In May Connor found and brought me this Thallophaga hyperborea which had been crawling up a stake he had pounded in the ground. It seemed a strange place to find a moth, but upon learning its identity (via bugguide.net) and reading a little about the life history, it made more sense.

Larvae of this species dine on conifers, including our local Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) then spend the winter as pupa in the soil before emerging as adults in the spring. It seems likely this individual was just emerging when Connor found it.

Variable Carpet Moths (Anticlea vasiliata) are aptly named for their diverse array of color morphs. This May I photographed two different ones, to go along with one I photographed April 2009.

Information I’ve seen about larval food plants does not includes only raspberries, which many people raise, but they are not especially common. It is possible this species moved in with the introduction of raspberries, though I suspect they have other food plants that are native – perhaps salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) which are abundant.

The photo which leads the post represents the least marked end of the spectrum for this species, with those shown below being perhaps more typical. Note the dark lines present in the relatively unmarked individual are also present on the other individuals, though the darker bands obscure them somewhat.

Connor and Rowan noticed this moth on the outside of my home office window, so I went out and took a picture of it. It’s been photo identified as Pearsall’s Carpet Moth (Venusia pearsalli) courtesy of Bob Patterson on bugguide.net, though it may be a similar looking closely related species.

The NPWRC account for Venusia pearsalli indicates that it is abundant and widespread in the wet coniferous forests of Western North America. The only larval food plant listed which occurs in the Sitka area is alder.

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Its large size, scaled cap, pores, and a few other features make Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) fairly distinctive. Mushroom Expert describes this species as “widespread east of the Rocky Mountains”, and the Northwest Key Council indicates it is found occasionally in the Pacific Northwest.

I found this mushroom growing on a standing dead Cottonwood near the Mendenhall River while wandering around during a layover in Juneau. Though Sitka and Juneau are not far apart and share similar climates, it seems likely there are many species which are not found in both locations. To my knowledge this species has not been found around Sitka, though if it favors cottonwood trees, there are not so many of those in well traveled places near Sitka. I do hope to spend some time in areas with a fair amount of Cottonwood this summer, and will be keeping my eyes open for this mushroom.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) is the most common butterfly in the Sitka area (not that it has much competition, as there seems to be only one other regularly occurring species). During the warm years in 2003 and 2004, I remember seeing lots of these flying around during the summer, especially in June. In the years since, they have been much less common, though I’m pretty sure I noticed at least a couple each year.

Larvae of this species are said to feed on plants in the mustard family and they will often have two flights a year.

E-fauna BC shows a Sitka record for another related species, P. angelika, but assuming it’s a valid record, I suspect that species does not typically occur here given its overall range and the lack of other records along the coast.

While relaxing on a bench at Swan Lake, I happened to notice an unusual bird pop up to the surface. I wasn’t sure whether to believe it when I thought I saw a Pied-billed Grebe, but after waiting a while longer, I saw it resurface several more times and was able to confirm (and get the pictures seen here) that it was a Pied-billed Grebe. I had previously seen and photographed a Pied-billed Grebe on Swan Lake two and a half years ago. It was interesting to see the differences – this time of year the pied-bill definitely shows up much more clearly.

Like the first one I saw, this one seemed to prefer to hang out among the weeds and avoid being seen clearly. I did manage to get a couple of clear looks, but most of the time I could not find it, and when I did, it was tucked in among the pond-lily leaves. It was favoring the south side of the peninsula while I was watching it today.

Pied-billed Grebes seem to show up somewhere in Southeast Alaska each Fall. They are considered Very Rare in the Winter and Spring seasons, and only Accidental for summer. In Sitka they seem to be Very Rare Fall through Spring, but this appears to be one of a very few (perhaps the only) June (or Summer) record for Sitka.

Connor noticed this moth resting on the side of the house. I caught it and brought it inside to photograph. The larvae of this species are said to feed on fireweed. As this is the first time I have noticed this particular species, I do not know how common it is around here. It is one of the more striking moths I’ve photographed so far, however.

Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) is a fairly common species that I associate mostly with disturbed or gravelly areas near stream. I’m most familiar with it from near Indian River, and to this point my experience with this species is only at low elevation.

Ranunculus is one of the more diverse genera in Southeast Alaska, with 15 or more species reported, though at least two of those are introduced and considered invasive. The small inconspicuous flowers are fairly distinctive, though the overall growth form of this species also sets it apart from the rest of its buttercup relatives.

I was up relatively early this morning trying to decide whether to make my way up Verstovia or Indian River, when I saw a partial rainbow in front of Mt. Edgecumbe. The sun was still not showing above the mountains in town, which probably helped make the colors of the rainbow seem extra bright. I quickly made my way down to Totem Park for a better view.