Album of St. Joseph Mission Field Trip

Selected photos (by Rod Crawford and Della Scott) from a 7 October 2011 spider collecting trip to historic St. Joseph Mission Park on Ahtanum Creek, Yakima County, Washington, with a brief visit to a dry shrub-steppe site on nearby Winchester Road. A long drive from rainy western Washington brought us to a beautiful fall day, and in relatively short collecting time I managed to get 27 species, almost half from leaf litter along the creek.
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2008 aerial photo of St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
The mission park; our site in SE corner     (Yakima County, 2008) Park proper was too well-groomed for good collecting        © Rod Crawford
historic cross at St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington gnaphosid spider Poecilochroa montana from St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
Historic cross from the old mission       © Della Scott Juvenile Poecilochroa montana              © Rod Crawford
cottonwood-willow leaf litter, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington sifting leaf litter, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
Cottonwood-willow litter       © Rod Crawford Litter sifting was very productive                © Rod Crawford
microspider Linyphiidae Scotinotylus sanctus epigynum, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington microspider Linyphiidae Spirembolus demonologicus, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
Scotinotylus sanctus (holy spider) epigynum      © Rod Crawford For contrast to sanctified spider: Spirembolus demonologicus  © Rod Crawford
Linyphiidae microspider Helophora orinmoa, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington woodland understory habitat, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
Epigynum of Helophora orinoma       © Rod Crawford Lush understory added several species         © Rod Crawford
male theridiid spider Steatoda hespera, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington riparian cottonwood tree canopy , St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
Odd-looking male Steatoda hespera   © Rod Crawford Riparian tree canopy                © Rod Crawford
Della Scott in riparian field, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington edge of riparian woodland & field, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
Della in the riparian field         © Rod Crawford Edge of field and woodland habitats           © Rod Crawford
part of tall grass riparian field, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington another part of tall grass riparian field, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
Tall grass field…          © Rod Crawford …was good sweeping (10 species)            © Rod Crawford
Rod in the riparian field, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington afternoon light in riparian field, St. Joseph Mission Park, Yakima County, Washington
Rod in the riparian field           © Della Scott Time marches on: late afternoon            © Rod Crawford

To add species from a drier habitat, we visited the edge of a state land tract on nearby Winchester Road.

grass and sagebrush at Winchester Road SW of Yakima, WA ranch driveway at end of Winchester Road SW of Yakima, WA
Grass & sagebrush each had fall spiders      © Rod Crawford Seemingly a road to nowhere           © Rod Crawford
flat stone habitat, Winchester Road SW of Yakima, WA shrub habitat in dry gully, Winchester Road SW of Yakima, WA
One good record under a rock (not this one)    © Rod Crawford Shrub & grass habitat in a dry gully            © Rod Crawford
Gateway to Draggin' Ass Ranch, Winchester Road SW of Yakima, WA Sign for Draggin' Ass Ranch, Winchester Road SW of Yakima, WA
Ranch gateway looks like the real Old West…    © Rod Crawford …until you look closely at the sign!                  © Rod Crawford
Dry hills and collectors' car, Winchester Road SW of Yakima, WA sun sinks behind dry hills, Winchester Road SW of Yakima, WA
Evening light on the dry hills     © Rod Crawford The sun sinks behind the hills            © Rod Crawford
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This page last updated 29 March, 2012