📜 EwA Week Highlights: Robins, Lady Beetles and Tuning Forks

[Mike McGlathery]

EwA Highlights June 23, 2025 Hello everyone,  Thanks for reading the June 23rd EwA highlights. My apologies that they’re coming a day late! They’ll be back on Monday next week. I hope you’re staying cool today. 📸 All kinds of birds are starting to fledge this time of year. The awkwardness of these young ones can make them entertaining to watch, even more commonplace species such as the American robin (Turdus migratorius). Juvenile robins can be identified by the white speckled look of their breast.  EwA iNaturalist Record (© Erin E. · Wareham, MA · June 18, 2025)  Simon observed this club-like tuning fork (Calocera cornea), a jelly fungus, this week. This is yet another example of the delightfully creative range of mushroom names. This species of fungus grows on decaying wood. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Simon Gurvets · Shirley, MA · June 19, 2025)  EwA’s most observed species this week was the Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis). These quite common beetles aren’t native to North America, and were introduced for their ability to control aphid populations. Due to their wide distribution, abundance, and propensity for outcompeting native species, they could be considered one of the most invasive insect species in the world. Fortunately for this species, it has some of the best PR of any insect (thanks to its reputation for controlling pests and charismatic appearance) and isn’t anywhere near as reviled as many other invasive species. This larva was spotted by Craig this week. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Craig Burkhart · Massachusetts, US · June 2025)  📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this week, totaling 1,236 observations of 632 distinct species. If you’re curious about the records from this week that have been validated by the iNat community so far, you can find them » here. 🏆 Running tally: To date, we have recorded 241,324 observations of 12,703 distinct species! Check out our EwA umbrella project, see the details per site/observer, and more » here. 📅 EwA Upcoming Public Events Ewa Field Events » Check the EwA Summer [ Event details and registration » ] Don’t miss some great opportunities to follow the rhythm of the season in our local habitats and in the local wildlife! Space is limited for all our field events. Wildlife ethics is important to us and we seek to avoid putting the pressure on natural habitats which large gatherings unavoidably do. We are asking our audience to register-and-commit (or cancel when you know you can’t come) to avoid no-shows. EwA Fieldwork (and Resources) It’s a great time to join our monitoring programs. Check EwA’s Volunteer Program Calendar 📅  to know when things happen. And if a session is of interest to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to get the rendezvous location. 📅 EwA Sites Map | 🌱 Site Protocols and Guides · Field Rosters · Field Notes » All here! | ℹ️ More about EwA’s Citizen Science Program » Here ❓ Do you have any questions? Don’t be shy. Just email me or reply to this thread.  That’s all for this week—hope you have a good one! -Mike