NBNC Ramble 2/13/13

On a morning hike in Montpelier, winter insects can be plentiful.  Conditions seemed perfect this morning: overcast, ~36 F, intermittent light snow.  I went for a nice long walk through the North Branch Nature Center (NBNC) and into North Branch River Park (NBRP).

This is a hike that I take often.  Through NBNC, I follow a narrow strip of riparian forest at the edge of a large field.  After passing over a footbridge, I enter NBRP.  I pass a complex of beaver ponds on my left, and eventually follow the spring-fed streams that fill the beaver ponds up a steep hill.  The diversity of habitats might help explain the diversity of insect life here, even in winter.

At NBNC, and in the less forested parts of NBRP, I found the most abundant invertebrate of the morning: Long-jawed Orbweavers:

A less-frequent encounter today was with a planthopper that was in the middle of the trail.  I think I've narrowed it down to the genus Stenocranus. A white line bisects the planthopper laterally, making it look sliced in half... literally.

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My walk proved to be extremely productive, with 20+ individuals observed.  My overall breakdown was:

• 2 Snow Flies
• 10+ Long-jawed Orbweavers
• 2 other spiders (2 species)
• 5 Winter Stoneflies
• 1 Planthopper
• 1 Moth
• 1 Winter Cranefly (found dead)
• numerous springtails