Animals encountered in New England

Originally published on the Schmitz Lab blog on October 8, 2015

I spent the summer traveling all over New England collecting grasshoppers and spiders so that I could bring them to Connecticut and see how they react (physiologically and ecologically) to warmer temperatures. In the course of my travels I encountered many other animals besides the grasshoppers and spiders I was specifically looking for, and I’d like to share some of them with you now. Presenting The Joys of Field Research, unexpected animals edition.

First, let’s get acquainted with the animals I was actually looking for:

The red-legged grasshopper, Melanoplus femurrubrum (juvenile)

The nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira

The jumping spider, Phidippus clarus (male)

Now let’s move on to some of the unexpected animals I stumbled upon:

The red eft, Notophthalmus viridescens (juvenile stage of the eastern newt)

A family of goats, Capra aegagrus hircus

The American toad, Bufo americanus

Mom and baby North American porcupines, Erethizon dorsatum

Paw print of the American black bear, Ursus americanus

The cecropia moth, Hyalophora cecropia (the largest moth native to North America)

And last but certainly not least . . .

A jar full of 100 American dog ticks (or wood ticks), Dermacentor variabilis