I decided to check out a nearby stream that I had passed over many times but never took the time to check out. From the bridge I could see dark grey marl banks at least six feet high with a cap of sand and gravel. I didn't expect to find anything in the marl since it was so close to the surface, but it was worth a shot. As I fought my way along the stream bank through brambles and holly trees on the "easy" side I realised it was going to be a lot more work than I had thought to get to the exposure. I considered going through the water, but even though it was clear I couldn't see the bottom and I hate to swim almost as much as I love to dive. I finally got to a shallow spot where I could cross to a marl exposure. As I came out of the brush I noticed a school of huge carp being escorted by three 14 to 16 inch smallmouth bass. I was surprised there were any fish at all in the creek. I finally got to the marl exposure and from there I saw marl banks as far downstream as I could see. I used my paleo-screwdriver to pop out some chunks of the marl and to my surprise there were several shell impressions in almost every piece I examined. From the large turritella impressions I decided that the material is probably the Paleocene Aquia formation, that means the possibility of Otodus and Paleocarcharodon teeth. My next foray into this stream will be with a canoe and scuba gear. It seems that although the stream is only about 20 feet wide it is unusually deep. On the way back out I went deeper into the woods to try to avoid most of the brush and thorns. This is where I found something I had always thought of as a southern critter. This particular stream is near Fredericksburg, Virginia and I wouldn't have been more surprised if I had found a coral snake. Several years ago a friend of mine was stung by one of these while collecting in the Lee Creek mine in North Carolina. It really messed him up and it took several weeks and doctor visits to completely get over the sting. I know this little beauty as a Velvet Ant and it's not an ant at all but a wingless wasp. These buggers are as potent as they are pretty. If they are in my area they may be in Maryland as well. If you see one don't touch it. I caught this one in a big zip loc bag for the sole purpose of photographing it so I could warn other people about it. You know the saying that some things are best admired from a distance, this is one of those things. Hopefully the next post about this creek will be about finding too many shark teeth to carry . . .

Say BRM, I brought home one of these nasty critters last year to add to my sons bug collection.  I was collecting on the MD side of the Potomac River with my buddy when I came across one of these things that I thought was an ant.  The bright red color made it look like a real attractive bug to add to the collection and I almost picked it up.  Fortunately my buddy recognized it and warned me!  He said he saw many of these while growing up in GA.  I'm from upstate NY and spent a lot of time outdoors but never saw one up there.  Anyhow, along with watching out for snakes along the river, I also watch out for these nasty wasps.

Daryl.