My first Beach Strawberry flower for 2024 ... even though it was the first full flower in the area, already there were insects present. Amazing! Sun shining, 50 degrees F.
Marks are in sets of 5, the same distance apart as my fingers. Assuming a bear was standing on the downed log in front of this tree, would have been about the right height.
I feel like I should know what this is, but I do not.
Very challenging to get a decent shot of the petiole- definitely fan-shaped (not diamond or square).
Birch Polypore found near North Pole Alaska
Winged reddish black stripes any about half inch long
Wasp nest growing by gravel community road in Kenai, Alaska. They are active, but I have no good pics of wasps yet. The hive is less than a foot off the ground and it's easily the size of a volleyball.
Update: Got some up-close pics of the wasps today around 9am. It's a rainy morning and this was the first time I saw some motionless outside the entrance. I wonder if that's due to the weather or time of day/year. Some were still going in and out but many were standing very still outside.
I also got some shots of the upper nest supports which are really cool looking. There are at least 4 on top.
Update 8/18/22: There are even more outside the nest today and they are very lethargic. Some are still flying in and out but with lesser and lesser frequency each day. It rained pretty hard this morning but it had eased up by the time I got there. I watched one crawl along a blade of grass until it fell off and landed on the plants below. It got on its feet but never tried to fly just wandered around.