ONH

  • 1977
  • 2011
  • 2057
  • 2064
  • 2072
  • 2062
  • Content Slide
  • 1977
    1 - Nisquallia olympica ovipositing.

    10/18/2008 Sunrise Ridge Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington

  • 2011
    2 - Nisquallia olympica ovipositing. Note how little space she has to insert her abdomen.

    10/18/2008 Sunrise Ridge Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington

  • 2057
    3 - Nisquallia olympica ovipositing.

    10/18/2008 Sunrise Ridge Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington

  • 2064
    4 - Nisquallia olympica ovipositing.

    10/18/2008 Sunrise Ridge Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington

  • 2072
    5 - Nisquallia olympica ovipositing.

    10/18/2008 Sunrise Ridge Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington

  • 2062
    6 - Nisquallia olympica ovipositing hole after the female moved to a new location.

    10/18/2008 Sunrise Ridge Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington

  • Content Slide

7 - Nisquallia olympica ovipositing.

On a trip to Sunrise Ridge trail on 10/18/08, we photographed a Nisquallia olympica female ovipositing, or trying to. All of the photographs, and the video depict a single individual.

She would wiggle the tip of her abdomen between bits of shale, and force it into soil underneath. Sometimes she would kick small rocks aside. After a few minutes, she would move to another nearby spot. I excavated two of her holes (about 3-4 mm in diameter) down to solid rock, 1-2 centimeters in both cases, but didn’t find any egg case. She may have been searching for a location with enough depth of soil.

Also see Eggs and Emergence in the Nisquallia menu.