📜 EwA Week Highlights: Wool Bears, Wood Asters, and ...Dung Cannons?

[Mike McGlathery]

EwA Highlights October 14, 2025 Hello everyone,  Thanks for reading the October 14th EwA highlights. We’re covering two weeks, since I missed last week, so we’ll have an slightly longer version this time around. 📸 EwA’s fall intern Sophie has been taking more great observations these past couple weeks, including this one of an Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella) caterpillar (also known as the wooly bear caterpillar). These caterpillars are one of the most distinctive insect sightings of fall, becoming quite visible while they seek out a suitable place to take shelter for the winter.  EwA iNaturalist Record (© bacteriophage · Winchester, MA · Oct. 11, 2025)  Highlights readers might be familiar with my love of entertaining fungus names, and it doesn’t get better than the dung cannon (Pilobolus crystallinus) observed here by Simon. The fruiting bodies of this fungus are pretty tiny, but they can launch their sporangia (the organs in which their spores are produced) quite a distance. You can read more about that in the species’s Wikipedia article, which I’ve linked to its scientific name above as always. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Simon Gurvets · Kerhonkson, NY · Oct. 14, 2025) Late-season nectivores are still searching out good food sources, such as this aster mining bee (Andrena asteris) which has found a reliable late season nectar source in the common blue wood aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium). Or maybe “found” is the wrong term, as the common name suggests that this interspecies relationship has existed for quite a long time. And as for those asters… EwA iNaturalist Record (© JeannieK · Arlington, MA · September 27, 2025)  The common blue wood aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) was our most-observed species this week, after the usual bees and ladybugs. The inflorescences of this flower sport disc florets (those in the center of the flower) of pleasingly varied colors, with the younger ones appearing more yellow and the older ones being more purple. They’re especially a pleasure to look out for this time of year in urban environments, as you’ll often notice volunteers poking through hedges and fences. And as an added bonus, you’ll probably see some pollinators too if you stop and look! EwA iNaturalist Record (© Claire O’Neill· Somerville, MA · Oct. 11, 2025)  📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records the past two weeks, totaling 2,925 observations of 1,065 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 267,047 observations of 13,223 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 Fall [ 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