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