📜 EwA Week Highlights: Spring Springtails and Escaping the Weed Whacker

[Mike McGlathery]

EwA Highlights April 5, 2025 Hello everyone,  Thanks for reading the April 5th EwA highlights. 📸 There are so many seasonal changes to observe right now, and the volume of EwA Pheno Lite observations has increased to match. Jennifer documented this fawnlily (genus Erythronium) flower bud yesterday. Judging by the broken-off stalks you can see all around it, this one might have narrowly avoided being mowed or weed whacked. EwA Pheno Lite Record (© @jennifer_3 · Somerville, MA · Apr. 4, 2025)  Now that we’re in April, we’re close to being past the last hard frost of the year. The Boston area often still sees a frost or two in April, but the last frost occurs before the middle of the month about 50% of the time. Many might know this from planning a garden, but it has implications for many organisms other than plants, such as the arthropods that we’re starting to see in greater numbers. Simon captured this awesome picture of a plump springtail (order Poduromorpha) in Cambridge this week.  EwA iNaturalist Record (© Simon Gurvets · Cambridge, MA · Apr. 3, 2025)  The winter firefly (Ellychnia corrusca) was EwA’s most-observed species again this week. We have seen many pictures of that species over the past couple months, so I’m showcasing another common arthropod this week, and we have a great photo to show. Deana caught this bold jumping spider (Phidippus audax) feasting on an ant on Friday. This photo does a nice job of showcasing the beautiful coloration of this species’s chelicerae (often identified as the spider’s jaws).  EwA iNaturalist Record (© Deana Tempest Thomas · North Scituate, RI · Apr. 4, 2025)  📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this week, totaling 534 observations of 275 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 228,185 observations of 12,396 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 Spring [ 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