getting ready for hibernation. The fur coat was grey on the back, the tummy fur coat was white. The head of the squirrel had a golden brown portion on the top of the head, then followed by grey fur, and the tail was a mix of golden brown, white and black fur. There were also 4 Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), 3 males and 1 female. The ducks were swimming about and dabbling in search of food. I also heard, while searching for invertebrates a croak from either a frog or a toad. I was unable to find the amphibian, but the croak was similar to an old door, that wasn't oiled, creaking slowly.

Update photograph of 50 squared meter

Update photograph of 1 squared meter

I began wandering around Mill Creek Nature Preserve around 2:26 pm. Looking for the inverts served to be quite difficult as there was many leaves and trees around. Until I saw a large moist rock covered with moss. On top of the moss, there was a slug. The slug was the Three-band Garden Slug (Lehmannia valentiana) and the order was Stylommatophora. The slug was stretched out, slowly moving downward toward a crevasse between two rocks. The slug had three stripes, one on top and two on the sides. The stripes color was a dark brown or black color, and the mantle and the foot was a golden brown color. While looking in the bird's eye view of the slug, there was a slight gleam on the back of the slug, showing that the slug was moist. The sensory tentacle was constantly moving up and down as the slug slowly contracted and stretched toward the destination. The optic tentacle moved up and down, left and right, and can invert itself into its head and then pop right back out.

Sketch of Three-Banded Slug (Lehmannia valentiana)

Looking between branches and trees, I came upon the European Cross Spider, or also commonly known as the Cross Orb Weaver (Araneus diadematus). The order of the European Cross Spider is Araneae. I found the European Cross Spider on a web between two branches of an unknown tree along the side of a small running stream. The back of the Cross Spider was quite interesting. There was white spotting in the shape of a cross, hence the name European Cross Spider. The back of the spider was a burnt orange color, and the eight legs had two different colors. At the legs' joins of the segments and the tips of the legs, there were dark brown color stripes, and the spaces between the stripes was a golden brown color. While observing the behavior of the spider, the spider had very minimal movement as I found that it didn't move around and had stayed in the same spot.

Sketch of European Cross Spider (Cross Orb Weaver) (Araneus diadematus)

Walking closer to the pond of where my 50 squared meter update photo was taken, I spotted a Banded Garden Spider (Argiope trifasciata), the order was Araneae. The body had a white and yellow alternate striping. And in between each stripe there was a black outline, also the eight legs had stripes along its legs. There was a back striping and black tips on each leg. Between each stripe on the leg, there was a burnt orange or red color. The legs were quite long compared to its body which I found interesting. While observing, the spider was in the process of making a web. The spider threading its web was quite a sight. Watching the spider move back and forth creating its home and food catcher was quite mesmerizing.

Sketch of Banded Garden Spider (Argiope trifasciata)

I followed the along the side of the trail flipping over some fallen dead leaves. Lastly, I found a Cat-Faced Spider (Araneus gemmoides) hiding under some leaves. The order of the Cat-Faced Spider was Araneae. The back of the spider showed a cat's face, which was cute. The back of the spider was quite bulbous, the face of the cat was a pale yellow color, and the rest of the back was a mix of yellow and burnt orange color. The eight legs were striped between golden brown and brown. While observing, the Cat-Faced Spider was trying to hide under the other dead leaves. It was difficult to follow the spider as the spider was trying to get away from me and protect itself, so I replaced the leaves and left the spider alone.

Sketch of Cat-Faced Spider (Araneus gemmoides)