Album of "Gate Prairie" Field Trip

Selected photos (by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer) from a spider collecting trip to prairie remnants just east of the unincorporated community of Gate, Thurston County, Washington. The best kind of spring weather favored us, and though our first site had miserably degraded habitat, it still yielded its share of spiders; the second area checked actually had a good-sized tract of relatively natural prairie, adjacent to a fish hatchery where the buildings had several synanthropic species on them. Some nice terrain, a pleasant peaceful day in the country, and 37 spider species rewarded us.
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Aerial photo of prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington degraded prairie remnant site near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Aerial view: degraded county triangle on left, higher quality hatchery property on right (Thurston County, 2009) Once a prairie, now taken over by Scots broom             © Laurel Ramseyer
young Garry oak Quercus garryana reproducing in degraded prairie remnant near Gate, Thurston County, Washington oak leaf litter at prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Young oaks reproducing amid the broom   © Rod Crawford Oak leaf litter produced few spiders this time           © Rod Crawford
stump in degraded prairie remnant site near Gate, Thurston County, Washington male cobweb weaver spider Theridiidae Dipoena lana from prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Stump concealed a good spider        © Laurel Ramseyer Note the amazing male carapace of Dipoena lana          © Rod Crawford
epigynum of amaurobiid spider Callobius deces from prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington invasive Himalayan blackberry Rubus discolor, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Epigynum (female genitalia) of Callobius deces       © Rod Crawford Cursed blackberries invading even the good prairie          © Rod Crawford
Douglas-fir foliage Pseudotsuga menziesii, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington feral apple tree in degraded prairie remnant near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Wall of fir foliage at prairie edge         © Rod Crawford Blooming apple tree produced some Misumena           © Laurel Ramseyer
mushroom in Douglas-fir forest, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington snowberry Symphoricarpos albus, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Shroom in the woods            © Rod Crawford Snowberry had spiders similar to the grassland             © Laurel Ramseyer
moss on forest floor, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington crab spider Ozyptila pacifica Thomisidae from forest moss, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Mossy, sun-dappled forest floor    © Rod Crawford Ozyptila pacifica from the forest moss               © Rod Crawford
mushroom in Douglas-fir forest, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington Theridion simile cobweb weaving spider Theridiidae, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Another shroom in the woods        © Rod Crawford Theridion simile taken from grass, firs and shrubs          © Rod Crawford
camas in bloom Camassia quamash, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington high quality part of prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Camassia quamash       © Rod Crawford Much better prairie on the other side of the fence       © Rod Crawford
possible shell midden, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington large Garry oak tree Quercus garryana, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Is this a shell midden?             © Rod Crawford Mighty oaks from little acorns grow             © Rod Crawford
yellow violet plant Viola sp., prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington smaller high quality site, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Yellow violets on prairie            © Rod Crawford Laurel found this smaller grassland tract         © Laurel Ramseyer
natural prairie surface, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington settling pond near hatchery, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Prairie surface                © Rod Crawford Laurel identified this water body near the hatchery as a "settling pond." That settled that!     
© Rod Crawford
white flowers on prairie surface, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington hay shed near hatchery, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
More prairie flowers              © Rod Crawford Hey, even I can tell what this shed is for…        © Laurel Ramseyer
moss in grass clump, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington Rod Crawford leaving site at end of day, prairie remnant sites near Gate, Thurston County, Washington
Moss in a grass clump had a distinctive spider       © Rod Crawford Rod heads back to the road after a good day's collecting   © Laurel Ramseyer

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This page last updated 26 April, 2010