Album of 2nd Centralia-Alpha Road Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 24 June 2025 spider collecting trip to Centralia-Alpha Road, east of Centralia, Washington. We'd sampled an eastern section of this road in 2018, but left this western section unvisited, though I'd made a trip plan. Today we visited two different Port Blakely Tree Farm clearcuts (with somewhat different spider faunas) and an older second-growth forest with dense understory, coming home with an acceptable 35 species to fill this hole in collection coverage.
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2024 aerial photo of western part of Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer in Alpha Cemetery, Alpha, Lewis County, Washington in 2025
Three sites along today's section of the road    (Lewis County, 2024) Laurel in Alpha Cemetery, holding grave vase          © Rod Crawford
Port Blakely Tree Farms public access sign, Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington gate to private timberland, western part of Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Public access sign              © Rod Crawford Our entry to miles of accessible habitat              © Rod Crawford
roadside field foliage, western part of Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington male spider Tibellus oblongus swept, western part of Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Lush roadside field foliage             © Rod Crawford Tibellus oblongus swept from field plants               © Laurel Ramseyer
Rod Crawford preparing to beat conifers, western part of Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington stand of alder, western part of Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Rod prepares to beat young conifers      © Laurel Ramseyer Then we came to a grove of mossy alder trees               © Laurel Ramseyer
cutleaf blackberry in clearcut, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington male spider Enoplognatha ovata, swept from western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Cutleaf blackberry, enemy of habitat   © Laurel Ramseyer Invasive Enoplognatha ovata was everywgere             © Laurel Ramseyer
Epargyreus clarus, a skipper butterfly, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington Protolophus harvestman from moss, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Epargyreus clarus, a skipper            © Laurel Ramseyer Protolophus harvestman sifted from moss            © Laurel Ramseyer
forest understory, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington forest understory, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Understory at westernmost site             © Rod Crawford Rich and dense fern and salal understory            © Rod Crawford
Laurel Ramseyer collecting from dead wood, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer emerges from woods, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Laurel collecting from dead wood             © Rod Crawford Laurel emerges from the deep woods                     © Rod Crawford
penultimate male spider Coreorgonal monoceros, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington disintegrating stump, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Pentultimate Coreorgonal monoceros      © Rod Crawford A stump's-worth of habitat               © Rod Crawford
female spider Cybaeota shastae from dead wood, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington Pimoa altioculata spider in rotten stump, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Cybaeota shastae from dead wood      © Rod Crawford Pimoa altioculata in dead wood            © Laurel Ramseyer
dead snag in forest, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington forest understory, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
A snag's-worth of spider habitat        © Laurel Ramseyer No end to the understory habitat                © Laurel Ramseyer
gate to western clearcut, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington road covered with field plants, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Gate etrance to westernmost clearcut      © Rod Crawford This road has entirely become a grass field                 © Rod Crawford
Douglas-fir foliage, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington accessible conifer trees, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Douglas-fir foliage habitat                 © Rod Crawford The young conifers were more accessible here                © Rod Crawford
red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Delicious red huckleberries            © Rod Crawford My thanks to Vaccinium parvifolium for this treat                © Rod Crawford
Scots broom with seeds, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington mature female spider Philodromus josemitensis, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Scots broom reproducing big-time           © Rod Crawford Laurel got season's first adult Philodromus josemitensis       © Rod Crawford
discarded paper proved to be spider habitat, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington flower crab spider Misumena vatia in foxglove, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington
Not mere litter: spiders hid under these papers!  © Laurel Ramseyer The Lurker in the Foxglove                    © Laurel Ramseyer
invasive spider Philodromus dispar in foxglove, western part Centralia-Alpha Road, Lewis County, Washington near-sunset in south King County, Washington on 23 June 2025
Invasive Philodromus dispar also lurks in foxglove © Laurel Ramseyer "False sunset" decorates sky as we approach home             © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 4 July, 2025