Everyone's Journal Posts
Links that I use
Suggestions for photographing larva of Lepidoptera
Most Plusiines cannot be reliably IDed from a larval photo.
Detailed information regarding difficulty of identifying Plusiine Family larvae in "Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America" by David L. Wagner, et al. -- pp 291-293 in PDF version of text (without phot...
Yet another new herb gall wasp genus? A new group of Silphium gall wasps
If you read my posts last summer about the "top galls" to look for in 2023, you might recall some discussion of blister-like galls growing on the leaves of Silphium plants. These unassuming leaf swellings are quite unusual amongst Silphium gall wasps, especially given that most species induce only inconspicuous galls hidden within the host plant's tissues, and that the cauline leaves of most Silphium species are quick to shrivel up and break away during the growing s...
Publications and communications
This journal post is to keep track of articles and podcasts I've participated in.
Jumpstart Nature Podcast #5
"The New Naturalists" by Mary Ellen Hannibal, Fall 2019 Bay Nature
DSA Meeting Registration is open!
Registration for the Dragonfly Society of the Americas meeting this June in Marietta is now open. This is the first time Ohio has hosted DSA, so it's an event! We hope to see you there.
Connect at https://www.dragonflysocietyamericas.org/ohio2024
Murciélagos de Chuquisaca
Diversidad de Murciélagos en Chuquisaca, Bolivia
Кукушка и соловей
В Ватутинском лесу первое кукование кукушки зафиксировано 27 апреля. Первая трель соловья - 1 мая.
Ericameria laricifolia apical stem gall
(For lack of a given term)
I've been interested in these galls on Ericameria laricifolia for some time, and recently found great numbers at the Sears Kay ruin on the Tonto National Forest. I returned later and collected a couple of dozen to observe.
Galls are apical, teardrop-shaped and are de...
Taxa List
-------------- 3rd May 2024 --------------
The project comprises initially 174 taxa :
- 168 endemic taxa: 130 species, 38 infraspecifics
- 6 non-endemic species (having endemic infraspecifics)
Currently, 122 of 136 different species have RG observations.
Updates welcome.
We Went Out in the Rain!
We did it! Mrs. Rhodes, Dr. Koz and myself got our students paired up and made a ton of observations in and around our playground! Kids observed so many different kinds of plants, trees, bushes, flowers, and we even found a wolf spider!
Kids also created some nature journals about their iNaturalist observations. They did them on iPads and paper. I know our 6th graders loved hanging out and helping our younger friends from 2nd and 1st grade.
Getting Observations to Research Grade
The percentage of Observations at Research Grade for the Garden Route District is currently 41.5%.
While quantity is good, let us also look at quality and get a healthy 66% of the Observations at Research Grade.
Go to https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-garden-route to assist in identificatio...
Only a day and a half left for the 2024 EcoBlitz!
Since the EcoBlitz ends Saturday night, here's an update!
🌱🌳🐜🐞🦋🐢🦎🍄🐦🔍
The 2024 EcoBlitz Binghamton University iNaturalist Umbrella Project stats as of today:
✨
Number of Observations: 1,083
Number of Species: 361
Number of Observers: 88
Most observed species: Eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus)
Most observations: zprete has 150 observations
Most species: zprete has 95 species
Today and tomorrow should continue to have ...
The Scoop on Poop
You may not be able to see tracks in the snow right now, but you may find other evidence that foxes or coyotes are around or have passed through the area.
Below are pictures of coyote and domestic dog scat. The ends of the coyote scat look like they have a pointed twist, but the domestic dog scat doesn't have that same twist.
Coyote scat may be up to 4 inches long and about 3/4 of an inch in diameter (fox scat is approximately half that size). The color of the scat can va...
Please help ID any species in the Seattle-Tacoma Metropolitan Area (including Everett, Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and any place within Snohomish, King and Pierce counties) through May 5th
Thank you for posting observations during this bioblitz~
Now please pitch in to help ID for this City Challenge and focus on identifications inside the Seattle Tacoma boundaries for the next few days. Even a couple identifications will help push the count up! Choose your favorite species or one that you know well and work through a batch of them. Find things that don't have a category and put them into something basic like plants, insects, fungi... then people that recognize th...
1500 Observations?!
@mikethebirder has just hit 1500 observations for the CNC!
Will he stop here at this nice, round number? Or is he taking a coffee break as he gets ready to load some more?
Kudos to Mike and to all of you who continue to upload your CNC observations, and to the vast team of identifiers who are trying to keep up with your many observations!
Together, we are certainly a team to be ...
Not on the front porch, please...
Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 30031714 - House Finch; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. April 25, 2015. ©
Monthly article #1
Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing very well. This month, we are experimenting for the first time a monthly article, which will bring together interesting data, statistics and the welcoming of the new members of the month. Of course, there are things that will change over time and articles. Do not hesitate if you have ideas for things that could be added, it would help us a lot! All proposals are good to take, even if they look insignificant.
First of all, here are all the ...
Prenotazioni al laboratorio e alla sfida!
I partecipanti potranno visitare Geloi Wetland e fotografare animali e piante cercando di superarsi a vicenda nel numero delle specie osservate. In palio grandi premi!
Promemoria: è raccomandabile iscriversi alla sfida mandando un messaggio whatsapp al numero 3518365099
Only a week to go !
Just a week to go to the Bishop's Sutton Bioblitz on Saturday 11th May !
The weather forecast looks better ... but its still very wet and muddy underfoot, so wear your sensible shoes on the day
Noch drei Tage bis zum Ende der CNC
Liebe Naturfreund:innen,
vielen Dank für euren Beitrag zur City Nature Challenge! 94 Personen haben von Freitag bis Montag über 3.000 Beobachtungen im Stadtraum von St. Pölten hochgeladen!
Nun ist noch bis Sonntag Zeit, um alle Beobachtungen korrekt zu bestimmen. Jede:r kann sich daran beteiligen. Expert:innen aller Fachgebiete werden genau so benötigt, wie Leute, die mithelfen, die Daten vorzusortieren (zB angeben, ob eine Pflanze, ein Vogel oder ein Schmetterling zu s...
Toivottavasti viimeinen lumisade
Riihijärvi heräsi aamulla lumisateeseen. Olen jatkanut vielä lintujen ruokintaa. Linnunsiemeniä on kadonnut kilokaupalla väsyneiden muuttomatkalaisten nokkiin. Pihassa käy iso parvi järripeippoja, peippoja ja vihervarpusia, muut lajit näyttävät väistyneen niiden tieltä. Töyhtötiaista ei ole näkynyt enää viikkoihin ja hömötiaistenkin vierailut ovat vähentyneet. Myös lopputalven isot urpiaisparvet ovat lähteneet muualle. Tikkojakin näkyy talimakkaroilla harvemmin.
APG IV and updates in due course (cf. POWO) .
The Angiosperm PhyloGeny Website - https://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/
has more up to date-ness broadly across it.
APG IV version still current as the authoritative basis for angiosperm classifications globally - last updated 2024 April 10th .
Quotation: "
Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 14, July 2017 [and more or less cont...
Opportunity to be involved in ReefBlitz 1-8 June
Every year we facilitate an event top celebrate World Oceans Day on 8 June and involve the community is citizen science, education and amazing experiences.
https://worldoceanday.org/event/reef-blitz-2024/
In recent years the event has stretched to 8 days with a focus on marine citizen science. Our aim is to partner and collaborate and so far we have Reef Ecologic, Museum of Underwater Art, ...
Day Seven: The Excitement Continues
Our numbers are pretty stable right now. I think we've added a couple observations and species since yesterday, but I don't expect a huge increase over the next few days. At this point, we're concentrating on increasing our proportion of research quality observations, currently at 37.2%.
I've been scrolling through the observations today, looking for "interesting" ones. Shardintx found Agrobacterium (
Gall Week is over!
I hope everyone had a nice time during Gall Week April 2024 - and thank you for participating! You can continue uploading observations of galls documented during Gall Week (4/20-28). Please do not add observations made before or after those dates.
We've got some great sticker designs made by Chelsea and by @teamvalor786succulentsandcacti on BioBlitz Club's website -
