February 29, 2008...5:15 am
A new world next to building 30
A few days ago something caused me to take a path I had never taken before, leading in a direction where I had never been even interested in going. Next to the cafeteria by the building where I work, there led a path around the building. One day, while debating whether I should take a walk, I decided to follow it and see where it went. Sure enough, it went around the building to the front. I walked for a bit and then decided that it was best to get back - I had a lot of work to do. However, on the way back I noticed something that I had never seen before.
Literally a few meters away from the path, I noticed a strange sign. There was no path down to the side, but not much in terms of brush preventing one from taking a look, so I decided to see what it said. What I found, sitting on the Microsoft campus in a spot where even we weren’t familiar with, was a new world that I am just beginning to explore.
The sign mentioned that about one hundred years ago, someone built a mill on the very spot I was standing. The mill was later moved and little remains on the site to prove that it was there, save several small ponds. These small ponds are teeming with life, and I knew that I would be spending a great number of lunch hours investigating this area. I quickly went back to my office and e-mailed the photography alias at work. The next day we had a mini event there, without perhaps eight of us photographing. I suspect that some of them may have been disappointed - nothing is in bloom yet and from first looks the area seems rather lifeless and dull. Of course, this was far from the case.
I’m not sure what the thing pictured above is. Given the number of pincers on the front I certainly wouldn’t want to come across it as prey. The following is a wider shot of it.
I found a number of cute snails there. This one I found just before leaving.
Here’s another one of the same species burrowed into a log. I’m not sure exactly how it wound up in this position. 
I also found a very interesting ant in a log. Unfortunately, among the number of shots I took of it none of them came out as I had hoped. I am still trying to look up what species it is, but I suspect that I will need to purchase a better book on ants. Off hand, my guess is it is some kind of carpenter ant - based solely on the fact that I found it in a log. Interestingly enough, I did not find any similar ones in the vicinity.
Another member of our group found a wasp sitting on a log. The wasp was good sized, but appeared to be either cold, sick, or dying. It wasn’t very active, though still alive. I didn’t take too many shots of it as there were a number of us interested in getting pictures of it. Normally I fear wasps, but I kind of felt sorry for this one.
It obviously needs some Photoshopping, which I may do later. The final interesting critter of the day was what I believe to be a harvestman.
All in all I believe the shoot was successful. During subsequent lunches I expect to come back here and see what else I can find. As it is very difficult to get the opportunity to shoot at places other than my backyard, I couldn’t have been more excited to find such an interesting location so close to work.
4 Comments
March 1, 2008 at 12:50 am
It will be interesting to see more shots from this same location as the seasons progress.
March 2, 2008 at 8:03 pm
A lovely bug photo safari!
The top insect is a beetle larva of some sort, perhaps a ground beetle (Carabidae) or a rove beetle (Staphylinidae). As you can probably tell from their jaws, they are predators.
The ant is in the genus Lasius, my guess given your location is L. pallitarsis. Not a carpenter ant in the strict sense, but that species commonly nests in well-rotted wood.
Can’t say much about the others.
March 2, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Thanks for the info! I have found it very challenging identifying what these are. I am improving my reference literature and have found more web sites but it is still tough.
March 3, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Larvae are really, really hard to identify. The only decent resource for them, the Stehr “Guide to Immature Insects” costs hundreds of dollars, and even most entomologists can’t do much with them.
The one exception, of course, are the colorful larvae of butterflies.
On the bright side, you can learn to identify the insect as a larva and not an adult. The eyes of larvae, if they exist at all, tend to be a crude assortment of small individual eyes. Your first photo here illustrates that very well. Adults normally have large compound eyes with many tightly-packed - look at your wasp photo.
The antennae of most insect larvae are stubs of a few segments instead of the elongate, 10+ segments seen in adults. Again, your top photo shows this trait in great clarity. (Would that most people who needed ID’s take such nice pictures!)
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