📜 EwA Week Highlights: Spider Eyes and Milkweed Seeds

[Mike McGlathery]

EwA Highlights September 30, 2025 Hello everyone,  Thanks for reading the September 30th EwA highlights. 📸 EwA has a new intern, Sophie Pinstein! I’ve already been seeing some of Sophie’s great observations on iNat, such as this one documenting an American nursery web spider (Pisaurina mira). This photo does a great job of showing the spider’s two rows of eyes, one straight and one curved, which is an important identifying feature. Welcome, Sophie! EwA iNaturalist Record (© bacteriophage · Stoneham, MA · Sep. 27, 2025) The going-to-seed of milkweed (genus Asclepias) plants is a telltale sign that fall has arrived, and it’s a welcome sight for the small milkweed bug (Lygaeus kalmii). This hemipteran spends most of its life on milkweed plants, and the seeds of the plant are one of its chief nutrient sources. These insects will overwinter as adults and begin to lay eggs in the spring. EwA iNaturalist Record (© kdemary · Arlington, MA · September 27, 2025) We’re continuing to appreciate the locust borer (Megacyllene robiniae) this week, as it was again among our most-observed species. While this beetle is native to parts of the eastern United States, we mostly have humans to thank for its presence in New England. The host plant of its larvae, the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), is native to the southern Appalachian mountains, but has seen widespread use as an ornamental plant. The locust borer has followed the plant wherever it goes, and we see many of them around here today. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Craig Burkhart· Boston, MA · Sep. 27, 2025) 📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this week, totaling 1,585 observations of 708 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 264,895 observations of 13,183 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