Album of Tonga Ridge Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Hannah Dykstra from our 4 August 2014 spider collecting trip with Jerry Austin to Tonga Ridge and Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington. A long but well-maintained and not very steep hiking trail brought us to varied subalpine habitats and, despite minor vicissitudes, we succeeded in bagging a 25-species sample where no spiders had been collected before. Good exercise too. One of those warm days on which only mad dogs and spider collectors go out in the noonday sun!
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
Aerial view from 2008 of Tonga Ridge Road spider collecting site, King County, Washington spider collecting site on Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington
Aerial view of roadside field site        (King County, 2008) Roadside field site on the way to the trailhead        © Rod Crawford
grassy roadside verge, Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington Hannah Dykstra sweeping spiders, Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington
Grassy roadside verge           © Hannah Dykstra Hannah sweeping the verge habitat            © Rod Crawford
Jerry Austin seeks spiders under rocks, Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington roadside alder forest Alnus rubra, Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington
Jerry seeks elusive under-rock spiders      © Rod Crawford Roadside alder stand                 © Hannah Dykstra
anoploderine cerambycid longhorned beetle on flower, Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington unknown Theridion spider species, Theridiidae, Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington
Anoploderine longhorned beetle         © Hannah Dykstra Unidentified juvenile Theridion            © Rod Crawford
honey bee Apis mellifera on daisy, Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington purple daisies, Tonga Ridge Road, King County, Washington
Honey bee far from managed hives      © Hannah Dykstra Purple Anemone flowers              © Hannah Dykstra
trailhead, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington, 2008 aerial photo parkling lot, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Trailhead from air (it ascends ridge, lower rignt)  (King County, 2008) We weren't the only hot-day hikers           © Hannah Dykstra
trailhead sign, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington entering wilderness, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Trailhead sign             © Hannah Dykstra Entering the wilderness                 © Hannah Dykstra
Jerry Austin & Hannah Dykstra on Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington Rod Crawford & Jerry Austin on Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Jerry and Hannah on the trail        © Rod Crawford Rod and Jerry on the trail           © Hannah Dykstra
clearwing moth, Sesiidae, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington clearwing moth, Sesiidae, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Hannah found 2 species…          © Hannah Dykstra …of clearwing moths (Sesiidae)              © Hannah Dykstra
wrong side trail leading nowhere, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington white pine tree, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Not the Mt. Sawyer trail, this led nowhere   © Rod Crawford White pine along the trail            © Rod Crawford
horse fly Tabanidae on Jerry Austin's leg, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington trail scene on Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington
Horse fly on Jerry's leg          © Hannah Dykstra Trail scene              © Hannah Dykstra
mountain heather flowers Phyllodoce empetriformis, Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington Mount Daniel from Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Phyllodoce flowers           © Hannah Dykstra Mount Daniel seen from the trail               © Rod Crawford
2008 aerial photo of Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington view from trail of upper slopes of Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington
Mt. Sawyer from the air        (King County, 2008) Looking up the mountain from treeline spider site             © Rod Crawford
Philodromus alascensis crab spider from Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington mountain hemlock foliage Tsuga heterophylla, Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington
Jerry caught the only Philodromus alascensis       © Rod Crawford Mountain hemlock foliage              © Rod Crawford
Boloria epithore butterfly along Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington Vaccinium shrub "meadow" along trail to Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington
Boloria epithore along trail           © Hannah Dykstra Berryless Vaccinium along Mt. Sawyer trail             © Rod Crawford
dead wood habitat on Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington amaurobiid spider Callobius nomeus from log, Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington
Dead wood habitat              © Rod Crawford Callobius nomeus from a log            © Rod Crawford
flowery trailside on Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington trail descending Mt. Sawyer, King County, Washington
Flowery trailside            © Rod Crawford On the trail descending Mt. Sawyer                 © Rod Crawford
aerial photo (2008) of meadow along Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Meadow along Tonga Ridge Trail        (King County, 2008) The meadow includes a seasonal wetland        © Rod Crawford
flowers in meadow along Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington flower crab spider Misumena vatia penultimate male, meadow along Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Meadow flowers         © Rod Crawford Juvenile male Misumena vatia                   © Rod Crawford
subalpine fir foliage Abies lasiocarpa, meadow along Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington sedge in wetland portion of meadow along Tonga Ridge Trail, King County, Washington
Subalpine fir foliage               © Rod Crawford Lush sedge grows in the dried-out wetland                    © Rod Crawford
sun sinking, Tonga Ridge trailhead, King County, Washington sun setting, Tonga Ridge trailhead, King County, Washington
Sun sinks at trailhead              © Hannah Dykstra Sun begins to set at trailhead                    © Rod Crawford

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

This page last updated 1 September, 2014