Nature Blog | Project Noah

As of February 2013, scientists estimate anywhere between 30,000 and 150,000 Burmese Pythons exist in South Florida. As you may have suspected, Burmese Pythons are not native to Florida. They are native to Southeast Asia and south China.

The problem? The pythons are completely decimating populations of native wildlife. A study conducted by Michael Dorcas, a herpetologist at Davidson College in North Carolina in 2011 documented “severe declines” in mammal sightings. The 2003 to 2011 surveys compare mammal sightings to data from surveys conducted in 1996 and 1997 – before the python was breeding in the wild.

As the population of pythons has spiraled upwards in the last decade, mammal observations have declined by the following percentages:

87.5% bobcat decline

94.1% white-tailed deer decline

98.9% opossum decline

99.3% raccoon decline

100% rabbit decline

100% fox decline

Not a single rabbit or fox sighting was found. Furthermore, the impact of the invasive species on rare animals is unknown. It’s unclear whether or not the python is consuming the Florida panther. It’s quite possible, as these snakes eat leopards in their native habitat of Southeast Asia.

As per above, the pythons aren’t picky eaters. They will often eat any animal they can find. Even large numbers of birds are being consumed. Over 25% of the pythons found in the Everglades contain bird remains.

The above-listed mammals simply have no instinctive defense or fear from a large carnivorous snake. As a result, they fall easy prey. Before the Burmese Python in early 2000, the last large snake to live in this region was 16 million years ago, when a boa-like snake became extinct.

The study does report that certain animals, like turtles, may thrive as a result of this ecological distortion. Raccoons routinely prey upon turtle eggs. With severe declines in raccoon population, turtles have the potential to grow at a higher rate. Of course, this argument assumes the python doesn’t eventually turn on the turtle as food sources dwindle.

In addition to the above report, the National Academy of Sciences published a separate report suggesting bird and coyote populations are also threatened due to the invasive species.

“Survival of the Fittest” Argument Rebuffed

Some counter that survival-of-the-fittest dictates the pythons should spread, as they are simply more powerful predators than their prey. They argue there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with this scenario as it simply represents natural selection playing course. But this argument makes little sense as it runs counter to how ecosystems function.

Burmese pythons in their native habitat in Southeast Asia do not cause a 90+% decline in the population of their prey. And neither do large carnivorous snakes like anacondas in the Amazon. Populations of predator and prey evolve together over time and live in balance. Prey develop natural instinctive defenses from these predators. The animals of the Everglades have no natural instinctive defense from these large snakes.

It’s worth noting a further element of tragic irony in this story. While the pythons are spreading like rabbits throughout south Florida, they are endangered in their native habitat of Southeast Asia. Back home, they are hunted for their skins and captured alive for sale abroad as pets.

How did they get here?

Between 1996 and 2006, roughly 99,000 pythons were imported into the United States as pets.

It’s believed the pythons began breeding in the wild as a result of two primary causes: irresponsible pet owners releasing them and the animals escaping their loosely-kept cages as a result of hurricane or stormy weather.

As for the former, these snakes grow to an average of 12 feet. Pet owners likely grew uncomfortable with the health risk and financial burden of securing and feeding a 12-foot snake in their home. After not wanting to deal with these challenges, many released them into the wild.

As for the latter, in 1992, Florida’s Hurricane Andrew was responsible for destroying a python breeding facility. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, other less severe storms likely enabled snakes in loosely secured cages to escape during stormy weather.

Here’s a brief timeline of how the population began to spiral out of control:

2000: A breeding population was confirmed in the Everglades.

2001-2005: 201 pythons observed or killed in the Everglades.

2006-2007: 418 pythons seen or killed in the Everglades.

2009: 5,000 – 180,000 estimated by South Florida Water Management District

It’s difficult to know exact population numbers over the last decade as these animals are difficult to spot. The above numbers are based on sightings and killings of pythons. The bottom line is that from early 2000 to the present, the population of breeding pythons in the Everglades spiraled to well over 30,000.

More on the Python’s Biology

The severity of this proliferation is better understood after learning about certain aspects of this snake’s biology.

For starters, the Burmese python routinely lives 25 years or more. Astonishingly, the record life span for a python in captivity is 47 years!

Females typically lay one clutch of eggs per year, usually in the spring. Each clutch contains somewhere between 12 and 36 eggs. But much larger numbers have been recorded. This August 15 report from the New York Times included finding a 17-foot python with 87 eggs.

These key aspects of the python’s reproductive behavior, combined with the prey’s lack of natural defenses, have led to a perfect storm of ecological collapse for the land-dwelling mammals.

Some Good News: Pythons Can’t Survive the Winter

I was thrilled to learn some apparent good news in this otherwise awful story. The consensus among herpetologists appears that the python cannot survive through a winter beyond south Florida.

An initial USGS study by Reed Rodda in 2008 claimed the pythons could expand as far north as the southern third of the United States. But that study appears to be an outlier.

Consensus among snake biologists is that Burmese pythons are unable to withstand a winter beyond south Florida.  An experimental closure in South Carolina kept a number of pythons over winter. All of the animals died, as they could not properly acclimate to the change in climate. When it gets cold, these pythons simply die. The study did note, however, that the pythons could survive extended periods of temperatures lower than southern Florida.

Python's inability to survive winter, however, may very well be the only good news with regards to their ability to spread throughout the region.

Research in an early 2012 issue of the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology report concluded that pythons are able to tolerate salt water and can therefore travel through marine and estuarine environments like bays or inlets. The open seas are also a possibility. Prior to the report, it was hoped that the pythons would die in saltwater and would therefore be primarily limited to the freshwater of the Everglades.

The snakes can therefore travel along the southeastern coastline and would only be limited by climate restrictions. Worse still, many climate biologists and snake herpetologists claim this climatic range is quite suitable habitat and very similar to that of Southeast Asia.

Burmese Pythons and the American Alligator

One animal in the Everglades appears able to pose a threat to an adult python. In a battle between the Burmese Python and an American Alligator, who wins? The answer: it depends. Both animals have been found to prey on one another. A large alligator can kill and eat a medium-sized python. And the opposite holds true for a large python.

To be fair, newly hatched juvenile pythons are vulnerable to predation by birds and other animals; but that doesn’t say much as the young of any species are always vulnerable.

Back to the alligator-python battle. How is it decided? The battle is often decided by two main factors: the respective size of each animal and the caliber of the first strike. If the alligator secures a swift bite at the python’s head, the snake’s neck will snap and it dies instantly. The python, on the other hand, aims to wrap itself around the alligator, as it would any other prey. After securing a full wrap, it suffocates the animal and then eats it whole. For a successful alligator hunt, size is key for the snake. The larger the python, the greater it’s chance of successfully wrapping itself around the alligator. Pythons are not venomous and must wrap around their prey to secure a kill. Naturally, small and medium-sized alligators are more vulnerable.  

Some sensational pictures have showed up online of battles between the python and the alligator.

There’s even a grotesque story of a python’s stomach exploding after attempting to consume an alligator too large to digest. Its body rejected the meal outright and the snake died a gruesome death. For any remaining survival-of-the-fittest arguers out there - no, ecosystems are not supposed to function in which a predator’s remaining food source causes its stomach to explode.

If there’s any silver lining here, however small, some predation of the python is good and healthy.

Size becomes a key-determining factor of survival between what will inevitably be the two significant remaining animals. Over time, as evolution runs its course, natural selection would favor increasingly large alligators and pythons.

Yes, what was previously a balanced and varied ecosystem of rabbits, foxes, bobcats, deer and opossums in the Everglades is now becoming a battle between larger-and-larger pythons and alligators.

Public Hunts to Raise Awareness

In February of 2012, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission initiated a 30-day hunt to raise public awareness on this issue. Around 1,600 people from 38 states participated in the hunt. 68 pythons were killed. 68. Assuming 30,000 are in the wild, the low end of figures, 68 represents .2% of the python population. The primary reason for this low number is that the snakes are notoriously difficult to locate.

A more recent hunt, as part of Florida's 2016 Python Challenge, took place this past January. 106 pythons were captured this past year. This represents an improvement from 2013 but hardly puts a dent in the total number in the wild. Cooler temperatures have forced snakes into open spaces and assists hunters in finding them. In addition, hunters are improving their hunting skills.

Florida's approach appears to be containing the snakes as the solution. This hunt represents one of the first steps in the process. And the hunt also was meant as a way of doing some introductory research on where the snakes are located.

The Nature Conservancy also launched a Python Patrol Program in 2008 where citizens are trained to alert authorities of snake sightings. As part of the program, wildlife officials then move forward with capturing the snakes. The program was effective in the Florida Keys and then was expanded mainland to the Everglades with support from the National Park Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In total, 200 python capture responders are trained.

This python patrol program is unquestionably a step in the right direction.

Preventing the spread of these animals is an enormously challenging undertaking. I have no idea how it can be done. These animals are excellent swimmers and travel extensively through marsh, swamps and river valleys. They also travel by land and are great climbers with prehensile tails.

Worse still, a challenge exists with Florida’s proposed attempt at containment. Reducing the population of pythons decreases the competition for remaining food resources. As a result, the pythons that do remain become healthier, stronger and more fertile. And in the end, the population continues to grow at high rates. Yep, decreasing the population in the short-term might actually cause it to spike in the long-term. The brutal reality is that preventing the spread of these animals appears nearly impossible.

In Conclusion

It's a tragic situation for all the native wildlife defenseless from these invasive animals - bobcat, deer, opossum, raccoon, rabbit and fox. When these animals run out, it seems any remaining animals would be vulnerable as the pythons basically eat anything.

My point isn't a sentimental one in favor of one specific animal over another; I have nothing against the pythons. It's simply an appreciation for ecological balance, sustainability and life. The situation now is completely imbalanced and unsustainable. It's truly tragic to see the devastating consequences humanity can have on an ecosystem because of some people's misguided desire to own as a "pet" a 12-foot wild snake.

In January of 2012, the federal government announced a ban on the import of the Burmese pythons, South African python, North African python, and yellow anaconda. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar acknowledges the severity of the crisis when he uses the word "forever" to describe how long the ban would last.

Apparently, the law was held up in bureaucracy for nearly two years by the reptile industry. Furthermore, environmentalists were pushing for 9 species of non-native snakes to be included in the legislation but only 4 were listed.

Thank you to the federal government for finally getting this right. Naturally, this ban represents progress and is a good thing.  

How do we inspire the next generation of science explorers? Let’s start with stories. Whether it is a tropical biologist trekking through a swamp-filled jungle or an astronomical physicist peering off at a faraway galaxy, scientist-storytellers allow us to feel the thrill of discovery and learn vicariously through their experiences.

Our team of educators, scientists, and illustrators set out to achieve this very goal: to provide stories of science – to show where, when and how scientists perform their research and to help explain why their discoveries are so important to our daily lives. The result of this effort led to one action-packed, awe-inspiring, adventure-themed learning resource: a comic book! By harnessing the educational power of art and science, comics provide visually engaging stories that also address and help teach key science concepts.

In Myrmex: A Comic Ant-thology you will find stories of warring species, ancient fossils, fruitful relationships, and science mystery. You’ll learn how fire ant queens start new colonies, how army ants build living bridges, and how Argentine ants invade entire continents.

Members of Project Noah have joined in this same quest for sharing knowledge and educating others about the wonder of our natural world. By making observations and joining biodiversity missions, Project Noah participants create their own stories of science discovery and in turn share these stories with the rest of the world. These efforts not only improve research outcomes in academia, but also and more importantly, help build a community of engaged and empowered environmental stewards.

Above: Esa’s weaver ant story and Subin S’s weaver ant sighting in Kerala, India

Above: Caldwell’s Army Ant story, showing how army ants attack their prey and Jonathan Sequeira's sighting of army ants eating a centipede in Costa Rica

When it comes to ants, the theme of our comic anthology, there is still an enormous amount that we do not know. How are different species genetically related to one another? Where are their current populations distributed? What are their relationships with other organisms? There is a myriad of scientific questions out there and an even greater number not yet posed, just waiting for Project Noah members to pursue in future adventures. 

An army of science explorers stands before us. Whether you are a researcher, educator, artist, or parent, let’s come together to better engage others in conservation and environmental stewardship. It is only through our collective efforts that we will be able to come to better understand this wild world we call home.

This comic anthology is the result of a partnership with the School of Ants project, a citizen-science study headed by the Your Wild Life lab at North Carolina State University. You can find a digital copy of the comic as well as paired teaching resources for classroom use on the Your Wild Life lab website – http://ants.yourwildlife.org.

Javan rhino - Fewer than 35 (critically endangered, possibly extinct)  Sumatran rhino - Fewer than 200 (critically endangered)  Black rhino - 4,838 (critically endangered)  Greater one-horned rhino - 3000 (vulnerable) White rhino - 20,000 (near threatened) Western African black rhino - Extinct Northern white rhino - Possibly extinct

On 22 September 2013 we celebrate the fourth annual World Rhino Day. It is with a heavy heart that I use the word 'celebrate'. For the state of the world's rhinos has never been worse. Confirming previous projections of the increase of poaching deaths; a profound statistic of one rhino per 24 hours killed in 2012 has leaped to one rhino every 11 hours in 2013. This is a horrific and shocking truth that much of the world's population seems to be overlooking. Millions are aware of the situation, yet the predictions come to life monthly, weekly and now hourly. The frustrating efforts poured into raising awareness, safeguarding national parks and educating the masses seem to only escalate the demand for rhino horn. The false medicinal beliefs remain unbelievably strong. With an estimated black market value of $65 000/kg it is difficult, near impossible, to find enough ethical people to keep one rhino safe. Considering that rhinos reside in the poorest countries of the world and demand is driven by the highest populated countries, success seems improbable. Inside jobs are on the rise and morals are tested and lost with cash. This lucrative trade has proven that man can be bought. Our ability to choose between right and wrong is tipping into the crooked side and majestic mammals are lost, one by one...

The Vietnamese Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) was a subspecies of the Javan Rhino. This rhino was distinguished from its island relative by its size - a much smaller version of the rhinos that roam Java. This delicate mammal was the second of the four subspecies of the Javan rhinos to be poached to extinction in 2010. The first subspecies disappeared in 1925; it was the Indian Javan rhinoceros (R. sondaicus inermis) once more hunted for its minute horn.  As the remaining Javan rhinos dwindle in despair as a population of near 8 billion humans looks on. 

The Western African black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) was declared extinct by the ICUN in 2011. A browser, like the black rhino, their diet consisted of leafy plants in their area of sub-saharan Africa. They were also nearsighted and relied on warnings from local birds to detect danger in their immediate surroundings. Unfortunately the call of a bird did not save them from the bullets of the poacher. A loss greater than what we can comprehend as this rhino was an umbrella species as a whole biological community's existence relied on them; from plants to birds to amphibians. The true loss of this mammal will come to light as the dependent ecosystem fails day by day and leads to the loss of more African treasures. 

The Northern white rhinoceros (Certotherium simum cottoni) is a subspecies of the white rhinoceros. However morphological and genetic differences suggest that they are separated by at least a million years and may altogether be a different species. Sadly this rhino is at the very end of its line and has been declared extinct in the wild. The last two mating pairs known to mankind were transported from a zoo in the Czech Republic to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in 2009 in an attempt to begin an major undertaking to save the species from vanishing. As their very existence hangs in the balance every precaution was undertaken to secure success. All four rhinos' horns were sawn off to prevent unnecessary injuries to each other as well as to make them less vulnerable to poaching. As of July 2013, neither female has become pregnant but a rhinoceros gestation period is 16 to 18 months and hope remains. Two more Northern white rhinos can be seen at San Diego Zoo. Sadly the female is not fertile so this is not a breeding pair. 

Northern white rhinoceros spotted by Cindy Bingham-Keiser

A Rhino Issue Management report released on 24 July by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs revealed valuable information and an overall recognition that poachers operate with elusive international criminal syndicates in well organized operations. The inadequacy of intelligence available to the state and to private rhino owners was pointed out as a major shortcoming in the rhino safety strategy. The report examined various options and suggestions included funding; safety and security; conservation strategies including dehorning, chemically treating horns; translocations; community participation; technological options such as micro-chipping and a centralized DNA database, already in place, and the use of drones. The most controversial aspects were also highlighted by the report such as hunting, farming and trading. It is clear that the ban on the trade has not helped reduce the poaching. It is believed that as long as there is demand for the rhino horn, effective means of supplying it must be developed in order to save the wild rhino as a species. Some of the proposals put forward by the report include: announcing the intention to authorize commercial farming of rhino; a domestic trade in rhino horn; selling of rhino horn stockpiles to the international market; and South Africa possibly applying to CITES to lift the current ban on trade in rhino horn to allow a semi-permanent legal trade in horn. As yet these are mere proposals and not agreed actions. Ultimately the decision lies with the South African Minister and Department of Environmental Affairs.

Legalizing the trade in rhino horn is supported by economists who argue that if rhino horn could be traded freely, market forces would drive horn prices down, which would hopefully reduce the incentive to poach. However one needs to acknowledge the opposing viewpoint that no evidence suggests that prices will decrease with a legalized trade, and it is more likely that demand for rhino horn would increase.

In the past year some positive changes have been made. President Zuma amended the trophy hunting laws, closing loopholes exploited by hunting officers and hunters alike. A national registration system with a database of all professional hunters and hunting operators has been put in place and will prevent hunters killing rhinos in each province. Abuse of the permit will result in their removal from the register and the loss of their operating licenses. 

The biggest hurdle for anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park is the inability for rangers to carry out 'hot pursuit' of poachers across the country's border. Poachers escape into the neighboring Mozambique side of the park where the rangers have no jurisdiction. Ongoing discussions between South Africa and Mozambique to curb this significant problem continues.

There is no quick fix for ending the poaching of rhinos. Many short and long term strategies need to be set in place and adhered to. South Africa and other rhino range countries are in need of continued international support. Saving the rhino one calf at a time, the Rhino Orphanage in Limpopo provence South Africa was established in 2012.  A first of its kind and created out of the needs of the left over victims of the terrible trade. Baby rhinos stream into the orphanage weekly. Every orphan, a witness to the murder of its mom, is injured themselves, not to mention traumatized. The babies are often found days, even weeks, after the slaughter, dehydrated, scared and crying. It is said by those who've heard it, as 'once you hear the piercing call of a baby rhino for it's mother you will never forget it'. The thought of this horrific truth haunts me daily as I hear the latest statistics. The demise of the rhino is becoming a fact of life for most South Africans as we hear of the ever climbing number on the news; the count down of a species. We dismiss the devastating reality and continue about our daily lives. Overlooking one immense problem: Once they are gone we can't order more on the internet.

Rhino horn is not a medicine! 

The wildlife of Indonesia is perhaps most widely known through the narrow but nonetheless spectacular lens of its charismatic/iconic species. There’s the familiar Sumatran tiger, Sumatran (and Bornean!) elephants, Javan and Sumatran rhinoceros, and the “man-of-the forest” orangutans of Borneo and Sumatra. There are sea turtles and crocodiles, king cobras and Komodo dragons. And don’t forget the magnificent fabled Papuan birds of paradise! Sadly many of these wonderful iconic species are threatened with extinction. But the story of Indonesia’s wildlife is much bigger than these species that have been made familiar to us through documentaries and conservation campaigns.

Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus); by greenhillsumatra.  

Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. Depending on how biodiversity is expressed (for example, in numbers of species, in ecosystem variety, in terms of genetics, or using other parameters), Indonesia has always been recognized among the top countries (see Mongabay and Australian Government Biodiversity Theme Report). Recently many discoveries of species new to science, for example in the Foja Mountains (in the world’s third largest tropical wilderness –  New Guinea), have further bolstered Indonesia’s biodiversity credentials.

Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia. Pristine montane tropical forest yielding many species new to science in recent expeditions. Photo by S Frazier.

In addition, Indonesia constitutes a large part of the Coral Triangle (a.k.a. the "Amazon of the seas”) – the global center of marine biodiversity. And at its heart, Indonesia’s Bird’s Head Peninsula (West Papua province) hosts an astonishing 72% of the world’s total coral species! Indonesia is now reckoned to support at least 20% of the earth’s total biodiversity, and is likely the most biodiverse place on the planet...at least for the present.

A nudibranch amidst a rich coral reef at Raja Ampat, the biodiversity “bull’s eye” of the Coral Triangle; by aldo.

What is it that has endowed Indonesia, a country that comprises just 1.3% of the world’s land surface, with its huge wealth of wildlife and flora? To begin to get a handle on this, one must look at Indonesia’s unique and complex biogeography including its island biogeography which has also made it host to many natural centers of endemism. The biogeography of Indonesia has been the product of the dynamic interplay of continental drift (more precisely, plate tectonics), volcanism and seismicity, land building and subsidence, sea level rise and fall, latitude, and the evolution spurred on by these and other processes and attributes, in repeating cycles of natural introductions (bridging and mixing) and isolation of species and biological communities, over millions of years.

Several biogeoraphic boundaries separating distinct faunal regions and eco-regions run through Indonesia. These have arisen due to the mentioned processes, the most familiar eco-zone boundary being the Wallace Line named after Alfred Russel Wallace, the famed British naturalist. Wallace wrote the “Malay Archipelago” about his exploration and research there, which included much of present day Indonesia. The Wallace line marks the southeastern edge of Asia (along the leading edge of the Sunda Shelf) and coincides with a transitional zone referred to as Wallacea (in Wallace’s honor), between the Asian fauna (known for its primates) and the Australian (Sahul) fauna (known for its marsupials). However another later described border, Weber’s Line to the east and running through the Tanimbar Islands group, is considered a more precise biogeographic boundary. Wallace independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection, along with Charles Darwin, which they jointly published in 1858."

Map of Sunda and Sahul and the Wallace Line, the Lydekker Line and the Weber Line. (Author: Maximilian Dörrbecker)

Indonesia is an archipelago of over 17,500 mostly uninhabited islands, an “emerald necklace” stretching 5,400 kilometers (3,400 miles) from Sumatra and the Indian Ocean to the middle of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean. This is a greater distance than the breadth of the continental US as is illustrated by this map. Amongst this vast expanse is a staggering diversity of topography and landforms (mountains, valleys, coral atolls, coastal plains, mighty rivers, etc) and ecosystems (lowland rainforests, peat swamps, wetlands, savannahs, montane cloud forests, mangroves, and more).

Indonesia’s island geography contrasts sharply with that of monolithic Brazil, the other country vying for the top biodiversity spot. However it is interesting to note that most of Indonesia’s land area (--land is just 16% of the country’s national territory) is concentrated in some rather large contiguous (is)land blocks. Within those thousands of islands are five of the world’s 15 largest islands (see previous map link): New Guinea (2nd largest; shared), Borneo (3rd; shared), Sumatra (6th), Sulawesi (11th) and Java (13th).

One aspect of Indonesia’s geographic situation that also contributes greatly to its role as a storehouse of global biodiversity is its tropical latitude. Of the 17 megadiverse countries identified in 1998 by Conservation International, all are located at least partially in the tropics. In general, the closer a country or region is to the Equator, the greater its biodiversity. Indonesia straddles the Equator with the major islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi all crossed by it. 

Let’s now take a look at a small sample of that amazing Indonesian biodiversity as depicted in wild spottings from Project Noah.

MAMMALS

A Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) and monitor lizard; by RonnyBuol. 

Indonesia has more mammal species than any other country (515 species by most counts!). This is about 12% of the world total. Unfortunately about a third are threatened. See spottings of a bat, a monkey, a weasel, a possum and a deer.

BIRDS

A pair of Oriental pied hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris); by Mona Pirih. 

There are about 1539 bird species known to inhabit (about 430 endemic species) or visit Indonesia. This represents 17% of all bird species! See spottings of a stork, an egret an eagle, a duck, a shorebird, a dove, a cockatoo, a sunbird, and a finch.

HERPETOFAUNA 

The world’s largest tree frog, a white-lipped tree frog (Litoria infrafrenata);  by S Frazier. 

Malaysian cat gecko (Aeluroscalabotes felinus); by KaraNorby.

Indonesia is home to about 16% of all reptile and amphibian species (about 781). See spottings of a common tree frog, golden tree frog, a toad, an agamid lizard, a monitor lizard, a turtle, a mangrove snake, a cobra, and a flying snake.

  FISHES 

A manta ray (Manta alfredi) swims in the highly biodiverse waters of Raja Ampat, West Papua; by CatalinIenci. 

Information on the number of fish species in Indonesia is ambiguous among on-line sources but what is clear if that the Coral Triangle has more “coral reef fish species” than anywhere else in the world, hosting 37% (2,228) of the world’s 6,000 species. See spottings of a clown fish, an angler fish, a carpet shark, a moray eel, and a barracuda. There are only a couple for freshwater fish spottings for Indonesia in Project Noah, a panchax killifish and a blue-spotted mudskipper.

  MARINE INVERTEBRATES

A cuttlefish from the seas around Bali, Indonesia, in the Coral Triangle; by ChrisP.  

Arthropods and mollusks also contribute to the high biodiversity of Indonesia’s coral reefs. See a crustacean, flatworm and a nudibranch.

  TERRESTRIAL ARTHROPODS 

A spectacularly colored Eupholus sp. weevil from the forests of Papua; by S Frazier. 

Indonesia is home to some 250,000 insect species, or 33% of the world’s total. Add to that the other arthropod classes and the number is even more mind-boggling! See a caterpillar, a grasshopper, a shield bug and a scorpion.

  PLANTS

A New Guinea creeper (Mucuna nova-guineensis), one of several plants called “Flame of the Forest”, from Papua; by S Frazier.  

There are about 28,000 species of flowering plants in Indonesia, including about 2,500 different orchids species, 122 species of bamboo, over 350 species of rattan and 400 species of Dipterocarpus hardwoods. Indonesia’s forests have a diversity of plants equaled only in Amazonia. See the world’s largest flower species, its tallest flower, an orchid, and mangroves.

  FOOTNOTE

I think you’ll agree Indonesia supports an astonishing array of wildlife. And whereas this feature is meant to be a celebration of that huge natural bounty I would be remiss not to mention that this wealth has undergone, and continues to face, daunting challenges. Indonesia is a nation of 240 million people, with the 4th largest population in the world, situated on just 1.3% of its land area. Yet there are vast wild areas with relatively low population density. Nevertheless the greatest challenge faced by its terrestrial wildlife is illustrated by the fact that in a period of just 30 years, 80% of Indonesia’s forests have been lost to a number of factors especially conversion (e.g. to rubber, oil palm, and pulp plantations). This, of course, has ramifications for threatened species (like the tiger and orangutan, among many others) and climate change (carbon emissions from deforestation). In the east, Papua and West Papua provinces contain half or more of the world’s third largest tropical wilderness. As forests are depleted in other parts of the country pressure mounts on this eastern wilderness. But Indonesia from west to east is truly a repository of global biodiversity. Loss of this natural wealth including vital ecosystem services is a loss for us all.

  Scott Frazier with special thanks to Mona Pirih and Jacob Gorneau.

  References and Further Reading

Alfred Russel Wallace 

Biodiversity in the Indo-Pacific Region 

Coral Triangle Atlas 

Coral Triangle Facts, Figures, And Calculations 

Fauna of Indonesia 

Flora of Indonesia 

We are The Bug Chicks, entomologists who specialize in fun, accessible, educational content. We’ve made over 50 videos to teach people about the amazing world of arthropods—insects, spiders and other animals with exoskeletons.

Sometimes when inspiration strikes you think why didn’t we think of this 5 years ago? It’s so simple-- it makes so much sense! Our latest project is a perfect blend of nature, education and the power of social media.  

We had an idea, to film America’s awesome bugs while promoting strong female role models and positive science programming. On our epic road trip, we’re bringing a vintage, green velvet couch and placing it into diverse ecosystems across the states, inspiring people to “get off the couch” and explore America’s backyard wilderness. You don’t have to visit the Amazon or Borneo to see cool animals – there is an amazing world to discover here in the United States!

Nature programming has been leaning toward fear and myth lately, and we find it alarmingly sad. The natural world is mind-blowing; we don't really need to embellish it. We want to inspire wonder in the natural world. Also, where are all the women on television/web who are smart, funny and kind to each other? We have been told that we are great role models for young girls and boys (we're best friends and real people who are in turns funny, smart, capable, silly and passionate about our work).

When we teach, we tell kids to look with their eyes, before they look with their iPhones. However, linking mobile technology with kids and nature seems like a no-brainer. Phones and hand held devices aren’t going anywhere, and if educators are going to compete with games and apps and the internet we have to embrace the change and use the technology effectively instead of fight it or take it away from kids. This is why our partnership with Project Noah is so exciting!

During our filming trip, people can follow along via Project Noah on a Bug Chicks Mission! They can upload photos of arthropods we might see along our route, ask questions and be a part of the show. We will be putting pictures and interactions into the final show, so this becomes a user-generated web series to some extent. The final show will air online in mid-November, on Project Noah’s website as well as NPR’s Science Friday blog. 

We never really understood that phrase ‘an idea whose time has come’ until this past week. Our project has caught the notice of many different groups with various interests from pro-girl organizations to famous bug-bloggers, national citizen science organizations and everyone in between. And just this week we signed an agreement with Honda. They are lending us a new 2014 Odyssey for our epic road trip vehicle. This is real. This is happening! Will you help us to make it as awesome as it can be?

Please consider supporting our efforts. If you support strong female role models, positive programming, science and fun educational content—this show is for you!

Feel free to share our Indiegogo link far and wide. We can’t wait to create this show and highlight the amazing diversity of America’s arthropods. 

The Bug Chicks

Many of you may have seen woodpeckers striking trees while they search for their meals. They can hear grubs moving in the wood and it is thought that they can smell the odor of formic acid excreted by insects. But did you know that woodpeckers have adapted over time to protect their brains from damage when they repeatedly peck away at wood and trees?

Banded woodpecker (Picus miniaceus) spotted by Roy Sim in Singapore

These adaptations include small brain size, the placement of the brain within the bird’s skull, and a short duration of contact between the brain and skull when pecking. Just before they make contact with wood, their eyes are also protected from flying debris by the closing of a thick nictitating membrane and their nostrils are protected by special feathers for the same purpose. The force of the drilling impact is further mediated by strong muscles at the base of the beak, which act as shock absorbers. This is helpful as they may tap on wood, as well as utility poles, trash cans, rain gutters and other resonant objects, up to 8,000-12,000 times a day (22 times per second) as they search for food, make nests and drum on trees and other objects as part of their courting behavior. In fact, scientists who studied the golden-fronted woodpecker's head and neck to determine how the bird withstood this pounding used their findings to design a mechanical shock absorption system to protect microelectronics.

Golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) spotted in Mexico by Maria de Bruyn

This interesting bird species attracts people’s attention and has become the subject of a famous cartoon (Woody woodpecker, seen in countries such as Brazil, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the United States and Yugoslavia), as well as of proverbs. For example, in Malawi, people are advised that “When a dead tree falls, the woodpeckers profit from his death,” whereas a Malayan saying warns that “When a dead tree falls, the woodpeckers share in its death.”

The IUCN and Birdlife International have assessed 172 species of woodpeckers and listed four as critically endangered: the imperial, ivory-billed, Kaempfer’ and Okinawa woodpeckers. Six more species are considered vulnerable: the Fernandina's, Arabian, Sulu, Helmeted, and Red-cockaded woodpeckers. The imperial woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis), last seen in Mexico in 1956,  preferred open montane forests comprising pine and oak trees. Mating pairs needed about 10 square miles (26 km2) of untouched mature forest to survive. It likely became extinct due to habitat loss and hunting for use in folk medicine; the nestlings were also consumed as a delicacy by some ethnic groups. About 160 museum specimens are all that remain of this bird.

Imperial woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis) photographed by Christine Fisher at the Moore Laboratory of Zoology in California

 Woodpeckers live in all areas of the world except for Australia, Madagascar, New Zealand, some oceanic islands and the distant polar regions. Most of them are found in wooded habitats, save for a few species that live in deserts and on rocky hillsides. Their life spans average about 4-11 years. They vary in color, with some having spots and others patches of color.

Philippine pygmy woodpecker (Dendrocopos maculatus) spotted by KdonGalay in the Philippines

White-naped woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes festivus) seen by Nishant in India

Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) spotted by Jeannette in Denmark

Golden-naped woodpecker (Melanerpes chrysauchen) photographed by jmunozcr in Costa Rica

The smallest known woodpecker is the bar-breasted piculet, which measures about 3.25 inches (8 cm); the largest was the imperial woodpecker, which measured 23 inches (58 cm). Of the surviving known species, the largest is now the great slaty woodpecker, a bird seen in Southeast Asia that measures about 20 inches (50 cm). Woodpeckers have two forward-facing and two backward-facing toes which help them walk vertically up tree trunks, giving them “zygodactyl feet” (an interesting trivia question!).

  Yellow-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes flavifrons) spotted by Aisse Gaertner in Brazil

Woodpecker species are important to their ecosystems. Woodpeckers not only help control insect populations; their nest cavities are also used by birds and animals (deer mice, raccoons, flying squirrels) that cannot create cavities themselves. Woodpecker species that use their bills for probing soil rather than regular pecking often have longer and more decurved beaks. Their long sticky tongues have bristles that help them grab insects. Some species also drink tree sap and eat fruit, nuts, acorns, seeds and suet. There are three species of woodpeckers that live on the ground, the Andean flicker (Colaptes rupicola) and campo flicker (Colaptes campestris) of South America and Africa’s ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus).

Ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus) seen by Adam Riley in South Africa

Some woodpecker species are solitary, while others live in groups; the collective name for a group of woodpeckers is a “descent”. Woodpeckers’ strong beaks enable them to bore holes into trees – and other structures! – for their nests.  In most species, the nest excavation is done by the male, who also helps incubate the eggs for about 11-14 days. Nestlings fledge after 18-30 days. A few species are known to use nest boxes which are built with the proper specifications;  a downy woodpecker used a bluebird box in my yard as its night-time refuge over the past winter.

Downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) spending a winter night in bluebird box; spotted by Maria de Bruyn

This pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) bored through the wall of an office building in Florida to excavate a nest; spotted by Mick G 

Adult woodpeckers, nestlings and eggs fall prey to a variety of predators, including hawks, owls, starlings, snakes and raccoons. Threats to woodpeckers around the world include habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, forest fires that eliminate dead wood, and insecticides that decrease their food sources. Where deadwood increases in forests, however, species may proliferate as shown for the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) in Switzerland. 

Maria de Bruyn

  For further reading:

http://www.facts-about.org.uk/facts-about-woodpeckers.htm

http://birding.about.com/od/birdprofiles/a/15-Fun-Facts-About-Woodpeckers.htm

http://carolinabirds.org/HTML/AF_Pici_Woodpecker.htm

http://carolinabirds.org/HTML/AS_Pici_Woodpecker.htm

http://woodpeckersofeurope.info/

http://carolinabirds.org/HTML/SA_Pici_Woodpecker.htm

Spotting by Akshay Kumar Manjunath, Nagarhole National Park

The 29th of July is celebrated as International Tiger Day as a way to increase awareness worldwide about the need for tiger conservation. The annual celebration was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit with the goal of promoting a global system to protect tigers’ natural habitats.

This is an urgent need, as pointed out in a previous blog on critically endangered large cats,  since all six extant tiger species are listed as endangered by the IUCN. Over the past century, we have lost an astounding 97% of our world’s wild tigers, with perhaps only 3,200 of these cats left at large. Today, we will look at some of the negative and positive news regarding these cats in India, home to the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris).

In 2010, it was estimated that slightly more than 1,700 tigers still roamed natural areas in India. The severe decline in their numbers over the past 100 years has meant a great loss in genetic diversity. Recent research revealed that 93% of the DNA present in tigers killed during the time of British occupation is no longer present in India’s tigers today, which implies that considerable inbreeding may be occurring.

Currently, India has 43 tiger reserves in 17 states and the government envisions opening up several more areas. Camera-trap evidence of tigers in Goa, for example, is being used to bolster a proposal for a new reserve there. Some of the reserves are doing well and maintaining or increasing their tiger populations, while others are facing difficulties.

Spotting by Shazaad Kasmani in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

  Threats to the tiger

The Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, one of six tiger habitats In Madhya Pradesh state, had 59 tigers living in enclosed areas according to a 2010 census. This is a high density for the area, and has led to two concerns: possible inbreeding and fighting among the animals, which are by nature solitary cats. The discovery in early July 2013 of a tiger who died after being attacked by another cat resulted in strengthened recommendations that some cats be relocated to less densely populated reserves.

The Sundarbans Tiger Reserve is part of an extensive mangrove forest along the Indian Ocean. The delta has 102 low-lying islands, 48 of which are inhabited. This area, which protects coastal regions from storm surges and wind damage, is home to one of the largest wild tiger populations. Climate change is threatening this habitat, however; this mangrove forest and tiger habitat may be wiped out by 2070 unless efforts are undertaken to deal with rising sea levels. In the past 20 years, four islands have already been completely submerged.

Illegal mining is leading to tiger deaths and habitat loss in the Ranthambore National Park and Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. The Sariska Reserve is also under threat from two other factors. Illegal vehicular traffic continues to cross the habitat on two forest roads that used to be state highways. In addition, illegal grazing of cattle from 28 villages in and outside the reserve is depleting the natural environment, with incidents of physical violence taking place against forestry staff by cattle owners and police refusing to intervene on behalf of the forestry staff.

  Spotting by Deepankshi Chittora in Ranthambore National Park 

In the late 1990s through about 2005, several reserves lost many or all of their tigers due mainly to poaching for the illegal wildlife trade (for example, Sariska and Ranthambore). In the last decade, Madhya Pradesh state lost 63% of its tigers (453 of 710 cats). The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are tasked with enforcing the law and engaging states and local communities in preservation efforts. To increase cross-border collaboration in ending wildlife trafficking, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation collaborated with Interpol's Environmental Crime Program to organize a five-day capacity-building workshop in June 2013 on "Integrated Investigative Capacity Building and Operational Planning for Asian Big Cat Related Crimes for South Asia." Participants came from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The NTCA is also collaborating with TRAFFIC-India in “tigernet”, an online compilation of authentic records on the mortality of tigers and other key wildlife species across India.

Spotting by anoorag.saxena

  Preservation and conservation work

Efforts to protect the big cats include research and practical measures. The Wildlife Institute of India is partnering with the NTCA in a new five-year study to determine the density, abundance and demographic ratio of tigers, co-predators and prey species in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and adjoining landscapes.

Spotting by DesiTraveler in Tadoba Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary, Mahara

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has worked with the Indian government to connect fragmented tiger populations by establishing corridors to link habitats, reducing conflict between humans and tigers in the process. IFAW also participates in rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned cubs of poached mothers so that they can be reintroduced into the wild.

Following reports of canine distemper in tigers in Indonesia and Russia, the NTCA recently asked officials in all tiger range states to take measures to prevent spread of the virus, including regular vaccination of stray cats, dogs and cattle that live around tiger reserves. The chief wildlife wardens have also been asked to report all cases of tigers behaving abnormally (inability to hunt, disorientation, vomiting and diarrhea) and to take tissue samples from dead animals to determine whether the canine distemper virus was the cause of death. It is thought that the increasing proximity of human habitations with domestic dogs to tiger habitats is leading to spread of the disease, which also has the unfortunate side effect of making the cats less fearful of people because infection can cause brain damage. 

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Sundarbans Program aims to increase the participation of local stakeholders in dealing with the effects of climate change in the area. Since February 2010, efforts have been made to assess the number of tigers in this coastal mangrove area using techniques such as camera traps, DNA sampling, pug mark surveys and assessment of tiger claw marks on trees. In 2013, camera trap surveys led to an estimate of 77 tigers, a higher number than the official government estimate. 

WWF is also working to diminish wildlife-human conflicts, for example, by installing solar lights along pathways so that people can travel more safely. Between 2001 and 2011, killing of tigers by villagers was reduced to zero through positive engagement of the local population in forest protection and eco-development committees. Human life is still occasionally lost to big cats, however, and Wildlife Vets International (WVI) is planning to study whether canine distemper is leading healthy tigers in the Bangladeshi portion of the Sundarbans to attack humans and walk unperturbed into villages. Their findings will undoubtedly complement the Indian research efforts on this disease.

Tiger showing a flehmen response (smelling with the Jacobson’s organ located at the base of the nasal cavity), photographed by Karli

In July 2012, India’s Supreme Court banned tourists from entering the tiger reserves as a measure to help combat environmental degradation of habitats. Given the economic importance of tourism for local economies, however, the Court reversed its decision after four months and mandated that state-run reserves must enforce and implement NTCA guidelines, which call for restricting tourism to 20% of a reserve’s core areas and limiting construction in the tigers’ primary habitat areas. The policy is not applied uniformly by all states; some reserves are continuing to function as before, while those in Madhya Pradesh have cut the number of safaris and seen a 50% decline in tourist visits. Civil society groups are monitoring state compliance with the guidelines.

Citizen scientists are also making major contributions to tiger conservation in Andhra Pradesh state. The Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society (HyTiCoS) was established in 2001 by 30 individuals who have worked for 20 years to build a network of citizen science stakeholders. These volunteers have trained Andhra Pradesh Forestry Department staff and local citizens to become “animal trackers” who conduct tiger and leopard monitoring research. HyTiCoS members undertake GIS-based habitat analyses, observe the behavior of tigers and other carnivores, collect DNA evidence, and track numbers of animals using camera traps and other methods.

HyTiCoS was able to initiate collaboration with scientific researchers based in Arizona in the United States. Through their Team Tiger Project, camera trap photos and reports from Indian volunteers are sent to individual donors in the USA so that the Indian group has developed a financial donor base.

Spotting by Debbie Stewart  

   Some reasons for hope

While some tiger reserves in India are still losing tigers due to poaching and other threats, a few reserves are seeing increases in their populations, which is a reason for hope. For example, a census of tigers taking place currently in the Srisailam Tiger Reserve indicates that they may have 75 animals compared to the 60 counted in 2011. With new cubs among the tigers seen, the forestry department is growing fodder in a 15-acre area to increase the number of grazing animals on which tigers prey. The forest reserves in Kerala state have seen an increase in their tiger population from 70 to 100 animals.

A final note: some tiger reserves are attempting to become more environmentally friendly in other ways. Madhya Pradesh's Satpura Tiger Reserve, established in 2001, uses green energy in 110 camps. Using solar-powered pumps, they are also creating new water holes and artificial lakes for the big cats and their prey. Panna and Kanhais tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh also use solar power. A two-day conference in April 2013 was organized by the Ecotourism Society of India to discuss how traditional tiger tourism can be shifted toward a more environmentally friendly approach nationwide.

  Maria de Bruyn

  For further reading

Dog disease infecting tigers, making them fearless 

WWF’s Sundarbans work 

International citizen science for Indian tiger conservation 

Interactive map of 41 Indian tiger reserves

tigernet 

Castniidae are a small family of day-flying moths with approximately 200 species. Most species are found in the neotropical area of Central and South America, with a few in Australia and Asia. In Europe there is only one species, Paysandisia archon, originally native to South America. It was accidentally introduced during the end of the last century and is now rapidly spreading through the Mediterranean area to southern England. It is considered a pest species because its larvae feed on the stems and trunks of palms; In its natural range, the species has natural predators and pathogens that control its numbers so that its impact is minimal. In Europe however, these natural controls are not present and the species causes extensive, and sometimes fatal damage to native palms.

An example of the damage caused to native palms by Paysandisia archon in Greece © StavrosApostolou  

The golden sun moth, (Synemon plana), from Australia was once considered as a pest as well. Nowadays it is on the list of endangered species, due to the loss of its natural habitats. Their females are usually flightless and the adults only live for a few days, since they can not feed anymore. When the females emerge from the cocoon they already have fully developed eggs in their body. Its caterpillars are relatively unspectacular and inconspicuous, mostly maggot-like, feeding on palm trunks and stems of sugar cane, banana trees, orchids, bromeliads and many other plants. They are also called cane borer or stem borer moths. They pupate in a cocoon surrounded by palm fibers.

The moth itself is a day-flying with the corresponding club-like antennae, usually of grayish or brownish ground color, some with white stripes and spots and some with yellow or orange parts on the hindwing. The female moths have more colorful marked hindwings to attract the males and they do not have any organs to produce pheromones. At first sight it looks dull but if you get closer you will see quite a colorful and beautiful moth. The body is usually quite thick, so you might guess that it is a very large skipper butterfly. They fly very rapidly and are hard to detect.

Telchin licus from Colombia © Dan Doucette:

Synpalamides phalaris from Brazil: © Sergio Monteiro

Castniomera drucei from Costa Rica, dorsal and ventral view © Dominik Hofer

Xanthocastnia evalthe from Colombia: © Dan Doucette

Interesting news: There is also a Oligocene fossil castniid moth called Dominickus castnioides, found in Colorado. If you look at the genus name, you know why I love these beautiful moths! That they are often considered as a pest is not really the problem of the moth...

bayucca aka Dominik Hofer

Sources and more information:

http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/cast/castniidae.html

http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/cast/cast-moths.html

http://sabutterflies.org.au/moths/synemon-sunmoths.htm

The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a massive family of stout-bodied, often hairy moths, considered taxonomically as the most evolutionarily recent moth lineage. Members of this family are generally medium to large, but a few are very tiny and could be confused with micromoths. Many fold their wings over their abdomen at rest, while others rest with their wings spread like members of the Geometridae. A large number are nondescript or even somber in appearance, clad in shads of gray or brown, often with intricate and contrasting patterns on forewing. Most are nocturnal and likely to be found only at lights or sugar bait, though a small number are diurnal. 

Although there are about 35,000 species of Noctuidae worldwide; some speculate that there could be as many as 100,000 total species. Research shows that some Noctuids are able to hear the echolocation of bats, and this stimulates a reflex in the wing muscles to move the moth randomly in an attempt to avoid the bat. Some larvae of Noctuidae are able to eat poisonous plants, helping them be less desirable as food sources, many species have patterns that enable them to almost disappear when they are resting on the bark of a tree. Ponometia candefacta, the olive-shaded bird dropping moth, below, mimics bird feces to appear distasteful to potential predators.

Moths in the subfamily Acontiinae are quite effective bird dropping mimics. Although many species are similar in appearance, the relationship of many genera is considered incertae sedis, which means "of uncertain placement." This means that while some genera are placed in tribes (the classification below subfamilies and above genera), lepidopterologists are unsure of the relationship of other genera. Many moths in this subfamily are small in size and are longer than they are wide. There caterpillars can be likened in general shape and size to the caterpillars of moths in the Geometridae family.

Many moths in the subfamily of Acronictinae are known as dagger moths. They are called dagger moths due to striking black or gray markings with sharp edges, similar to that of a dagger, as demonstrated by Acronicta psi, the grey dagger, above. The larvae of Acronictinae vary in appearance, with some being hairy, and others with just a few hairs. The caterpillars are usually quite colorful as well. The hairy caterpillars can be easily mistaken for members from the Erebidae subfamily of Lymantriinae. 

The Agaristinae consist mostly of moths known as "foresters." They are diurnal, usually nectaring in open fields, but can occasionally be found at lights in small numbers.

Copper underwing (Amphipyra pyramidoides)

Amphipyrinae Members of this global subfamily are either medium-sized moths that rest with wings held flat, or chunkier moths that usually rest with their wings tented above their back. These inhabitants of woodland and field edges often run around on bark in a mouselike fashion.

The Balsinae are small, rounded-winged moths that can be commonly seen in woodlands and gardens in the northeast of North America. They are predominantly gray, patterned with black lines and streaks, like the many-dotted appleworm (Balsa malana), above. 

Bryophilinae is a small subfamily of moths which come from various areas of the world. Some moths in this family feed solely on lichens!

Condicinae is a subfamily of small Noctuid moths known as groundlings. Although there are only a few genera, the subfamily is widespread throughout the world.

Cuculliinae is a subfamily consisting of distinct moths, especially in the genus Cucullia. “Cucullus” is Latin for "hood," describing the scales which point over the head of the moth. In North America, moths of the Cucullia genus are known as hooded owlets, while they are known as sharks in Europe. The caterpillars are usually vibrant yellows, and sometimes have blue or red! The larval form of the shark moth, (Cucullia lychnitis), above, is also known as the striped lychnis.

Owlet moth (Cydosia nobilitella), a member of the Cydosiinae, a genus of just 3 species, all native to the Americas.

Dilobinae is a subfamily of moths best represented in Europe and North America. Its largest genus is Raphia, which contains many moths known as "Brothers."

Eriopinae  are small complexly patterned noctuids that rest with their wings tightly folded. They have tufts of hairlike scales on the thorax and the inner margin of the wing sticks up at rest, as you can see on the pink shaded fern moth (Callopistria mollissima) above.

Heliothinae are small to medium-sized, often beautifully patterned noctuids of woodlands, fields, and prairies. Many species, like the primrose moth (Schinia florida) above, are regularly encountered during the day taking nectar from flowers. 

Plusiinae are a distinctive group of sleek noctuid moths that mostly occur in open habitats, such as old fields. A few species are active during the day, though most are nocturnal. Taxonomy is changing now that the scientific community is able to use DNA to determine relationships between species. There is speculation that in the future, Plusiinae might become a family, in which case it would be known as Plusiidae.

Noctuinae are medium-sized moths with long, moderately narrow forewings. Many are late season fliers found in fields and gardens. They are mostly nocturnal, but a few can be found taking nectar from flowers during the day. The larvae of some Noctuinae species are generalist feeders which makes them potential agricultural pests. The vibrant Spanish Moth (Xanthopastis regnatrix), above, is a particularly colorful member of the Noctuinae family.

Oncocnemidinae contains moths known mostly as Sallows and Brocades. Common names are a little confusing in this subfamily because it is very similar to the Noctuinae subfamily, which also contains moths known as Sallows and Brocades! Their imagines (an imago is the adult form of a moth, the plural of this term is imagines.) are usually brown and gray. The larvae can be interesting yellows, grays, and blacks.

The larvae of Pantheinae could be comparable to Acronictinae as some caterpillars could be mistaken for the Lymantriinae subfamily of Erebidae. The adults, especially in the genus Panthea, can have contrasting black, sometimes gray, and white markings. The moth above in the genus Panthea shows the characteristics found in many moths of the Pantheinae subfamily. Some scientists think this subfamily is distinct enough to be its own family.

The Noctuidae family is the largest family of all Lepidoptera; butterflies included. There are about 35,000 known species in this single family, which is about twice the number of butterfly species! Moths in the family Noctuidae have both caterpillars and adults which are variously shaped, colored, and patterned. The Latin root for Noctuidae is “Noctu,” which means “in the night,” and is derived from the observation that most moths in these families are nocturnal. Moths in the family Noctuidae are usually the most common visitors at lights. With 35,000 species and counting, there is a lot to discover right outside your door!

Fyn Kynd and Jacob Gorneau

  Sources

Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America. Beadle, David and Seabrooke Leckie. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

“Family Noctuidae: Owlet Moths.” North Dakota State University. Retrieved 9 Jul. 2013.

Saturniidae is a vast worldwide family that includes many of the world largest and most spectacular moths. They are absent from only the most northerly and southerly regions. It is best represented in the tropics, especially in the New World. There are about 1480 species in 165 genera. The name of the family Saturniidae is derived from the 'Saturn's rings' ocelli on the wings. Because of their size and handsome colors, Saturniid moths are often called emperor moths. Some spin thick, silken cocoons and are sometimes used to produce commercial silk, therefore they are also called silkmoths or giant silkworm moths.

Glover's silkmoth (Hyalophora gloveri) from Canada, spotted by ianmaton.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Lepidoptera

Sub-order: Heterocera

Superfamily: Bombycoidea

Family: Saturniidae

Many species have well developed eyespots or transparent patches on both the fore and hind wings. A number of species have long tails on their hind wings. Male and female wing patterns can often be totally different. Males can generally be distinguished by their larger, broader antennae.

Malaysian moon moth (Actias maenas) from Malaysia, spotted by kevogecko.

Southern marbled emperor (Heniocha apollonian) from South Africa, spotted by Kei Heyns.

Among the Saturniids, we find some of the largest moth species of the world with wingspans of about 23 to 28cm. The largest specimens are in the genus Attacus from South and Southeast Asia.

Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) from Malaysia, spotted by victoria.vikspics

Unlike butterflies and many other moths, Adult Saturniid moths do not feed. They have no mouth parts and simply use the energy they have stored from the larval stage to carry out their one function, that of reproduction.

Females attract males for mating by releasing a volatile attractant chemical pheromone. These moths typically live at very low population densities, so males have the ability to smell out females at distances of miles; their large, feather-shaped antenna contain sensory organs called sensilla, 70% of which are sensitive only to the females' perfume. Studies have determined that a male emperor moth can detect a female emperor moth up to 11 kilometers (7 miles) away!

Lorquin's atlas moth (Attacus lorquini) from the Philippines, spotted by Leana Lahom-Cristobal.

The caterpillar stages of these moths are also large and spectacular, and are observed more often than the moths. Many are cryptic in coloration, with counter-shading or disruptive coloration to avoid detection, but some are more colorful and often covered with spines or protuberances. These tubercles give the caterpillar a threatening look, but in most cases they're quite harmless. However, the spines on the io moth caterpillar are true defensive weapons and can produce a painful sting to anyone who carelessly handles them.

Promethea silkmoth caterpillar (Callosamia promethea) from USA, spotted by Carol Snow Milne.

Hickory horned devil caterpillar (Citheronia regalis) from USA, spotted by makelly78.

Io moth larva (Automeris io) from USA, spotted by Aaron_G.

Bullseye moth caterpillar (Automeris naranja) from Brazil, spotted by MayraSpringmann.

Pupation in most subfamilies is in a dense silken cocoon suspended from, or attached to the host-plant or wrapped in foliage. These cocoons, especially those of Saturniid moths in genera such as Samia and, especially Antheraea are sometimes used in the manufacture of silk. Some New World groups and most African Bunaeini pupate in the soil without a cocoon. 

Wild silkmoth (Samia kohlli) from India, spotted by vijaybarve.

Silkworm cultivation began 5000 years ago in China, spreading throughout southern Asia. During the eleventh century, a few silkmoth eggs were stolen by European traders and silk production began in Europe. Today, silk is still cultivated in Japan, China, Spain, France, and Italy, although artificial fibers have largely replaced the use of silk in the textile industry. A cocoon is typically made of a single thread almost 1000 meters long, and it takes more than 5,000 cocoons to produce a kilogram of silk!

The pink gypsy moth (Lymantria mathura). Although related to the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, this species has not been introduced to North America.

Erebidae is a fairly new family composed of many species in the Noctuidae family, as well as well as the previous families of Arctiidae and Lymantriidae. Arctiidae and Lymantriidae have now been reduced to subfamily status under the names of Arctiinae and Lymantriinae. Since the classification is fairly recent, it is usually not widely accepted or only partially accepted.

The larval stage is the most destructive stage for native plants in North America by the gypsy moth, (Lymantria dispar).

Lymantriinae consists of moths which are very hairy in their larval stages. A moth in this subfamily which has gained nearly worldwide attention is Lymantria dispar, the Gypsy Moth. While native in Europe and Asia, the gypsy moth is considered to be a very invasive species in North America, primarily in the Northeast. This species was accidentally introduced in 1868 or 1869 by Etienne Leopold Trouvelot, an amateur lepidopterist who was interested in discovering another source of silk. However, we cannot fully blame Mr. Trouvelot, who warned entomologists of the accidental introduction, but no immediate action to subdue the introduction was taken. The need for control of this species in North America is considered of the "highest priority" according to the USDA Forest Service, State and Private forestry. The species is sexually dimorphic, which means the male and female of this species look different. The female is large, and white with grayish-black zigzags on the forewing. Near the outside of each forewing is a dark, crescent-shaped marking in the middle of the costa. The costa is the outer edge of the forewing in a moth. The female is designed solely for egg-laying, and the wings are too weak to support its body in flight. The male is smaller and brown, however it does have a similar zigzag patterning. The caterpillar is partially hairy, with six pairs of red "warts" followed by five pairs of blue "warts." The fifth blue "wart" is sometimes hard to see as it is close to the head of the caterpillar. The larvae are known to defoliate whole trees, which kills the tree less than 20% of the time. They are detrimental to native forests, as they feed on hundreds of different plants, taking the food source of native species, in addition to defoliating forests. If you suspect you have seen a gypsy moth in North America, please verify the ID of the moth with an experienced moth-er, as many native species can appear superficially similar to Lymantria dispar. It is an arduous task to regulate invasive insects, as chemicals and biological controllers can negatively impact native species of well.

Lithosiinid tigermoth, a striking moth from the Arctiinae subfamily, in the genus Lycene.

Arctiinae is a huge subfamily mainly composed of brightly colored moths, a warning to predators that they may be distasteful. Some of these moths emit a liquid when they are threatened or handled to deter predators. In addition to this defense, tiger moths are also able to click high frequency sounds from a tympanum in their thorax to deter predators using echolocation. These tactics make them very advanced at evading predators. Some moths in the Arctiinae subfamily even appear to be wasps! There are two tribes which make up subfamily Arctiinae. Arctiini is composed of moths known as tiger moths, and Lithosiini contains moths known as lichen moths. Lichen moths are usually smaller in size, and as the name suggests, they feed exclusively on lichens. Larvae in both tribes can be quite hairy in appearance.

The yellow-banded underwing (Catocala cerogama), has striking underwings, perfect for surprising a predator

Erebinae is a extremely diverse subfamily including the spectacular genus Catocala, known as the underwings. The forewings of these moths are brownish grays, sometimes whites, which can camouflage very well with surrounding trees. The underwings are vibrant, and can be red, orange, yellow, black, and even blue! It is thought that moths in the Catocala genus have evolved such contrasting hindwings to shock a predator as it flies. In flight, the flash from the camouflaged hindwings and the striking hindwings signify as a warning to a predator.

The black witch moth (Ascalpha odorata), a moth shrouded in mystery and myth.

The subfamily Erebinae also contains a moth shrouded in myth and mystery, Ascalpha odorata, the black witch moth. Ascalpha odorata is known in Spanish as Mariposa de la Muerte, "The Butterfly of Death." This moth is given such a daunting name due to the belief if the moth enters a home with a sick person, the sick person will die. A more specific version of this story explains the sick person will die only if the moth flies in all four corners of the house. Others believe the moth signifies a curse has been put upon someone, and even others believe you will lose your hair if the moth flies over your head! However, this moth does have some positive meaning in different places. In Hawaii, the moth is symbolized as the returning soul of a recent loved one to say, "Goodbye." On Cat Island in the Bahamas, they are known as Money moths or Moneybats, and belief is that if they land on you, you will become rich!

Dark-banded owlet moth (Phalaenophana pyramusalis)

Herminiinae is family of small moths which are usually triangular and shape and have a snout-like appendage. They are known as litter moths, for their habits to hide in leaf litter during the day. They first may appear brown and patternless, but on closer inspection, they can have very intricate patterns!

Stigmatophora palmata, a very striking moth in the Erebidae family.

Moths in the Erebidae family are extremely diverse, with caterpillars of all hairdos, moths that mimic wasps, evade bats, and flash stunning hindwings! Moths in the Erebidae don’t only fool predators, their wide range of shapes and sizes can fool some people trying to identify them!

Jacob Gorneau

  Sources and further reading 

Quin, Mike. “The Black Witch Moth: Its Natural & Cultural History.” Retrieved July 12, 2013.

Oriental orange-banded green geometer moth (Eucyclodes gavissim) from Bhutan, spotted by Jatishwor Singh Irungbam

The geometer moths or Geometridae (from Greek geo γη or γαια 'the earth' and metron μέτρων 'measure' — refers to the larvae, or inchworms, which appear to "measure the earth" as they move in a looping fashion) are a family of the order Lepidoptera. A very large family, it has around 35,000 species of moths described, and over 1,400 species from 6 subclasses indigenous to North America. Many geometrids have slender abdomens and broad wings which are usually held flat with the hindwings visible. As such they appear rather butterfly-like but in most respects they are typical moths: the majority fly at night, they possess a frenulum to link the wings and the antennae of the males are often feathered. They tend to blend into the background, often with intricate, wavy patterns on their wings. In some species, females have reduced wings (e.g. winter moth and fall cankerworm).

Most are of moderate size, about 3 centimeters (1.2 in) in wingspan, but a range of sizes occur from 10–50 mm (0.39–2.0 in), and a few species (e.g., Dysphania) reach an even larger size. They have distinctive paired tympanal organs at the base of the abdomen that are lacking in flightless females. Currently nine subfamilies make up Geometridae. As science is an ongoing dynamic process, we are likely to see taxonomic changes as more genetic work tells us about the relationships between these animals. Here is a brief overview of each of the subfamilies: Alsophilinae (2 genera, 19 species) Distribution: Europe and North America. The females of this sub-family have much reduced wings, so much so that they cannot fly.

From top: male fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria) spotted by Fyn Kynd; wingless female fall cankerworm moth spotted by Jakubko. Both spotted in the USA.

Archiearinae (8 genera, 13 species) Distribution: Holarctic (the majority of habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world), southern Andes and Tasmania.

The Infant (Archiearis infans) from the USA, spotted by Fyn Kynd

Desmobathrinae (20 genera, 74 species) Distribution: Pantropical (across all of the tropical regions of the world). 

Eumelea ludovicata from Sri Lanka, spotted by NuwanChathuranga

Derambila sp. from the Philippines, spotted by Leana Lahom-Cristobal

Ennominae (1,100 genera, 9,700 species) Distribution: Global. The largest Geometridae subfamily.

False crocus geometer (Xanthotype urticaria) from the USA, spotted by TomElliott

Plutodes exquisita from China, spotted by Sinobug Geometrinae (213 genera, 2,300 species) Distribution: Global.

Comostola emerald moth (Comostola laesaria)  from the Philippines, spotted by AgnesAdiqueTalavera

White-fringed emerald moth (Nemoria mimosaria) from the USA, spotted by CarolSnowMilne

Larentiinae (303 genera, 5,800 species) Distribution: Global.

Tawny eupithecia (Eupithecia ravocostaliata) from the USA, spotted by Fyn Kynd

Orange beggar (Eubaphe unicolor) from Mexico, spotted by JuanCarlosGarciaMorales

Oenochrominae (42 genera, 3,633 species) Distribution: Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia & Australia.

Triangular geometrid moth (Epidesmia sp.) from Australia, spotted by StephenSolomons

Orthostixinae (2 genera, 32 species) Distribution: Europe & Asia. Sterrhinae (91 genera,13,955 species) Distribution: Global.

Sterrhinae sp. from Peru, spotted by Jonathan Guyot

Ptochophyle dipyramida from Bhutan, spotted by Jatishwor Singh Irungbam

Sweetfern geometer (Cyclophora pendulinaria) from the USA, spotted by Fyn Kynd

Gaudy sphinx (Eumorpha labruscae) 

The family Sphingidae consists of about 1400 moths known as “sphinx” or “hawk” moths. Adults generally have an elaborate stature, holding their wings slightly above their abdomen. Sometimes, their abdomen is upcurved. Sphinx moths can usually be easily coaxed onto a gentle hand Their posture is commonly alluded to the shape of a large plane. Most, if not all adults feed using a proboscis.

White-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) feeding on nectar, showing the lengthy proboscis.

Their larvae are commonly known as hornworms, although they are not members of the phylum Annelida, which consists of earthworms. They are called hornworms due to their caterpillar-like shape and many of these species have hornlike appendage at the end of their body. The horn is harmless, and is present to ward off predators. The horn varies within species and instars (instars are different stages the caterpillar goes through prior to pupation), and can be granulated (rough) or smooth. The horn also can be different colors, and can sometimes help with species diagnosis. Some horns are short, and some are longer and thin. Some caterpillars have a horn which is replaced by a glassy button-like structure in later instars.

Abbott’s sphinx moth caterpillar (Sphecodina abbottii), showing the glassy button-like structure in place of a horn.

The family Sphingidae was surprisingly not named for the unique wing posture of the imaginess (an imago is full-grown insect, imagines are many full-grown insects), but for the common resting position of the larvae. The larvae frequently hold their head and first few segments up in the air, resembling the dignified pose of the Ancient Egyptian statues. Moths in the Sphingidae family have been recorded to fly 53 km/h, equivalent to about 40 mph!

Sphinx moth caterpillar (Eumorpha sp.) in the popular “sphinx” posture.

Taxonomically, sphinx moths are divided into three main subfamilies, Macroglossinae, Smerinthinae and Sphingidae. The subfamily Macroglossinae consists of smaller, yet more ornate sphinx moths. The hummingbird moths, of the genera Macroglossum and Hemaris can be found in this subfamily. Hummingbird moths sometimes have clear wings, and long proboscides for feeding on nectar. An uncommon habit of many moths, hummingbird moths are diurnal (active during the day).

African hummingbird moth (Macroglossum trochilius)

The subfamily Smerinthinae consists mostly of moths known as eyed hawkmoths. Of these eyed hawkmoths, genus Smerinthus is very widespread. These moths are called eyed sphinxes or eyed hawkmoths because they have a colorful hindwings with an eyespot. The eyespots are shown when the moth feels threatened to fool predators. Other moths in this subfamily do not have such elaborate hindwings, but the hindwings are uniquely placed so that they can be seen poking from the outside edge of the forewing.

One-eyed sphinx (Smerinthus cerisyi) displaying eyespots.

The subfamily Sphinginae consists of the larger sphinx moths, which tend to be grayish in color. However, some can be very colorful. They tend to have lines going across both forewings which form a wavy pattern. Sphinginae in the genus Agrius and Manduca have spots on either side of the abdomen which are vibrant colors.

Carolina Sphinx (Manduca sexta) showing the colorful abdominal spots. 

Sphinx moths must warm their bodies by vibrating their wings in order to fly. This adaptation also enables them to survive in slightly cooler weather than other moths. Gilbert Waldbauer describes this activity in his book, The Handy Bug Answer Book. He explains that sphinx moths “warm themselves by increasing muscular activity. Although sphinx moths cannot fly unless their body temperature is between 95 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, they can fly when the air temperature is as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit. A pre-flight warm-up raises their bodies to the requisite temperature as their wing muscles generate heat by vigorously vibrating the wings. This is not unlike the shivering of the body that people experience when they are chilled.”

Modest sphinx (Pachysphinx modesta) vibrating wings to “warm up.” Don’t forget to check out the video in the spotting, too!

Sphinx moths are large-bodied insects which until recently were thought to be nearly helpless when it comes to evading bats. However, research by Akito Kawahara and Jesse Barber suggests at least three species of hawk moths use their genitals to interfere with the echolocation bats use to locate their prey. The hawkmoths emit high frequency clicks from their genitals. Tiger moths from the Erebidae subfamily of Arctiinae were previously the only moths known to emit high frequency clicks. However, tiger moths emit these clicks from structures known as tymbals in their thorax, not their genitals. This recent research is a reminder we still have much to learn about moths and their nighttime allies. Akito Kawahara best explains this: "So much work has been focused on animals that are active during the day, but there are a lot of really interesting things happening at night, and we just don't know a lot about what is actually going on — because we can't hear or see it... The fascinating part is that there are a lot of new discoveries to be made. It's a totally unknown, unexplored system."

Yam hawk moth (Theretra nessus), one of the species of moths used in the study, along with Cechenena lineosa and Theretra boisduvalii

It is amazing that scientists are still discovering more about these large and fascinating insects. Studies like those done by Akito Kawahara and Jesse Barber raise the questions, “What else is out there to discover?” and “What can I discover?”

Jacob Gorneau

  Further reading

Pandora sphinx moth (Eumorpha pandorus)

Unfortunately for troubled mothers throughout the world, you won’t find any tips here on how to change a diaper or quell a bad attitude, though you’ll certainly learn about moths and how to observe them!

Moths are primarily nocturnal insects, with a few exceptions. If one has heard the Shakespearean expression, “Like a moth to a flame,” you know all about moths and their sometimes fatal attractions. What causes moths to appear as if they willingly fly to their deaths? The term for this is known as positive phototaxis. There can be a number of reasons why an organism is positively phototactic. For example, algae and other similar photosynthetic microorganisms can be positively phototactic, as the light is also the source of their food. However, most moth larvae are primary heterotrophs, which means they depend on plants for their food, and are unable to carry out photosynthesis.  If moths can’t get food from light, why do they seem attracted to it? Mike Saunders, a professor of Entomology at Penn State describes the reason for such behavior: "Moths often use the moon to orient themselves during night flight...Using the moon as a reference, moths can sustain linear flight in a given direction." Most moths aren’t really attracted to light, but are fooled that it is the moon. As the moth flies closer to a light, it becomes disoriented. This explains the “clumsy” appearance some moths have when they are flying near a light. Moths aren’t clumsy at all, many are actually expert navigators!

There are also other theories for why moths appear to be attracted to light. Some species of moths with mouthparts pollinate flowers at night. Quite few flowers reflect light in the ultraviolet spectrum, a form of light humans are unable to see. Many pollinator insects such as moths can see ultraviolet light, and some think moths fly to lights because they are fooled that they are flying toward a source of food. Moths are thought by some to congregate at lights because it is so bright they think it is daytime and fall asleep, while others think it may be due to warmth. A more scientific theory is that moths have trouble readjusting back to the darkness of the night, and stay at the light because they risk being blinded and eaten by predators if they fly away from the light. Many theories behind the positive phototaxis of moths need more research to be proven true.

Giant silkmoth (Eudaemonia argus)

Now that we know the science behind moths, we can figure out various ways to observe the species in an area. One of the most effective methods of observing moths is to turn an outside light on. Whether the setup is ambitious or simple, one can sure to find some moths around it! This spring, my father and I built quite an elaborate mothing setup. Mothing, though not an official verb, is one of my favorite activities. One who participates in mothing is known as a moth-er, or a moth’er. In my setup below, I’ve taken a bedsheet, and sewn loops on both the top and the bottom of the sheet. In this way, I was able to bend two pipes, one for the bottom and one for the top, to make the sheet in a cylindrical shape. I connected the open side where the left and right sides of the sheets connect with safety pins and clothespins. On the top, I took another sheet, and used safety pins to pin a circular top to prevent the moths from flying into the light and possibly burning themselves.

I use a halogen lamp, although some other lamps such as mercury vapor lamps can work even better. If I had to add one thing to my setup, it would an ultraviolet black light as well. I put a heavy rock on every quadrant of bottom of the sheet to keep the sheet tight to the ground, so no insects would crawl under the sheet and into the light. This setup has been quite effective, and I’ve found moths on this sheet from various families. Even once, I was treated with an early morning visit by a cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia), a moth with the largest wingspan of native moths in North America! 

Some species of moths, notably the Saturniidae family, do not have mouthparts, and live off of fat reserves stored in their larval stages. However, for moths with mouthparts, one can go sugaring for moths. This method is also known as baiting. There are various recipes for sugaring, but a majority of them contain stale beer or rum, along with brown sugar, and rotten fruit. There must be enough brown sugar and rotten fruit in order for the mixture to be syrupy. If the mixture is too liquid, it will be difficult to “paint” onto the trees. A syrupy mixture is usually sticky enough to stay on the tree for moths to “drink.” A twist to this method is to dip a rope in the mixture and hang it. Moths in the genus Catocala with magnificent hindwings are very common visitors while sugaring.

Moon-lined moth (Spiloloma lunilinea) on a baited rope.

Since one observes moths sugaring at night, it is important to keep in mind to avoid shining a bright flashlight on them. Moths, like other insects, have a hard time seeing light in the red spectrum. Many people just place a piece of red cellophane over a flashlight and are able to avoid disturbing the feeding moths. To photograph them, a quick burst of camera flash should be okay and not disturb them too much.

Using pheromones is another way to attract male moths. The pheromone traps are usually for members of the Sesiidae family which mimic wasps. The pheromone "traps" are composed of the same basic chemicals as the pheromones released by female moths. The "traps" attract male moths which are fooled into thinking they have found a mate. Different species of moths use different pheromones to attract mates. Male moths can "smell" these pheromones from a great distance away since many have plumose, or bipectinate antennae. Plumose and bipectinate are terms used to describe the characteristic feathery appearance of many moths' antennae. Females usually have reduced or lack bipectinate antennae. However, this rule is not always reliable, as some male moths may have the same reduced bipectinate antennae as females.

Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) showing bipectinate antennae.

If you're not much of a night owl, you can try looking for moths and their larvae in the day. While a bit more difficult, you might be able to find a few on the sides of buildings and the trunks of trees. Some moths will pollinate in the day, and you can find them on various flowers.

Beautiful wood nymph (Eudryas grata).

Caterpillars are usually found feeding voraciously on leaves, like the wattle moth caterpillar (Neola semiaurata), below.

These various tactics can prove to make one a very successful moth-er, observing the spectacular creatures moths are. As people open themselves to moths, more people can realize they aren't drab, disgusting creatures.

Jacob Gorneau, aka Jakubko

  Further reading

Primack, Richard. “Ultraviolet Patterns in Flowers, or Flowers as Viewed by Insects.” Arnoldia. Retrieved 7 Jul. 2013.

Let me begin with a confession: like thousands of other people around the world, I have visited an entertainment venue that displays sea mammals – seals, sea lions, dolphins, whales – and has them “perform” for an audience. At the time, I thought that this reflected my love for wildlife, going to see animals so unlike humans yet known to have amazing intelligence and social lives. I felt reassured by the venues’ assertions that the animals only performed because they chose to do so and that they were being treated humanely.

Nevertheless, over the past couple decades, my knowledge about marine mammals has increased and I’ve come to understand that using pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, walruses) and cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) in entertainment shows  is simply a form of animal exploitation designed to satisfy our yearning for amusement, while bringing in money for those who own the venues.

Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)

According to historical records, walruses were held captive as early as 1608 and a monk seal (Monachus monachus) was caught for viewing in 1760. People began capturing cetaceans around the 1860s. Sea mammals are now found in zoos and aquaria around the world, with many facilities scheduling “feeding hours” so that zoo-goers can see the animals out of the water.  Most of the time, however, the animals are left alone in zoos, so that people can see and observe them swimming, interacting and resting, albeit not in natural conditions. Zoos often also offer marine mammals “enrichment” to help relieve the boredom they suffer in their restricted living areas. Such boredom results from the fact that the mammals are deprived of the normal stimuli that govern their natural lives, such as the dynamics of marine waters (tides, waves, varying weather conditions), finding and tracking prey species, foraging for food, meeting new individuals with whom to form social bonds, and navigating large bodies of water using their specialized anatomical navigation organs (sonar). Some types of enrichment try to approximate the absent stimuli, such as the creation of wave patterns in aquaria and devices that release food when the animals move them around. Other types of enrichment are meant to stimulate the animals’ curiosity and interest, such as balls and other toys for play, or large ice cubes that contain fish. Some – but not all – aquaria also do research using the sea mammals they hold.

  California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) spotted by JohnDonoghue in California

There are other places, however, that are devoted primarily to displaying the marine mammals as “performers” for eager spectators. Although these venues claim to be fulfilling an educational goal, in reality they are simply business ventures that use intelligent pinnipeds and cetaceans to make a profit. The first commercial dolphinarium opened in 1938 and such entertainment “parks” can now be found in all regions of the world. The animals most often trained to perform in shows are California sea lions, harbor seals, bottlenose dolphins, orcas (killer whales) and beluga whales.  Dolphins and seals are also kept so that people can experience swimming alongside them and touching them. In some cases, it is claimed that this has therapeutic benefits but no research has demonstrated this to be true.

Why should we object to such shows? Animal welfare groups have investigated them and offer good reasons.

[i] http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/8685706

    Dolphin pod in Baja California; photo kindly provided by the Oceanic Preservation Society

Pinnipeds and cetaceans, who normally live in family groups, are deprived of normal social lives

Pinnipeds and cetaceans are highly social animals. Whales and dolphins live in pods and extended family groups, in which they can maintain relationships with specific individuals for many years or even their whole lifetimes. Some whale species have specific “dialects” or types of vocalizations just for their own pods. Seals and sea lions also live in groups called colonies. Yet the numbers of sea mammals that live together in facilities of the animal entertainment industry are small; in some cases, animals are even kept as solitary individuals.

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) spotted by Daniele Pralong in Oman 

Captive sea mammals are deprived of the space they need for healthy, normal lives

Whales and dolphins swim long distances (up to 100 miles) every day in the wild, often diving to depths of several hundred meters/feet. They spend only 10-20% of their time at the water’s surface, which is what makes sighting them in the wild so exciting. The entertainment industry pools and tanks in which the mammals are kept range in size from very small (2 by 3 meters) to somewhat larger (50 meters in length and 2-3 meters deep) but they do not approximate the area that their natural environment encompasses. 

Orca whales (Orcinus orca) spotted by Leslie F in Alaska

The animals are unable to carry out their normal behaviors and resort to unnatural activities

Public display pools lack the varied vegetation and other sea life that make up the pinnipeds’ and cetaceans’ natural environment. Instead, they are kept in barren, concrete enclosures or small circumscribed areas. Cetaceans cannot drink salt water and obtain their fresh water from the fish they eat; however, when they are fed frozen or thawed dead fish, they need to receive fresh water through artificial alternative methods. They also cannot seek food when hungry but become dependent on humans to dole out their meals, often in return for doing “tricks” or allowing their keepers to ride on their backs.

Deprived of their natural behavioral repertoire (hunting for food, seeking out mates, creating social bonds of their choosing), marine mammals may end up simply showing stereotypical, unnatural behaviors such as constant head bobbing. The whales’ and dolphins’ innate drive to swim long distances is blocked and they resort to patterned swimming in circles, similar to the pacing seen in captive large cats that are kept in small enclosures.  

The cetaceans normally rely on echolocation to navigate their environment by bouncing sonar waves off objects so as to determine their shape, density, distance, and location. In pools and tanks, the reverberations from their sonar clicks bounce off the walls; this has been shown to impair the animals’ mental health. Some dolphins and orcas have been observed to chew on concrete, and dolphins have engaged in self-harm by hitting their heads on the sides of pools or refusing to surface in order to breathe.

Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) spotted by student during the Arctic Watch Youth Expedition 2012

The stress and conditions of captivity endangers their health and shorten their lives

The unnatural conditions in which the animals are kept negatively affect their health and longevity. Because their pools and tanks are so small, the cetaceans spend much more than 20% of their time near the water’s surface; this behavior, as well as contaminants in water, can lead to skin problems. Drifting at the surface has also exposed orcas to mosquitoes and subsequent infection with St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile viruses, causing the first deaths from these causes in killer whales. Lack of shade and chlorine in water have damaged sea lions’ and dolphins’ eyes; animals have died from swimming in contaminated water.  The enclosures for pinnipeds may not be maintained so that walruses, sea lions and seals end up sleeping in their own excrement or being exposed to dangerous situations such as drains in which their heads can be caught.

Captive orcas show a high rate of dorsal fin collapse, because gravity pulls these appendages over when they are not supported by water. Sea mammals used in “swim with” encounters cannot choose what kind of interaction they wish with humans and their constant use in human-oriented encounters affects their social interactions within their own species group. Dolphins and belugas used for tourist photo shoots, in petting pools or for giving rides to spectators may be poked, prodded, and exposed to bacteria carried by humans They may be fed continuously by visitors and become obese; these mammals are also at risk of injury by ingesting foreign objects, with some having died, for example, after swallowing coins. Marine mammals may also develop stress-related conditions such as bleeding ulcers and abnormal aggression towards one another or humans who interact with them.

In the wild, dolphins can live up to 50 years, beluga whales 35-50 years, and orcas up to 50-80 years. However, documentation has shown that more than 80% of captive dolphins in some facilities died before reaching 20 years, while orcas often do not survive for more than 10 years in entertainment facilities. Research on orca survival from 1988 to 1992 showed that the annual mortality rate was more than 2½ times higher for captive killer whales than for wild orcas (6.2 versus 2.4%). At one US marine park, 22 orcas died between 1986 and 2010 from conditions including severe trauma, intestinal gangrene, acute hemorrhagic pneumonia, pulmonary abscesses, chronic kidney disease, chronic cardiovascular failure, septicemia, and influenza; none died of old age. At six US marine entertainment venues with beluga whales that are currently seeking the importation of 18 wild-caught belugas, 34 of the 71 whales that they already held captive suffered premature deaths.

Photo kindly provided by the Oceanic Preservation Society

What you can do to end sea mammal exploitation

As difficult as it might seem, you can resolve to no longer visit entertainment venues that have captive marine mammals perform for the public (unless you are helping monitor the animals as part of a campaign). When you educate your friends and family members about the reasons for your decision, you can point out that it is not necessary to display these animals in order to garner support for their conservation; people are also interested in seeing humpback whales survive even if they can’t visit them in an entertainment venue. Consumer boycotts led to the closing of dolphinaria in the United Kingdom. Brazil, Costa Rica and Croatia have prohibited such venues as well.

You can encourage your local aquarium or zoo to stop breeding animals so that they have more space for rehabilitating (and possibly releasing) injured wildlife.

You can talk about the plight of captive marine mammal “performers” at school, for local conservation and civic groups and in letters to the editors of local publications.

You can support legislation that prohibits the capture or restricts the display of marine mammals, publicly thank parliamentarians who support such laws, and lobby government officials to not use taxpayer money to subsidize the marine mammal entertainment industry. For example, the Minister of Environment and Forests in India, Jayanthi Natarajan, is now considering a nationwide ban on captivity and expressions of support could encourage her to enact such a policy.

Maria de Bruyn

  For further reading

http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/rehabilitation-and-captivity/pinnipeds-in-captivity

http://www.wspa-international.org/Images/159_the_case_against_marine_mammals_in_captivity_english_2009_tcm25-8409.pdf

http://www.opsociety.org/projects/campaigns

As a biologist, I sometimes get to do some really cool things. This spring, I was invited to help out with the longest ongoing Eastern box turtle study being conducted in the United States. I eagerly accepted and even altered my vacation plans a bit so I could participate.

This study has been ongoing for more than 7 years and is being conducted by the Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization out of Clinton, Tennessee. This organization is run by a friend of mine who saw the importance of involving young people in science and hands-on research.

John Byrd and his students have taken a unique approach by documenting and creating brochures and websites on the plants and animals specific to Anderson County, TN. They also have ongoing projects concerning wetlands, kingsnakes, galls, and small mammals. It is amazing what he and his students have accomplished! If you are a teacher, it is certainly inspirational. You can find out more at the CRESO website.  

  John Byrd and his students at the Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization (CRESO) have been studying Eastern box turtles at this site since 2006.

The study site for the Eastern box turtle project was originally chosen to help determine how things like development and deforestation were taking a toll, if any on the box turtle population in the area. Several sites were chosen, one nearby a newly erected housing development, one along an undeveloped, steep wooded ridge and one in a clear cut. The clear cut was also sampled before any logging began.

I had seen presentations by John’s students about the box turtle study at previous Tennessee Herpetological Society meetings and was very excited to be involved. This project is unique in so many ways, not the least of which is the ‘turtle’ dogs. Yes, I said turtle dogs! 

These dogs are specially trained Boykin Spaniels that will locate and gently retrieve turtles. It was a pleasure to get to meet the 7-dog turtle team and their handler/trainer John Rucker. 

Thursday morning found us at the study site at 9:00 am. The team consisted of John Byrd and 3 CRESO student assistants, a graduate student from UT-Knoxville, John Rucker and the turtle dogs, veterinarian Dr. Matt Allender from the University of Illinois with his two student assistants, and myself.

The turtle dogs are excited to be released and allowed to go out on the hunt for box turtles.

Once found, the spot where each turtle is located is marked with survey tape, and the gps coordinates are taken. Temperature, weather conditions and notes on the turtles position and location are also noted. Each box turtle is wrapped with masking tape and labeled with a unique ID for the day. The box turtles are kept separate from one another and placed in individually labeled vinyl bags.

So once an area has been searched, the box turtles are brought back to the staging area for basic measurements (shell length, height and width, weight, estimated age and sex) and data collection. If they are re-captures that is noted, if they are new captures then they get assigned a number that is gently engraved into their plastron (lower shell) with a special tool.

Blood samples are collected to help determine the health of the turtle and to check for diseases.

Once all the turtles have been worked up, the vet team returns to the lab to conduct some preliminary tests and preserve the samples for some in-depth tests back at the research hospital. Some of the turtle team remains to return each box turtle to the exact location where found. This is very important as box turtles are extremely loyal to their home ranges.

On day three at the clearcut site, 3 box turtles were collected to be taken back to the lab for the attachment of transmitters. One of the CRESO students is working on a radio telemetry project tracking box turtles at that site. While it is termed a clearcut, there is much debris and tree limbs left on the ground that may act as barriers preventing decreased movement of the box turtles. With the data collected, CRESO researchers are developing a set of recommendations that may enhance turtle survival under regeneration timber harvest conditions.

John Byrd measures the shell height and adds that to the data sheet before gluing a transmitter on the shell of this handsome box turtle.  

The lightweight transmitter is glued to the turtle’s shell using superglue. Once the glue dries the masking tape is removed and the turtle is released back to the location where it it was found.

In recent years, like many taxa, we have seen the emergence of new diseases in box turtles. One of the goals of this study is to determine what diseases are present and how human induced pressures are affecting the spread and incidence of disease. One infectious agent that has been increasingly reported to affect turtles is Ranavirus. Ranavirus has been found to infect turtles worldwide and is also severely affecting amphibians. 

A species of Mycoplasma is another concern as it often causes upper respiratory tract disease. Another disease that is causing problems in turtles is herpesvirus. Dr. Allender and his team will be testing the valuable collection of 50 box turtle blood samples collected during the study for all of these diseases and an additional disease. He is also testing for the bacteria Samonella. This disease in a turtle population can be an indicator that all is not well in the environment for humans too. If the turtles are contracting this disease, then it is likely from the local water sources. And what affects the turtles, can also affect people living in the same area.

It will be a little while before we know the results from the lab tests, but it was obvious to me that this is one project where young students, dogs and researchers are working together to make a difference for an animal and the humans that love them! It was a privilege to work with all of these people and the amazing, lovable turtle dogs. I look forward to the next time. Well done turtle team!

Lisa Powers

The beauty and behavior of birds has fascinated people throughout mankind’s history. The earliest known artistic depiction of a bird can be found in the Lascaux Caves of France: a picture of a bird-headed man dating back to 15,000-10,000 BC. Horus, a deity worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, was shown either as a falcon or a man with a falcon’s head. Chinese painters used birds as a favored subject; the Chinese emperor Zhao Ji specialized in painting realistic portraits of birds.

Native Americans often pictured ravens and eagles in their art. Birds are frequently featured in countries’ postage stamps and they have been the subject of cartoons (for example, the roadrunner, crow and woodpecker) and children’s TV shows (Big Bird on Sesame Street). Modern countries use birds as symbols of national power or unity, such as the Bald Eagle in the United States.

From left clockwise, bird stamps from the Faroe Islands, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan and Romania

Today, humans’ love of birds is often expressed through bird watching; groups devoted to this past-time exist in countries around the world. Unfortunately, BirdLife International, which conducted the research for the IUCN Red List, found that currently 1,313 bird species (13% of 9,934 still existing species) are classified as globally threatened with extinction. They include: habitat degradation and deforestation; conversion of habitats, for example, for construction, plantations and agriculture; human-induced climate change; environmental pollution; widespread use of pesticides; predation and sickness by non-native species; trapping for the bird trade; and bycatch of seabirds in fishery operations.

On a brighter note, as more birds come under threat of extinction, there are also groups working to rescue endangered populations. The BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme operates through a global network of independent nature conservation organizations in over 100 countries. They are appointing individuals and organizations to act as Species Guardians for each threatened species.

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the black-footed and Jackass penguin, lives only near the ocean in Namibia and South Africa. It was one of the bird species that Linnaeus described in 1758. These birds have a black stripe and black spots on the chest; their spot patterns are unique, as is the case for human fingerprints. Pink glands above their eyes aid in thermoregulation. As the bird becomes warmer, more blood is sent to these glands so it may be cooled by the surrounding air; this makes the glands pinker in color.

These penguins established two colonies near Cape Town, South Africa, and one of them has become a tourist attraction. The birds will allow people to approach as close as a meter but touching the penguins is prohibited.

This species is classified by the IUCN as endangered because of very rapid population declines, which are likely related to commercial fishing and shifts in their prey populations. Other threats include oil pollution, degradation of breeding habitats, and predation by cats on Robben Island and Cape fur seals.

The Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation is collaborating with South African and international partners to establish new penguin colonies closer to fish stocks. The program includes research on breeding habits and hand-rearing of abandoned chicks by the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). Another organization involved in conservation efforts is the Penguin Conservation Centre, which is known for its success in rescuing and rehabilitating birds affected by oil spills.

  The Bahia Tapaculo (Eleoscytalopus psychopompus) is a critically endangered species found in the lowland Atlantic forests of Bahia, Brazil. It was feared to be extinct, but was recently discovered anew in several municipalities. It inhabits the undergrowth of mature lowland forests, often being found in thickets near small streams. This small bird has a variety of calls, one of which is similar to a frog-like sound. It is a very shy bird and difficult to find in surveys. However, since the species’ song has been recognized, playback has enabled people to discover it at various sites.

Conservation efforts are underway in the Michelin Ecological Reserve. The employment of four forest guards has helped reduce hunting pressure significantly, stop forest clearing and aided in documentation of the species. Research begun in 2011 is focusing on the birds’ distribution and ecology within and around the reserve.

New Caledonia is home to the kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus), a nearly flightless bird. It has pale gray plumage, bright red legs and hunts its prey, including worms, insect, snails and lizards, on or near the ground. Both parents share incubation of single egg in a nest on the forest floor, as both participate in rearing the chick. When safe from threats, this endangered bird can live up to 20 years in the wild, as shown by radio-tracking. 

Threats to the kagu include predation by dogs; newborn chicks fall prey to rats and cats. They are also losing habitat through mining, logging and fires. Conservation efforts include controlling hunting dogs. Some birds have been bred in captivity and reintroduced into protected areas. In 2008, the Société Calédonienne d'Ornithologie (Caledonian Ornithological Society) developed a Kagu Species Action Plan for the period 2009-2020. Scientists are planning to monitor populations and conservation projects are planned where important sub-populations can be protected. Calls have also been made to intensify public awareness programs and education about kagu conservation as well as on responsible dog ownership.

  The greater prairie chicken, also known as the pinnated grouse, is a medium-sized, stocky bird that lives in prairie lands of North America. There were three sub-species; the heath hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido) became extinct in 1932. The endangered Attwater’s prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwater) is now only found in small areas of Texas. The greater prairie chicken sub-species Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus is largely found in the central United States; the species was declared extinct in Canada in 2000.

These birds’ short dark tails are typically rounded. Adult males have orange comb-like feathers over their eyes and dark, elongated head feathers that can be raised. They also have a circular neck patch which they can inflate when trying to attract females at breeding grounds, which are known as leks or booming grounds after the sound the males make at this time. Their spectacular displays led to a Native American Crow tribe legend that Old Man Coyote made the prairie chicken show the other animals how to dance; today, prairie chicken festivals during breeding season are held in several states so that people can bird watch at the leks. 

The male prairie-chickens stay on the booming grounds to display from late March throughout April each year. The one or two most dominant males enjoy about 90% of the mating. After mating, females move about a mile away to build their nests. Research has shown that hens avoid nesting or rearing broods near rural farms, communication towers, power lines and improved roads.

At one time, millions of these birds were widespread across the oak savanna and tall grass prairie ecosystems of Canada and the United States, but by the 1930s, they had become almost extinct due to hunting and habitat loss. The pinnatus sub-species is threatened in many areas, although hunting of this bird is still allowed in four states. Another threat to their survival is loss of genetic variance because populations are isolated with no natural corridors between groups. 

The Missouri Department of Conservation has issued guidance to farmers on how they can manage grasslands to attract the prairie chicken. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reintroduced prairie chickens to Iowa twice in the 1980s; one program failed but a wild-nesting population was established in another area, which later was designated as the Kellerton Grasslands Bird Conservation Area. The DNR is also involving the public in recording spotting of the birds to monitor their distribution. Another major conservation effort to preserve the greater prairie chicken is being undertaken at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. The program includes captive breeding by several zoos for reintroduction to the wild, habitat management that includes planting of small food plots, and management of mammalian predators during the nesting season.

The Mauritius Fody (Foudia rubra) is an endangered bird that resides on the island of Mauritius. A member of the weaver bird family, males and females cooperate in building nests. However, the Fody’s nests are raided by predators, including the black rat, crab-eating macaque and the common mynah (Acridotheres tristis).  In the 1970s, these birds lost much of their habitat due to land clearing for plantations and by 2001, it was estimated that only about 108-122 breeding pairs remained.

Conservation efforts have included control of rats and, to some extent, macaques. The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Gerald Durrell Endemic Wildlife Sanctuary and National Parks and Conservation Service initiated a captive breeding program, which includes supplementary feeding and control of nest parasites. Surveys are being conducted for new translocation sites, in addition to a small island where a recovery and release program is showing success. The IUCN reclassified this species from critically endangered to endangered in 2009.

  Males and females of the Asian green peafowl (Pavo muticus) are similar in appearance, with both having long upper tail coverts that cover their actual tails. These coverts in males, which are decorated with eyespots, can extend up to two meters during breeding season. Their neck and breast feathers are iridescent green in color.  

This bird species was uplisted by the IUCN from vulnerable to endangered in 2009.  Degradation of habitat, reduced habitat areas and hunting for their feathers are their major threats and these birds are now no longer found in some areas. Hybridization with the Indian peafowl also constitutes a threat to the species. Sub-populations of green peafowl are surviving in protected areas such as Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, the Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam, and the Baluran National Park in Java, Indonesia.

This species is protected in China and also has refuge in the Xe Pian National Protected Area of Laos. In both countries, public awareness campaigns have been carried out on preserving these birds. The World Pheasant Association has worked with the Wildlife Department of Peninsular Malaysia to reintroduce the green peafowl, which had become extinct there as a result of extensive forest clearing for oil palm plantations and hunting of the birds for food.

Dedicated birders who live in areas where endangered birds are still found could contact local conservation groups to see if there are opportunities to contribute to projects and efforts to document and preserve species. It would be both a fun and worthwhile use of your time!