Tag: field journal

Field journal: Spiders of the Oculus

Yesterday afternoon, after the rain stopped, I made a quick trip to the Oculus—the long-abandoned space-age modernist pavilion near the foot of the Humber Trail. And within a minute’s walk along the trail in either direction, I found more spider diversity than I ever find in my usual sites! Continue reading Field journal: Spiders of the Oculus

Field journal: Sumo mites

I just love red velvet mites—their soft, plush coats, their Shar-Pei wrinkles, that eye-popping red. Until now, all I’d really seen of their behaviour was eating midges, aphids, and other small insects. But recently I saw something quite astonishing for the first time. Continue reading Field journal: Sumo mites

Field Journal: A Sunnyside pinecone

A few days ago, suffering from cabin fever, I went down to the Sunnyside boardwalk to flip rocks and see what I could find. Pickings were meagre at first, but I struck pay dirt with a pinecone! Pinecones will now be part of my winter spider-hunting repertoire. Continue reading Field Journal: A Sunnyside pinecone

Field Journal: Humber Bay Shores Park

In early May, jealous of all the UK people posting their Pardosa observations, I headed to Humber Bay Shores Park early one morning to see if our native Ontario wolf spiders were out yet. They were not. However, I did find lots of other arthropods! A couple of second-timers—almost as exciting as first-timers. Continue reading Field Journal: Humber Bay Shores Park

Field Journal: Socially Distant Spidering

We’re starting to get the odd day of genuine nice spring weather—and people are flocking to the outdoors. Many parks are closed and the Martin Goodman Trail is packed. So those in search of a nice out-of-the-way spot need to get a little creative. Continue reading Field Journal: Socially Distant Spidering

Field journal: March 29, 2020

The pandemic has changed remarkably little about my daily life, aside from not going to coffeeshops. I am just staying inside more. This past Sunday it was finally decent-ish weather and, along with far too many other people, I headed down to the lake.

Continue reading Field journal: March 29, 2020