Album of Painted Rocks Trail Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from a 9 October 2013 spider collecting trip to the Painted Rocks Trail along (near the mouth of) the Little Spokane River, Spokane County, Washington. This trail, in a state-managed natural area, did not provide as rich spider habitats as the Spokane County conservation areas and parks we visited, but we can't complain; it's a beautiful spot that dried out in the course of the day, and we did get a 23-species sample including the bizarre, rarely seen crab spider Tmarus angulatus. Laurel's account of the day is here.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
2012 aerial view of spider collection sites on Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington trailhead, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Trail runs along north edge of floodplain     (Spokane County, 2012) Trailhead                © Rod Crawford
pictographs, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington Laurel lRamseyer photographing pictographs, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Pictographs explain trail's name          © Laurel Ramseyer Laurel taking the photo at left          © Rod Crawford
poison ivy Rhus radicans near trailhead, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington wet parking lot, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Only poison ivy we saw, near trailhead     © Rod Crawford Habitats near the parking lot still soggy          © Rod Crawford
wet pine needles, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington Rod Crawford at trailside rock outcrop, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Pine foliage still wet       © Laurel Ramseyer Trail climbs over large rock outcrops          © Laurel Ramseyer
ponderosa pine foliage, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington large meadow with sun emerging from clouds, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Pine foliage quickly dried out       © Laurel Ramseyer We reached large meadow as sun burned through clouds         © Rod Crawford
cottonwood leaf litter, not very productive of spiders, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington Little Spokane River from south of Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Low-grade leaf litter, not too productive     © Rod Crawford Glimpse of the river from the riparian woods            © Rod Crawford
gray shield bug Pentatomidae on pine cone, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Gray shield bug inhabits pine cone       © Laurel Ramseyer We collected mainly along this stretch of trail       © Laurel Ramseyer
Phalangium opilio harvestman from pine cone, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington crab spider Tmarus angulatus from pine foliage, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Non-native Phalangium opilio from a cone    © Laurel Ramseyer Crab spider Tmarus angulatus from pine foliage         © Rod Crawford
yellowed ground herbs in meadow, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington large meadow on Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Ground herbs, fall-colored          © Rod Crawford The meadow finally dried enough to sweep               © Rod Crawford
pine cones, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington hillside ponderosa pine forest, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Pine cones were not in short supply     © Laurel Ramseyer Forest above the valley, another pine cone habitat          © Laurel Ramseyer
black shield bug from pine cone, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington green shield bug Pentatomidae in pine cone, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Another cone-dwelling shield bug species         © Laurel Ramseyer And still another bug species, still in the cone               © Laurel Ramseyer
flower seemingly grows from pine cone, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer sifts pine needle litter, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Fall flower seemingly grows from cone   © Laurel Ramseyer Laurel sifting needle litter               © Rod Crawford
red fall-colored tree, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington Douglas-firs on rocky slope, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
First strong sign of fall color        © Rod Crawford I found some Douglas-firs to beat on this rocky slope          © Rod Crawford
crab spider Bassaniana utahensis on pine bark scale, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington crab spider Bassaniana utahensis, Painted Rocks Trail, Spokane County, Washington
Pine bark scales housed a lot of…       © Laurel Ramseyer …flat Bassaniana utahensis              © Laurel Ramseyer

[Native Wildlife Gardening Home]     [Bug Information from The Scarabs]     [Bugs of the Month Home]

This page last updated 13 February, 2015