02-21-09 Winter Stonefly

At Observatory Park, several of these two-tailed insects were seen crawling on the snow, just above an icy stream. These turned out to be quite fascinating insects known as winter stoneflies (a.k.a. snowflies)!

Stonefly nymphs hide under stones in streams, and can only live in areas of very high water quality (way to go, Observatory Park!). They need cool, flowing, high-oxygen water to live since they have really dinky little gills.

The winter stonefly adults will emerge from the water, usually at the end of winter or early spring, and they are one of the few insects that are actually active on the snow. They may also display fascinating mating behavior by literally rocking out. In some species, the males will drum their butts against rocks in attempts to woo the ladies. The actual drumming is imperceptable to humans, but the stoneflies know what's up.

The photograph above shows an adult specimen, with a giant glove beneath it for scale. If you would like more images of this photogenic insect, you can check this BugGuide page.

2-21-09 Red shouldered hawk

On the way out, the Future Scientists spotted two red-shouldered hawks at close view. Thanks Eli for the photo!

The red-shouldered hawk is slightly larger than crow-sized, and the Future Scientists noted its ruddy chest and distinctively black-and-white banded tail. The broad-winged hawk can be a similar sized bird but it's too good for us, and only passes through the continental U.S. on its way migrating south. The red-shouldered hawk is a glutton for punishment like the rest of us Ohioans and can stick around for the winter.

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2-21-09 Track Recap

The Future Scientists participated in citizen science for the Geauga Park District, searching for signs of mammals at the recently acquired Observatory Park. Tracks of deer, mice, voles, squirrels, raccoons and coyote were discovered.

Coyote tracks: Hind foot has registered on top of fore foot. About 2.5 inches long.

Raccoon tracks. Hind foot about 4 inches long.

No poop was found (or stepped on). However, by the end of the day every Future Scientist had cracked through thin ice at least once, getting their feet wet in the shallow streams. Brrr! Evidently today was not the day for learning from the person walking in front of you…

Looks purty...

Unless you bust through.

The Future Scientists did not just keep their eyes on the ground track-finding however. The day was a good bird-o-prey day, with sightings of red tailed hawks, two red-shouldered hawks at close view, and possibly a juvenile bald eagle. Keep a look out for more interesting findings in upcoming posts…

Things to see high and low.

11-08-08 Slug Eggs?

Here, the Future Scientists have discovered what looks like slug eggs underneath a rock. The photographer was wily enough to make the picture quality of the eggs just fuzzy enough so that it is difficult to dispute the true identity of the white spheres.

Slugs actually display a fascinating mating process. They are hermaphrodites, meaning that each individual has both lady and dude parts. You may see them do a writhing dance in mid-air, suspended from a thin bungee cord of mucus if you are lucky enough to see them get their groove on.

If you have a maturity level rated at a 6.5/10 or above, you may click here to view amazing footage of slugs getting it on. This youtube clip is footage from "Life in the Undergrowth", narrated by David Attenborough, who is the MAN for those who don't know. His British accent alone enhances scientific fascination by 13%.

After the slugs have copulated, they will lay thirty or so eggs in a moist area, such as in the leaf litter or under a rock or rotting log, which is consistent with what we see in our picture. The Future Scientists declined searing up a slug egg omelette...although the pinwheel mushrooms might have been just the right size garnish for the miniature breakfast delight.

[NOTE: The author does not truly endorse human consumption of slug eggs or other gastropod excreta.]

11-08-08 Planet Pinwheel UPDATED!

The Future Scientists found a leaf that supported a little town of pinwheel mushrooms, which are appropriately named after their distinctive caps resembling... pinwheels. Other descriptive common names include the "collared parachute mushroom" or the "horsehair mushroom" based on the distinctive look. Notice how each mushroom is smaller than a fingernail - good find!

You can see much better pictures of this mushroom here, at mushroomexpert.com.

Click here to see the mushrooms the author first mistook them for.

Interestingly, one distinguishing feature of the mushrooms we found is the fact that they like to grow on oak leaves. CHECK. The other pinwheels prefer sticks and logs.

One cool beans fact about both types of pinwheel mushrooms is that they shrivel up when it is dry, but rain will revive the little guys, making thousands of them seem to sprout up overnight! Aren't we lucky that it's been raining?

11-08-08 Loch Ness Salamander

The Future Scientists are all about identifying mysterious creatures of the deep. And mysterious creatures of the deep are all about grainy film quality.

This particular mystery monster was a redback salamander, which is a beast that the Future Scientists have succeeded in finding for three weeks in a row now. This is not too surprising considering the fact that the redback salamander might be the most common terrestrial (i.e. landlubber) salamander in the Great Lakes region.

What is interesting is the fact that the Future Scientists only seem to find these salamanders colored in the leadback phase. The two most common phases of this salamander are "redback" and "leadback", basically depending on whether a red stripe runs down the back or not. Other color morphs may also occur, including a fiery all-red morph. However, when it comes to finding amphibians, so far the Future Scientists have restricted their salamander-palette to dirty brown/grey doodads.

This salamander did not rest on human flesh for very long, as pictured above. The Future Scientists realized that the salamander is lungless and breathes entirely through its moist skin. After the photo-op, the lil' sally was doused with some leafy creek juice, and put back under the wet leaves. Back to a busy day of lurking in the shadows for you, salamander buddy!