The creek was a placid mirror reminding me that even though the reflected leaves were still green, the weather patterns have begun shifting toward Autumn. The air was humid again but the sky was blue with cotton fluff. A mallard preened on the dock. The beautyberries got redder. Two hummers zoomed past repeatedly as one tried to raid the feeder and the other defended it. A mockingbird came for barkbutter balls.
I found a big cicada floating in the water. I wasn't sure if it was dead or just needed to dry out. There were lots of adult two-lined spittlebugs Prosapia bicincta in the water too. They were hardly bigger than the cicada's mouth but a close look revealed that the two insects are quite similar except for size. Spittlebugs belong in the froghopper family, Cercopidae. Wasps prowled the mountain mint. Two frogs and a skink were also in the water. The cricket I rescued might have lured the skink.
No comments:
Post a Comment