minimal mammals

Up close and personal

the xylem and phloem are the tubes that transport water and sugar (respectively) around the plant. most plants have these two tissue types collected together in what’s called a vascular bundle. a plant can have 1 to 100 vascular bundles depending on the type of plant. in corn, each vascular bundle is covered with a protective lignified sheath. this means that it’s possible to prepare corn organs by letting bacteria eat away at them so only the vascular bundles are left, since they’re more protected. the top two photos are stems prepared with this treatment and the bottom two are sections of cobs. this is the kind of extensive plumbing needed to sustain a plant like this. this is a taste of what corn veins look like

photo credits: Andreas Kay

Meet some of these handsome reef denizens.

#Eumorpha #Eumorphafasciatus #IGClub_butterfly #igcb_mothmonday #Entomology #insects_of_our_world #BandedSphinx #Moth #SphinxMoth #HawkMoth #LesserVineSphinx #Moths #Insect #Lepidoptera https://www.instagram.com/p/B247FEKAO8N/?igshid=1hfdbxxwdh7ua

Flatheaded Borer Beetle, Chalcophora massiliensis by Frank Vassen

October 11, 2019 

The incredible head-to-body ratio of the New Holland frog [Cyclorana novaehollandiae], a large burrowing frog native to New South Wales. They’re commonly seen following periods of heavy rain. Males produce a loud “waah” call as a means to attract females. Images by Jean-Marc Hero.

This Wednesday’s Weed is Carduus nutans, the nodding thistle, native to Eurasia. It’s considered invasive in many American states, as well as Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. These were unfortunately found at Manassas Battlefield in Virginia. The buds do look interesting, though!

Blackening polypore is edible, and I tried it for the first time recently, but it was tough and had the taste of acidic cardboard, so I steered clear of harvesting this beautiful mushroom.

An annual species within the knapweeds grouping of Asteraceae. This species is somewhat rare in my area and I only seem to find it in old remnants since its never included into seed mixes for reclamation and restorations unlike a few Monarda species, (citrus, and spotted), as well as a slew of different seed ecotypes for our circumpolar Rudibeckia hirta, ( a species with decent genetic vigor because of their popularity). I’de love to see this species more eventually as more people switch to native gardens. 

Old growth red maple in the gorge seems to have some of the most insane diversity among lichen inhabitants, I know thats probably me just getting ahead of my self but these are nice. I eventually want to get to a point where i have these all down but for right now im just working on genera level(minus Cladonia spp.) 

October 4, 2019

Here is the Crystal Skipper, (Atrytonopsis quinteri) sent to me by Heather Cayton, from the Outer Banks of North Carolina where its entire range is but 2 barrier islands (one highly developed) where its caterpillars mildly munch on seaside little bluestem.  I don’t think people appreciate the amount of endemism at the species level and below that exists on the barrier island of the Atlantic Ocean.  I can’t think of any other similar situations elsewhere in the world.

Nodding ladies’ tresses orchid (Spiranthes cernua) is a delicate, graceful wildflower with a double-spiraled spike of densely-clustered white flowers, whose lower lips have a crystalline appearance. This clump-forming perennial is an early successional species and doesn’t tolerate competition from taller plants; it grows along the grass and moss-covered margins of wet meadows, stream banks, swamps, and bogs in full sun. Its grass-like basal leaves are glossy and smooth around the edges. Nodding ladies’ tresses orchid spreads by both seed and branching rhizomes and adds a lovely white contrast to the reddish-brown sphagnum moss of high mountain bogs in late September and early October.