Happy Indepence Day

Holmes County, Ohio

Sanibel Island, Florida

Cleveland, Ohio

To everyone across this great nation, happy Independence day. We'll be spending the day with my parents in Munroe Falls, Ohio.

Meet Up with Tom, AKA The Fishing Guy

About a week ago, I had the opportunity to meet up with Tom aka "The Fishing Guy" at Kent Bog State Nature Preserve. I made a quick check of the bog and updated a few rare plant records. We had a great time looking at the tamaracks, sedges, and other bog plants. For more, check out Tom's post of our meeting.

Have a fantastic and safe holiday weekend.

Tom

More Moths- And a New Avatar

I'm really starting to get into this moth thing, but first things first. I have a brand new avatar. Megan snapped this shot of me and Weston last evening, as we just peeked our heads into the living room. The soft and diffuse light pouring in from the window really lit us nicely. I've always thought Weston had a dark complexion- but his baby skin, preciously protected from the sun, is so much lighter than my own, sun baked complexion.

So here we go. Two days ago, I showed shots of the non-moth insects that frequent our lamp post. Now, let's go on to the moths.



Number one- This one has very long wings that are held out, so it is very wide, rather than long and narrow. Could it fold its wings and look very different? I'm not sure. I believe this is the first time I photographed this species.



Number two. An interesting white job. Again, I'm not sure if moths have a choice whether to rest with their wings open or closed. This one's white wings seem to be folded up and downwards, almost like a long cape.



And here is a really strange one, it is more antenna than moth. Look at those long, filamentous feelers. I photographed this species (or perhaps genus) last year when I did my first creatures of the night photo adventure. Isn't cool how there are two reflections of it on the glass of the lamppost?



Here's the weird one. Not much to it, and very strange, long, twig-like legs and antennae. This one creeps me out perhaps more than the others, and I'm not exactly sure why. Another view:




Here's a tiny moth clinging to our painted white brick wall of our first story. See those tiny bubbles in the paint? That and the small green bug should give a sense of scale.



And finally, we have this rather handsome looking moth. Alabaster white with a tinge of salty caramel striping.

I encourage you to get out tonight and photograph moths. Digital photography, especially the great macro modes available on every point and shoot cameras, can really make moths interesting. Although they have the same basic body plan and parts, I'm amazed just how different each species really is. So much biodiversity in just our front and backyards, it is almost hard to believe I was missing out on these creatures for so long.

Tom

A Red-Tailed Larva

Have you ever tried to identify what species of tadpole you have just captured? Ryan Schroeder caught this gray treefrog tadpole at Lou Campbell State Nature Preserve last Friday and I snapped a quick picture. The diagnostic feature? Its rich red tail.

Tom

Creatures of the Night

I know that you're probably sick of me writing about it, but since we move to our new house about a year ago, I've had to look harder for interesting photographic subjects close to home. But really, the subjects are endless. One of my favorite places to photograph biological diversity is the lamppost that sits in our front yard, and one of our lights in the backyard. Take a look at what I photographed this past Saturday evening, and this selection doesn't even include the moths. I don't know the names of these creatures, scientific or common, and I'm plenty OK with that. I would like to learn them in time- now I'm just trying to observe them and learn about them, without having the trouble of learning names. Once I really learn each creature, the name should be easy. That being said, I wouldn't mind input if you recognize one of these buggers.










Tom

Gypsy Moths at Highbanks Metro Park

Spring in late June???

A unsolicited, rather interesting comment appeared on my blog several weeks ago, completely unrelated to the post subject on Carex.

"Just thought you might know about Highbanks Metro Park. I was walking there today and noticed that a few acres near the top paths across from the nature center seem to have lost all of their leaves. Have you seen this and do you know what is going on there? All the trees are bald in that section of the trail."

My reply: "Maybe Gypsy Moths?"

Well, surely, an outbreak of the non-native gypsy moths, have defoliated at least ten, if not closer to forty, acres of oak dominated forest southwest of the nature center.
On Saturday, June 27, Megan, Weston and I went to hike at Highbanks, and I wasn't quite ready for what we experienced. Megan perhaps described it best, as "a fairy land". We were walking through dark, shaded forest, slowly coming upon the defoliated tree area. We were greeted with not only bright sun and mostly naked trees, but also thousands of fluttering male gypsy moths. They weren't shy either, and had no problem landing on me as I photographed them.

A male gypsy moth

Female gypsy moths, flightless, with eggs

The ultimately gross pupae cases of the moths. Notice the silk- they were originally imported to Massachusetts for their silk producing abilities, escaped, and the rest is history.

A few ash trees were spared- the maples and oaks were not.

The park now has excellent signage that tells the whole story. Regular runners and hikers at the park seem unfazed by the creepiness that is a gypsy moth infestation. Next year, the park will be using GypCheck to limit damage. GypCheck is actually made from dead gypsy moths, and is currently the most environmentally friendly control method available.

Tom

Evening Photography Fun

Last night I stayed up just a little bit later than normal, and captured these images. Any guesses as to what I'm showing here? Just a little Sunday evening fun. Enjoy the week.