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| I tapped cones dropped by both pines |
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| The fallen cone microhabitat |
An appointment today in Seattle's industrial district put me so close to West Seattle that I couldn't resist buzzing over there to take a sample. Driving south on 35th Ave., I very quickly spotted two western white pines (
Pinus monticola) that had dropped open, accessible cones in front of neighboring houses. If only every sampling site were so easy to find!
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| Female O. praticola tapped from cones |
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| Penultimate male Xysticus ?cristatus |
I tapped 50 cones and collected 8 spiders and 3 identifiable species: An erigonine to be identified later,
Tachygyna vancouverana (Linyphiidae), and
Ozyptila praticola (Thomisidae). I'm not at all surprised to find
O. praticola in West Seattle, but I'm quite happy to have found a specimen to verify its presence in that quadrant of the city. Also present in this sample was a penultimate male
Xysticus probably-
cristatus (Thomisidae),
another introduced crab spider that's become established in western Washington.
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Site location map. Click to enlarge. West Seattle site is circled.
Blue: O. praticola confirmed via adult specimen.
Yellow: Juvenile O. ?praticola found.
Red: No O. praticola adults or ?praticola juveniles found. |
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