[Life] 🌳 Paradise: The Nature Club

[VisionofMilotic]

Such stunning photos! Among my favorites are the Asiatic dayflower, the six spotted tiger beetle, the deptford pink, jewel weed and the bursting heart. There's not only much eye candy here, but it's been fascinating to read about the plant medicinal uses as well.

i thought I'd share my excitement that a new species of frog has recently been confirmed in the Amazons. It looks like the chocolate frogs that come with the collectible cards from the Harry Potter universe.



Our real-life frogs have this delightful smooth, candy brown coloration, and their appearance has been compared to a tapir too. They are supposed to be very tiny, like the size of a coin. Do not eat them though, they're not chocolate, they animals to celebrate and preserve.



They are a burrowing frog, and because they are so little and stay underground it took scientists awhile to discover their existence, but always suspected that they were around somewhere because of this faint, unique beep sound, that was really their croak. Their ribbit was never far away. You can read about our new frog friends here.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/new-species-of-chocolate-frog-found-by-unique-beep-sound/

 

[CiCi]

Hey lovely beautiful nature people! Figured I'd should join up! Got a garden and such after all.

Name:
CiCi

The grass or bug-type Pokémon that represents you:
Cacturne -- a little unapproachable, maybe a little edgy.

The plant you will raise:
I've always wanted to grow my own dwarf lemon tree. We're building greenhouses this year so maybe I can finally grow a beautiful tree (without worrying about a cat getting to it inside). So I'll take a lemon tree!

Your favourite bugs/insects/arthropods:
My all-time favorite insect is the mantis. Orchids are my favorite mantises, but I love all of those alien-looking creepy buddies. A very close second is jumping spiders. I like spiders, but the only one I want near me is the jumping spider. They're soooooo cute!

I've also got a cute lil guy to show you guys! Bit of backstory: he was in my lettuce which I wrap in a damp towel and keep in the fridge to ensure it stays crisp and fresh. Green leaf lettuce. He was in there for a week when I snapped the leaf off to feed my reptiles, and plopped onto my counter. I thought he was dead but I was busy so I didn't toss him out then. But I saw him later, alive. I can appreciate tenacity, so I put the lil guy in a small bowl with a leaf of spinach. Gave him a small spritz of water, too. He got better, and by the end of the day, I set him free since he kept trying to escape the bowl. Still couldn't fly, but I didn't want the cats to get him.

Here's a pic my husband got:

Spoiler:

Does anyone know what this is? He was REALLY small, maybe 6 mm. Streamline all the way down his body, even though the picture makes it look like he had a thick abdomen. You can hardly see them, but he has two wings. Never used them in here, not sure why but it kept him safer, I guess. Hope he's doing okay outside.

 

[Ninetales]

Spring's approaching and the weather seems to be getting nicer. I've already seen some insects out and about (nothing new) and briefly spotted what I believe were a couple of white-breasted nuthatches before they took off. Looking forward to being able to get new photos!

In the meantime, here are some more older photos. This batch includes: an Asiatic dayflower, a calligraphic beetle, a cloudless sulphur butterfly, an emerald ash borer, a little wood satyr butterfly, a long-horned caddisfly, a peeling puffball, a red salamander, a tiger bee fly, and a "wood ear" jelly fungus.

An Asiatic dayflower only blooms for a day. Though considered a weed here, this plant is native to eastern Asia where it's long been used in medicines and dyes. The Asiatic dayflower was used to create the blue pigment in many famous Ukiyo-e woodcuts.

While pretty, the emerald ash borer is one of the most destructive invasive species of our time. A real life Ultra Beast! While this jewel beetle doesn't pose a problem in its native Asian habitats where trees have developed a resistance to the insect, it has killed many a ash trees in Europe and America.

The tiger bee fly, like other bee flies, mimics and parasitizes on bees. This species specializes in carpenter bees.

These pictures are phenomenal! As someone who adores butterflies, I can acknowledge how difficult it is to snap a picture before they manager to flutter away! Thus, I applaud you for your ability to capture these insects at such a proximity!

 

[icycatelf]

i thought I'd share my excitement that a new species of frog has recently been confirmed in the Amazons. It looks like the chocolate frogs that come with the collectible cards from the Harry Potter universe.

Its skin reminds me more of a salamander than any frog I've ever soon. :o

Does anyone know what this is? He was REALLY small, maybe 6 mm. Streamline all the way down his body, even though the picture makes it look like he had a thick abdomen. You can hardly see them, but he has two wings. Never used them in here, not sure why but it kept him safer, I guess. Hope he's doing okay outside.

Some kind of rhopalid (scentless plant bug), possibly the hyaline grass bug.

https://bugguide.net/node/view/13887/bgimage

These pictures are phenomenal! As someone who adores butterflies, I can acknowledge how difficult it is to snap a picture before they manager to flutter away! Thus, I applaud you for your ability to capture these insects at such a proximity!

Thanks! That little wood satyr was particularly cooperative. It even let me hold it. <3

 

[icycatelf]

Been a while since I've shared any moths, so here as some that hadn't made it into the thread yet: The Asteroid, Chosen Sallow, Deep-Yellow Euchlaena, Eyed Baileyea, The Gem, Horned Spanworm Moth, Maple Looper, Promiscuous Angle Moth, Thin-Winged Owlet, and Variable Tropic Moth

 

[icycatelf]

More moths!

Bog Lygropia, Common Sprangueia, Dinumma deponens (love those blue highlights!), False Underwing, Greater or Lesser Grapevine Looper, Immaculate Holomelina, Obtuse Yellow, Red-Streaked Mompha, Three-Lined Flower Moth, and White Spring Moth

"Looper" is another name for an inchworm, but the adult Greater/Lesser Grapevine Looper can also "loop" its abdomen over its head!

 

[icycatelf]

Next to moths, salamanders are some of my favorite things to find. Found a new one this past week: the Spotted Salamander!

Have some more past photos as well: an avocado weevil, brown thrasher, devil's urn, eastern pondhawk (female), jumping bristletail, locust borer, pelecinid wasp, rainbow darkling beetle, speckled sharpshooter, and yellow garden spider

 

[VisionofMilotic]

I found out about a whale sanctuary project set to complete next year. It will be the first habitat for rescued belugas and orcas in North America. The center for visitors and operations got off the ground to a lovely start last fall in Nova Scotia. The sanctuary is a bay open to the North Atlantic Ocean near Port Hilford, the size of four hundred football fields. The bay is supposed to be well protected from rough weather, and the natural currents and tides wash away buildup of the waste from the whales.

It's good that these, intelligent majestic and beautiful animals can start new lives in surroundings that are natural to them, and are no longer confined to fish tanks or used in entertainment. At the same time they are also in a space where they are not threatened by predators and poachers. Good job on Canada also for passing the laws to end captivity of whales and dolphins.

https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/

 

[icycatelf]

Starting to see some more moths, including The Scribbler and a the day-flying Grapevine Epimenis. Nothing new so far, but here's another batch of some of my older photos:

Brown Panopoda, Curve-Lined Argyria, Doubleday's Notocelia, Fragile Dagger, Halysidota sp. (Sycamore Tussock Moths and Banded Tussock Moths are identical as adults), Lettered Sphinx, Packard's Lichen Moth, Thin-Lined Owlet, Trumpet Vine Moth, and Yellow-Fringed Dolichomia

 

[icycatelf]

More past photos: an American painted lady, charcoal bee fly, eastern band-winged hoverfly, great blue heron, Helvella solitaria (an elfin saddle mushroom), marbled orbweaver, Orgichneumon calcatorius (an ichneumon wasp), pustulated carrion beetle, spring salamander, and a Virginia metallic tiger beetle

The pustulated carrion beetle's larvae feed on snake eggs!

 

[icycatelf]

MOAR MOTHS!

Baltimore snout, bicolored pyrausta (its "nose" reminds me of Mothim), brown-shaded grey, eastern tent caterpillar moth, Hawaiian beet webworm moth, large lace-border, orange-patched smoky moth, pink-patched looper, southern tussock moth (I love its subtle rainbowy hues), and yellow slant-line

 

[VisionofMilotic]

Happy Earth day folks!

I wanted to share some environmental conservation news here. I found out about the Washed Ashore Project. What Washed Ashore does is remove plastic from oceans to reduce our water pollution. Volunteers have cleaned up miles of beaches, and taken tens of thousands of pounds of trash out of the water over the past decade. Artists also volunteer their services. They recycle the plastic, and make giant sculptures of our world's marinelife. It looks really cool, and the size of the sculptures illustrate well how much damage we're doing to the environment, making it a less abstract concept, while carrying a positive message at the same time, because hard-working and thoughtful folks here are doing their part to help our oceans. You can check out some of the different sculptures here.

https://en1.0f5.myftpupload.com/galleries/

My favorite image is the puffin! I love how realistic his feathers look.



I wouldn't mind walking through one of these exhibits.

 

[icycatelf]

A lot of those sculptures are even more mesmerizing up close. The eagle's wings! My favorite is probably the sea dragon though, just because I've been fascinated with sea dragons since I first saw them on TV (the "Dark Magician" of a card game idea I came up with back in middle school was even based on a sea dragon—a leafy sea dragon).

- - -

It's either been too warm or too wet for me to want to get out lately, but I've still got more old photos! American groundnut, bush katydid nymph, common whitetail dragonfly, eastern garter snake (I need to get a better pic of one of these guys), great spangled fritillary, narrow-leaved blue-eyed grass, pintail beetle, seepage dancer, suede bolete, and yellow-legged mud-dauber

I also got a new camera, but I haven't been able to adjust to it yet...

 

[icycatelf]

A horde or Bellsprout appeared?

I know Bellsprout is primarily based on pitcher plants, but its English name and "Flower Pokémon" category suggest that it could also draw inspiration from bellflowers. There's even a Bellsprout card that appears to have bellflowers in the background (possibly spotted bellflowers, but I'm not well versed in plants), and the Japanese name for Violet City, home of Sprout Tower, means bellflower!

That said, these bellworts (genus Uvularia) aren't true bellflowers (genus Campanula). "Bellflower" is just one of their common names.

- - -

More of my past photos (moth edition): an American ermine moth, common looper, dark marathyssa, fervid plagodis, hitched arches, maple leafcutter moth, pink-barred pseudeustrotia, shagreened slug moth, splendid dagger, and Virginian tiger moth

 

[icycatelf]

My final non-moth batch, at least until I get more shots: Here's an azure bluet, buffalo treehopper nymph, a male and female dobsonfly, fairy inkcaps, northern flicker, pleasing fungus beetle, redbud borer, spined micrathena, a rarely seen hyperparasitoid wasp (Taeniogonalos gundlachii), and a white-crossed seed bug

Male dobsonflies look scarier, but it's the female's shorter mandibles that deliver the more painful bite. And hyperparasitoid wasps parasitize parasites!

 

[icycatelf]

Got a couple new moths recently: a Gray Scoopwing and an Oval Abrostola. I was surprised to learn that scoopwings are closely related to the butterfly-like swallowtail moths!

Spoiler:

Chickadee hatchlings! So ugly but so cute. >w<

Spoiler:

I also spotted some cool swirly clouds the other night. I know moot about weather, so I've no idea what to call this sort of formation/phenomenon.

Spoiler:

 

[Starlight]

Got a couple new moths recently: a Gray Scoopwing and an Oval Abrostola. I was surprised to learn that scoopwings are closely related to the butterfly-like swallowtail moths!

Spoiler:

Chickadee hatchlings! So ugly but so cute. >w<

Spoiler:

I also spotted some cool swirly clouds the other night. I know moot about weather, so I've no idea what to call this sort of formation/phenomenon.

Spoiler:

Thank you for not just this batch, but every single post!!!

The same goes for everyone in this awesome club btw!

I haven't been able to enjoy being in nature very much lately - even in my own garden - so being able to get my fill of our beautiful world in here is always much appreciated ❤️

 

[Starlight]

Hey lovely beautiful nature people! Figured I'd should join up! Got a garden and such after all.



I've also got a cute lil guy to show you guys! Bit of backstory: he was in my lettuce which I wrap in a damp towel and keep in the fridge to ensure it stays crisp and fresh. Green leaf lettuce. He was in there for a week when I snapped the leaf off to feed my reptiles, and plopped onto my counter. I thought he was dead but I was busy so I didn't toss him out then. But I saw him later, alive. I can appreciate tenacity, so I put the lil guy in a small bowl with a leaf of spinach. Gave him a small spritz of water, too. He got better, and by the end of the day, I set him free since he kept trying to escape the bowl. Still couldn't fly, but I didn't want the cats to get him.

Here's a pic my husband got:

Spoiler:

View attachment 100730

Does anyone know what this is? He was REALLY small, maybe 6 mm. Streamline all the way down his body, even though the picture makes it look like he had a thick abdomen. You can hardly see them, but he has two wings. Never used them in here, not sure why but it kept him safer, I guess. Hope he's doing okay outside.

Hello and welcome!!!

In this part of the world I'd say that was a shield bug.

 

[Ninetales]

Tremendous photography! Scrolling through this thread is truly a delight!! <33

 

[icycatelf]

Gotta take a break today to charge up my batteries, but here are some things I've found over these past few days:

Widow Skimmer (immature male)

Spoiler:

Acanthocephala Leaf-Footed Bug egg

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Hedgenettle

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Spotted Apatelodes (NSFW)

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Fiery "rug" (ozonium) of the Firerug Inkcap

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Gray Petaltail

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