[Life] 🌳 Paradise: The Nature Club

[Hyzenthlay]

I love those sweet old traditions about bees! They're such delightful creatures and I always talk to any of the bees who happen to stop by the garden, and I place the "drunk" ones somewhere safe so they aren't eaten or stepped on!

I realise that I although I informed the staff of being a bit absent, I forgot to mention it here. Three of my pets are sick, you see, so I haven't had the motivation to post or fix up the club. I hope you all will feel free to create new topics and share new discoveries!

 

[icycatelf]

For instance it was believed in days of old in Britain and Scotland that the soul could leave the body in the form of a bee.

This one reminds me of a particular moth: the Black Witch. In Hawaii, if this large moth visits your home after a loved one has died, it's believed to be that person's soul returning to say goodbye.

Anyway, thanks for sharing these neat bee myths!

I realise that I although I informed the staff of being a bit absent, I forgot to mention it here. Three of my pets are sick, you see, so I haven't had the motivation to post or fix up the club. I hope you all will feel free to create new topics and share new discoveries!

I hope you furbabies get better soon! It can be scary when your pets are sick. :(

 

[icycatelf]

Welp, haven't shared any pics for a little under a month now so here are a few more of my past finds!

Case-bearing leaf beetle larva

Spoiler:

Bagworms aren't the only insects that wear a makeshift case! Instead of silk and plant debris, however, these beetle larvae build their protective cases with their own dung.

Jagged Ambush Bug

Spoiler:

I wasn't sure what it was at first, but it kind of reminded me of a tiny cicada nymph with those claws so I figured it was safe enough to handle and let it climb around my finger. I did some research on it afterward and came to find out that they're related to assassin bugs and have a painful bite! I'm glad this one didn't decide to sink its "fang" into me! Jagged Ambush Bugs come in a variety of colors and lie motionless on flowers, waiting for pollinators and other potential meals to come near to strike.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Spoiler:

Also known as "Indian turnips" and "brown dragons," among other common names, all parts of this plant are toxic (at least when raw/undried). Female flowers trap pollinating fungus gnats, though they're not carnivorous like visually similar pitcher plants.

Parasitoid wasp cocoon

Spoiler:

This artsy-looking cocoon belongs to Charops annulipes, a tiny parasitoid wasp.

A bee?

Spoiler:

Nope—it's a robber fly! More specifically, a Golden Giant Bee-Mimic Robberfly. Robber flies come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and guises, but all are voracious and agile predators capable of catching their prey mid-air. Although they're far more interested in insects than people, robber flies are capable of delivering an intensely painful bite.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

I got a letter recently from The Nature Conservancy, asking to help support their efforts to preserve the bat population. These little guys are disappearing by the millions I read, and entire colonies are collapsing. North American bats facing an epidemic called white-nose syndrome that's driving some bat species to the point of extinction. It's the result of an invasive species of fungus that's not native to the continent. When it grows in caves it damages their wings and it also affects their metabolism so they come out hibernation too early in the winter and starve.

It's sad because it doesn't have to happen, and bats are not only cool and interesting, but they also play an important role in our eco system, for controlling the mosquito population and pollinating our plants. I think I'm going to become a member. I just donated to help the real crobats of our world.

edited: This is some interesting reading that I thought was worth including. Here are some fun facts about our nocturnal, flying friends from the Tennessee Working Bat Group.

https://www.tnbwg.org/TNBWG_bat facts.html

 

[Hisuitake]

I LOVE and fully respect Mother Nature ~
I'm all for being eco-friendly, cruelty-free and live sustainable as possible. I have yet to figure out if I'm a vegetarian or vegan yet though I barely eat meat for the past 3 years now, so even though I strongly dislike being labeled I'm currently a Flexitraian. I hope I may join this group and I'll show some of my nature photos I took if I may post them here to to share with everyone.
*.⋆( ˘̴͈́ ॢ꒵ॢ ˘̴͈̀ )⋆.*

Spoiler:

Name: Leaf
The grass or bug-type Pokémon that represents you: Butterfree & Oddish~
The plant you will raise: Wildflower seed~
Your favourite bugs/insects/arthropods: Butterflys & Moths~🦋❤
I FULLY respect and love still: Grasshoppers, Praying Mantis and Ladybugs~

 

[spottedfirestar]

You know I'm a farmer, who works in the family grove, and also has a family garden so this is just right up my alley!

Name: Spoots
The grass or bug-type Pokémon that represents you: Turtwig please!
The plant you will raise: Poppies!
Your favourite bugs/insects/arthropods: I love the caterpillars and baby mantises we get!

 

[icycatelf]

Temperatures are starting to go up here. I still haven't been able to spot much of anything, but I did find this pair of Wood Frogs the other day. Check out that sexual dimorphism!

Spoiler:

If Wood Frogs were Pokémon, I think they'd be Ice-type. They're the only species of frog known to occur above the Arctic Circle and their bodies freeze solid during the winter!

 

[spottedfirestar]

Temperatures are starting to go up here. I still haven't been able to spot much of anything, but I did find this pair of Wood Frogs the other day. Check out that sexual dimorphism!

Spoiler:

If Wood Frogs were Pokémon, I think they'd be Ice-type. They're the only species of frog known to occur above the Arctic Circle and their bodies freeze solid during the winter!

Oh! They look like so much fun!

Reminds me that we have a frog living in the sink here, maybe I can capture a picture of him, if he's still there!

 

[icycatelf]

What the what!? I found this last April but, assuming it was another one of those little azure butterflies I'm never able to catch with open wings, never bothered uploading it. Just realized yesterday that it was actually moth—a Bluish Spring Moth! One more for my moth catalogue!

Spoiler:

Also found this handsome Ichneumon ambulatorius (female), a small parasitic ichneumon wasp whose larvae feed on armyworms and cutworms, a couple days ago.

Spoiler:

Reminds me that we have a frog living in the sink here, maybe I can capture a picture of him, if he's still there!

Was he still there?

 

[Hisuitake]

I wanted to share some of my nature photos I took from last year. I'm not the best photographer, though I do love taking pictures occasionally of nature things as well animals.

Spoiler:

 

[Eleanor]

Uh... this is awkward, because I really did just join and disappear for so long... 😨

I don't have too much to show aside from some nice moments from 2020, which include visiting one of my favorite Botanical Gardens during the summer (for the... I've lost count, I've been there so often), and posting a pic of a cute friend I found in my garden some time ago...

---

I see the last question was about birdlife? Well! I'm not the best with it, but I know the names of a few species!

Spoiler:

The most common of birds are without a doubt pigeons and doves, especially in cities. There's usually two kinds, the common pigeon and the collared dove:


Then, you can find common blackbirds, ducks in various rivers and ponds, or seagulls if you go closer towards the sea. There used to be many cute little sparrows around too, but they're very rare nowadays (I still saw an army of them in Trento, though, when I visited that city!)

During winter some of my favorites start to appear as well, though! And that is, herons! There's usually three kinds, one much smaller and with a little tuft behind the head (Garzetta), and two that are much larger, and either white (White heron) or ash (Grey heron). It's basically impossible for me to take good photos of these guys but they're very cool - and potentially scary if you don't expect them to rise up and take off! Speaking of larger birds, I've been one or two times to a reservoir that acted as a safe place for storks, and so I thought I'd better add them to the list as well~

In Spring, you can also hear the, uh... "Great tit" (thanks wikipedia), but I've always had a lot of trouble seeing one for real! Same goes for some pheasants, which as far as I know can still be hunted if you have a license.


All images are from Wikipedia... oops ;-;

 

[Hisuitake]

Uh... this is awkward, because I really did just join and disappear for so long... 😨

I don't have too much to show aside from some nice moments from 2020, which include visiting one of my favorite Botanical Gardens during the summer (for the... I've lost count, I've been there so often), and posting a pic of a cute friend I found in my garden some time ago...

---

I see the last question was about birdlife? Well! I'm not the best with it, but I know the names of a few species!

Spoiler:

The most common of birds are without a doubt pigeons and doves, especially in cities. There's usually two kinds, the common pigeon and the collared dove:


Then, you can find common blackbirds, ducks in various rivers and ponds, or seagulls if you go closer towards the sea. There used to be many cute little sparrows around too, but they're very rare nowadays (I still saw an army of them in Trento, though, when I visited that city!)

During winter some of my favorites start to appear as well, though! And that is, herons! There's usually three kinds, one much smaller and with a little tuft behind the head (Garzetta), and two that are much larger, and either white (White heron) or ash (Grey heron). It's basically impossible for me to take good photos of these guys but they're very cool - and potentially scary if you don't expect them to rise up and take off! Speaking of larger birds, I've been one or two times to a reservoir that acted as a safe place for storks, and so I thought I'd better add them to the list as well~

In Spring, you can also hear the, uh... "Great tit" (thanks wikipedia), but I've always had a lot of trouble seeing one for real! Same goes for some pheasants, which as far as I know can still be hunted if you have a license.


All images are from Wikipedia... oops ;-;

Oh wow thier such beautiful animal photos, they all look all so cute~! You did a truly wonderful job taking the photo shots, you have a good eye for photography I must say in my opinion. Keep up the wonderful work Eleanor dear you have talent~!

 

[Eleanor]

Oh wow thier such beautiful animal photos, they all look all so cute~! You did a truly wonderful job taking the photo shots, you have a good eye for photography I must say in my opinion. Keep up the wonderful work Eleanor dear you have talent~!

Oh nononono Leaf...

Those are all images from Wikipedia, the only one that I took myself was the picture of that hedgehog! And case in point, it's hiding the face right under that clover... oops!

 

[Hisuitake]

Oh nononono Leaf...

Those are all images from Wikipedia, the only one that I took myself was the picture of that hedgehog! And case in point, it's hiding the face right under that clover... oops!

Oh oops my bad reguagless the hedgehog picture I think was a good photo still.

 

[Eleanor]

Aw, thanks Leaf! That was still very kind of you 😍 But yeah, there's no way I could've taken all those photos and even took credit for them, hehe

 

[Hisuitake]

Aw, thanks Leaf! That was still very kind of you 😍 But yeah, there's no way I could've taken all those photos and even took credit for them, hehe

Very true and you're most welcome Eleanor~

 

[icycatelf]

Got my first new moth of the year last night: a Snowy-shouldered Acleris!

Spoiler:

EDIT: Also found my first horsehair worm and my second new moth of the year: a Reddish Speckled Dart!

Spoiler:

Also called hairsnakes or Gordian worms, horsehair worms are aquatic parasites of arthropods. Microscopic larvae are ingested by the host via drinking. Some species are believed to hijack the brains of their hosts, ordering them to a watery demise where they can emerge, breed, lay eggs, and repeat the cycle.

 

[spottedfirestar]

Was he still there?

Oh my gosh! I got busied up and this drifted to the back of my mind, but yes he is! Here he is:

Spoilers for big and long pics :0!

Spoiler:

Sticking his little head out!

Half way out was as far as he was going today!

We're not entirely sure what he is, but we do know he eats the bugs near by, after the bats have flown out from the lights :0!

 

[icycatelf]

Some aquatic guys I've spotted over the past few days:

Eastern/Red-Spotted Newt (male)

Spoiler:

Not a new species for me, but I've seen a vast increase in numbers this year. I'm really hoping to spot a bright orange juvenile (Charmander?) this summer/fall!

Caddisfly larva

Spoiler:

Caddisfly larvae are basically aquatic bagworms, constructing mobile shelters out of environmental materials such as sand, pebbles, and plant debris.

Spring Salamander larva

Spoiler:

Spiketail dragonfly naiad

Spoiler:

Cloaked in sand, I probably would've missed this one had it not been moving!

Dark fishfly larva

Spoiler:

Oh my gosh! I got busied up and this drifted to the back of my mind, but yes he is!

Would help to see more of the body and know your general location, but I think it's one of the chorus frogs (Pseudacris sp.). I'm certainly no expert in frogs, though! Hopefully it can eventually find its way out!

- - -

EDIT: Another one for the Realdex—my first lamprey! I didn't know we had these here! :0

Eelektrik and Eelektross draw inspiration from lampreys (probably sea lampreys, to be more specific), as well as electric eels. Milotic's gill structure suggests that it too may draw some inspiration from lampreys (in addition to mermaids and possibly oarfish).

Spoiler:

Hagfishes are the only other kind of animal known to possess this series of round gill openings, but they're positioned a bit further down the body.​

In Japan, lampreys are called "eight-eyed eels," referring to the seven round gill openings on either side of the animals, plus their actual eyes (how this doesn't make them sixteen-eyed eels, idk). Including the single nostril, they've also been referred to as "nine-eyed eels." Lampreys aren't related to actual eels, though.

Bloodsucking lampreys are more well-known, but this is a non-parasitic species. With a sole mission of reproduction, adult Least Brook Lampreys don't feed at all, only using their suction cup mouth to anchor themselves to stones and move rocks when constructing a nest. Worm-like larvae, called ammocoetes, spend 3-7 years buried in sediment, consuming microorganisms and decaying matter.

 

[spottedfirestar]

Would help to see more of the body and know your general location, but I think it's one of the chorus frogs (Pseudacris sp.). I'm certainly no expert in frogs, though! Hopefully it can eventually find its way out!

I live in socal, but honestly I don't think location matters too much? We have a grove here, and some of the plants prior have carried over some interesting creatures, like we have coqui frogs that hitched a ride on some plants previous to us living here lol!

And not to worry, he can get out perfectly fine! He comes out sometimes to eat, and then just crawls back into the sink pipe, it's his preferred place for some reason :0