Northwest Naturalist

Every time you take a photo of an organism, you are creating a tangible record of that creature's existence in space and time. Simply by writing down the date and location, you can transform a pretty picture into a scientific data point. So in a way, for me, photography is just another means of learning more about nature and science!

[northwestnaturalist]

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) Trochilidae, male

Missoula, MT May 31, 2017 Robert Niese

I spent a whole weekend trying to photograph Calliopes visiting this feeder, but they refused to participate. The RUHUs on the other hand, tolerated my presence much more and were happy to pose for me. This male was so aggressive he nearly chased me away from his feeder! How does such a tiny animal possess so much spunk?!

[northwestnaturalist]

Sisyrinchium montanum “Montana Strict Blue-eyed-grass” Iridaceae

Missoula, MT May 27, 2017 Robert Niese

It’s easy to miss these little, unassuming members of the iris family. As their name suggests, at first glance they look very much like grass, but their showy purple blooms give them away quickly. Various species of Blue-eyed-grass grow throughout North America, where they tend to be found in wet or vernally wet meadows, grasslands, and irrigation ditches. I’ve been walking by these plants every day for months, but I didn’t even notice until they started to bloom!

[northwestnaturalist]

Polemonium micranthum “Annual Jacob’s-ladder” Polemoniaceae

Missoula, MT April 16, 2017 Robert Niese

These abundant, weedy Jacob’s Ladders are often found growing among other equally small, white-flowered annuals like Stellaria, Arabidopsis, Capsella, and Cardamine. Unlike many members of those other weedy genera, Polemonium micranthum is a native and not quite as abundant. I certainly would have passed right over it, had I not been on my hands and knees searching for a timid jumping spider. It’s a new species to me! 

[northwestnaturalist]

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) Bombycillidae

Missoula, MT April 18, 2017 Robert Niese

In early April, waxwings were migrating through town in the thousands. They paused in freshly blooming trees to gorge on buds and, in this case, last year’s fruits before continuing their trek northward. The noise and mess they created was astounding! I loved waking up to the roar of their high pitched calls. This flock consisted of around 600 Bohemian Waxwings and a few dozen Cedar Waxwings. The easiest way to tell them apart (for me, at least) is by their vent and under-tail colors. Bohemians have a rufous under-tail and a gray vent while Cedars have a gray-white under-tail and a pale yellow vent. 

[northwestnaturalist]

Mentzelia laevicaulis “Giant Blazingstar” Loasaceae

Missoula, MT July 19, 2016 Robert Niese

This family of plants is completely new to me and it had me stumped for months after I first photographed it blooming under a full moon! Blazingstars, also known as Evening-stars and Moon Flowers, are so named because their flowers tend to open in late afternoon and evening, attracting a variety of pollinators including nocturnal insects like hawkmoths. They have a widespread distribution east of the Cascades, but are fairly uncommon. Here in Montana, two species of Mentzelia are considered species of concern due to their rarity.

[northwestnaturalist]

Siphlonurus phyllis, Siphlonuridae, male

Missoula, MT May 9, 2017 Robert Niese

I know relatively little about aquatic macro-invertebrates, but they are a very well-studied group of organisms due to their importance in understanding stream ecology and health. Fly fishermen are also avid naturalists of these bugs. I’ve met anglers who follow the hatch dates and times of aquatic insects more closely than manic listing birders! Apparently, this genus of mayfly is one of only a few that swarms by the thousands here in the west.

[northwestnaturalist]

Sisyrinchium montanum “Montana Strict Blue-eyed-grass” Iridaceae

Missoula, MT May 27, 2017 Robert Niese

It’s easy to miss these little, unassuming members of the iris family. As their name suggests, at first glance they look very much like grass, but their showy purple blooms give them away quickly. Various species of Blue-eyed-grass grow throughout North America, where they tend to be found in wet or vernally wet meadows, grasslands, and irrigation ditches. I’ve been walking by these plants every day for months, but I didn’t even notice until they started to bloom!

[northwestnaturalist]

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) Trochilidae, male

Missoula, MT June 12, 2016 Robert Niese

Just as the sun is setting, this hummingbird feeder becomes a hub of activity. We can have as many as 12 individuals feeding all at once! I love it! In addition to RUHUs, we also see many Calliopes and some Black-chinned hummers here. 

[northwestnaturalist]

Calligrapha verrucosa “Warty Willow Leaf Beetle” Chrysomelidae

Missoula, MT May 26, 2016 Robert Niese

I couldn’t decide which photo i liked best, so I had to post another portrait shot of this lovely beetle. The genus name “Calligrapha” is a reference to the beautiful calligraphic script on the backs of many species. This species’s coloration is not quite as script-like, but it definitely still appears painted. These beetles are most common in the Northern Rockies of Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, but, according to some older sources, their range is far broader, stretching from Nebraska to California to Alaska. If you have photographs of these beetles please submit them to me to supplement our scientific understanding of their distribution!

[northwestnaturalist]

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) Trochilidae, male

Missoula, MT June 12, 2016 Robert Niese

Male RUHUs are probably the first hummingbirds to arrive here in Montana in the spring. They are our most aggressive hummingbirds and will chase anything that gets too close to their territories. Look for them in moist or riparian woods throughout the Pacific Northwest from April to September. In Western Washington, males will arrive with the first blooms of Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) and Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) in late February and March.

[northwestnaturalist]

Calligrapha verrucosa “Warty Willow Leaf Beetle” Chrysomelidae

Missoula, MT May 26, 2016 Robert Niese

The genus name “Calligrapha” is a reference to the beautiful calligraphic script on the backs of many species. This species’s coloration is not quite as script-like, but it definitely still appears painted. These beetles are most common in the Northern Rockies of Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, but, according to some older sources, their range is far broader, stretching from Nebraska to California to Alaska. If you have photographs of these beetles please submit them to me to supplement our scientific understanding of their distribution!

[northwestnaturalist]

Ranatra fusca “Brown Waterscorpion” Nepidae

Lake Inez, Lolo National Forest, MT May 23, 2017 Robert Niese

There’s something genuinely unnerving about insects viciously preying upon vertebrates, and waterscorpions are superbly specialized for this terrifying task. They sit near the surface of the water, head down, with their elongated, raptorial front limbs outstretched, waiting. Their long paired “tails” remain in contact with the water’s surface like a snorkel, allowing them to breathe while fully submerged. When some unlucky fish or tadpole swims too close, they snap them up like a mantis and immediately stab them with their sucking mouthparts. Their saliva both subdues and begins to digest their prey, allowing them to suck out the animal’s insides. On a completely unrelated note, this individual looks worse for wear, which led me to discover that adults actually overwinter in lakes and ponds here in Montana -- not an easy task considering that most bodies of water freeze-over completely at some point. So apparently they’re indestructible AND hyper-specialized predators. Thank goodness they’re only five inches long.

[northwestnaturalist]

Hydrophyllum tenuipes “Pacific Waterleaf” Hydrophyllaceae/Boraginaceae

Olympic National Park, WA June 5, 2013 Robert Niese

While we’re on the topic of Hydrophyllaceaous plants, here’s another from the low, wet forests of the coastal PNW. Like most members of this pseudo-family, these flowers exhibit unmistakable exerted stamens. These plants are endemic to the PNW and can be found anywhere west of the Cascades, usually near rivers or streams. It’s also interesting to note, like the other Hydrophylls I’ve been posting lately, these plants produce flowers whose color varies from cream to deep violet. A quick google image search suggests that most individuals are white, but all the images I have collected personally are purple. Perhaps I tend to only encounter the purple varieties, but it seems far more likely that I simply prefer to photograph purple plants over white ones. It’s interesting that this unconscious bias may have influenced my perhaps unfounded perception of these populations being predominantly purple.

[northwestnaturalist]

Phacelia heterophylla “Varileaf Scorpionweed” Hydrophyllaceae/Boraginaceae

Mt. Sentinel, Lolo National Forest, MT June 13, 2016 Robert Niese

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m not very familiar with members of the genus Phacelia, but this species perfectly exemplifies why they have received the common name, “scorpionweeds.” Those tightly coiled flower heads will progressively unravel until they’re long and straight (a very Boraginaceaous growth pattern). P. heterophylla is an abundant, weedy species in our area, and, unlike elsewhere in its range where their flowers are drab and white, here in Missoula ours tend to be deep lavender in color!

[northwestnaturalist]

Phacelia linearis “Thread-leaf Phacelia” Hydrophyllaceae/Boraginaceae

Mt. Sentinel, Lolo National Forest, MT June 13, 2016 Robert Niese

I can’t say I’m particularly familiar with the genus Phacelia. In fact, I was quite stumped when I first photographed this flower on the trails behind the university. Turns out, Phacelia has perplexed botanists as well over the last few decades as well. Most members of this genus are called scorpionweeds (for obvious reasons which I’ll elucidate in my next post), but this particular species is definitely not recognizable as such. Its large, broadly campanulate flowers are not what I immediately associate with members of Hydrophyllaceae either. What’s more, the family Hydrophyllaceae is now accepted as a subfamily within Boraginaceae, and this plant absolutely does not remind me of forget-me-nots and bluebells. So in summary, the Thread-leaf Phacelia is an oddball in the world of Phacelias and the genus Phacelia is generally also odd as a member of Hydrophyllaceae which, oddly enough, has odd traits that do not conform to those that tend to be most common in the family Boraginaceae, to which it now belongs.

[northwestnaturalist]

Philodromus histrio “Theatrical Running Crab Spider” Philodromidae

Blue Mountain National Recreation Area, MT May 16, 2016 Robert Niese

I have no idea why this species of running crab spider has been given the species epithet “histrio.” In Latin, histrio means “actor” or “player.” Perhaps the arachnid’s propensity for waving its arms about whenever a predator (or camera) approaches earned it this descriptor. Or perhaps some early entomologist first encountered it engaged in an impressive act of twig-impersonation. In fact, when I first stumbled upon this individual, its legs were perfectly aligned in the shape of an X and pressed flat against the underside of this Artemisia stem, perhaps hoping to be mistaken for plant matter. Regardless, these Philodromids are widespread, common, and relatively recognizable. Look for them in northern latitudes and in the Rockies anywhere you might find weedy Asteraceous plants like Artemisia, Tanacetum, Centaurea, or Senicio (yes, I know, that encompasses just about every habitat).

[northwestnaturalist]

Callospermophilus lateralis “Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel” Sciuridae

Blackfoot River Recreation Corridor (BLM), MT June 8, 2016 Robert Niese

Look at this adorable little fatling! Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels are a common, endearingly pudgy species found throughout western North America east of the cascades and Sierras. They, along with dozens of other ground squirrel species (41, to be precise), were part of the Great Ground Squirrel Generic Revision of 2009. In this taxonomic revision, mammalogists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History determined that the mega-genus Spermophilus was likely a paraphyletic clade of 8 separate genera. Callospermophilus was one of those genera that rose from the ashes of the Spermophilus mega-genus. Today it remains a distinct genus with only three species, all of which are restricted to western North America. Here in the PNW, one of these species, C. saturatus, is endemic to the Cascade range where it likely became isolated by the Columbia River, allowing it to differentiate from its eastern sister species, C. lateralis.