Not just insects - July 21

By midsummer, the resident fish populations on salt marshes are thriving. However, multitudes of killifish perish every time the marshes dry out at a low tide. In those times, larger pools and ponds provide refuge for fish, which then can migrate to the salt marsh quickly during high tides and eat away mosquito larvae and other aquatic invertebrates. Thus, the essence of biological mosquito control on the salt marshes is to create more and better killifish habitat.

Atlantic eel often found in salt marsh ponds

 Killifish (mostly mummichogs)   concentrated within the drying potholes at a low tide

 
 Ponds provide refuge for fish and good hunting for shorebirds

Tis’ the season for greenheads, horse and deer flies of the family Tabanidae. This monstrosity is one of the largest on the east coast. Mourning horse fly (Tabanus atratus) is over an inch long. The female mouthparts work like a saw to cut into the skin. Fortunately, this beast attacks large mammals such as deer, horses, and cows. The bite is described as excruciatingly painful.

Syrphid (aka hover or flower flies, family Syrphidae) are very common on the salt marsh. Adults feed on nectar, but the larvae of some species are predacious on aphids, while others eat fungi.

When I caught the glimpse of this “insect”, I couldn’t make heads or tails of what it was! Turns out, it was a mating pair of the yellow-collared scape moth (Cisseps fulvicollis) whose caterpillars feed on grasses and sedges

female

male

Coccinella septempunctata, the seven-spot ladybird, native to Europe and repeatedly introduced to North America for aphid control makes itself at home on the salt marsh.