[Life] 🌳 Paradise: The Nature Club

[VisionofMilotic]

Stunning! Just look at that majestic Polyphemus moth landing on your hand like that!

Some beautiful imagery of our world's wildlife came into my feed, along with fascinating facts. I would be remiss not to share! We all need a little color in our lives.

 

[icycatelf]

@RealDex: Is this an Alolan Meowth/Persian?



Haven't been seeing much these past few months. We've had an influx of southern yellowjackets and they like protein! I did find these, though: A picture-winged antlion (repeat), a smaller Parasa moth (repeat), a green June beetle, a crane-fly orchid, an American hog-peanut, and a mole cricket (repeat). Pretty sure I posted a pic of the crane-fly orchid's dual-hued leaves earlier in the thread. EDIT: Didn't see the leaves so I went ahead and attached them here.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

Every time I need to see something beautiful this club is a lovely place to visit, seeing all the sights Icy has captured on camera.

I don't have nearly as much to share, but I do have a cool fact or two about why the glasswing butterfly has it's unique see-through wings!

 

[icycatelf]

A couple of fungi and a slime mold that caught my eye recently, plus a couple of former finds I don't believe I'd posted yet: The Trembling Crust/Jelly Rot (immature, 4 photos), Physarum album, False Matsutake (immature), Cucumber-tree fruit, and a partially obscured purple mushroom (possibly Lepista tarda or one of the blewits).

 

[icycatelf]

An almost metallic Spotted Stem Ringless Amanita, a cluster of Bleeding Fairy Helmets (a better contender for Morelull), Hairy Pxxp Mold, an Alethopteris seed fern leaflet fossil (irl Leaf Stone?), and a few older finds: the mushroom-parasitizing Syzygites megalocarpus, Yellow-Shouldered Slug Caterpillar, Leafy Elephant's Foot, and maggot-parasitizing jaw wasp, Phaenocarpa sp.

 

[𒈟Lavemu𒐫]

I'm so jealous of all the fauna you find, there aint a lot of diversity where i live!!!

 

[icycatelf]

Cool insect fact I learned today: Some crane flies (including my previously posted eastern crane fly) ride air currents with their legs!

As semi-aquatic insects, I wonder if this has anything to do with Masquerain's legs being its wings?

 

[icycatelf]

Lamprey are swimmin' again! Hadn't seen one in 4 years, which lines up with their 2.5-5.4 year life cycle.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

That is so cool! Thanks for capturing this on video and sharing. I enjoyed seeing them up close, it's like seeing mini versions of flotsam and jetsam.

 

[Alex_Among_Foxes]

I came in here looking for eggs, but by the time I made it to the end I'd forgotten all about them lmao. I just love all the wonderful pictures of moths. :p

 

[icycatelf]

I came in here looking for eggs, but by the time I made it to the end I'd forgotten all about them lmao. I just love all the wonderful pictures of moths. :p

Glad you enjoyed them! I haven't been mothing for a while bc circumstances, but I hope I can at least participate in moth week later this year.

No pics, but I did spot a couple day-fliers that I've photographed previously: the grapevine epimenis, bluish spring moth, and eight-spotted forester. Also, a curved-ribbon moth that somehow found its way to the bathroom.

Got a nicer pic of a common watersnake tho. It's a baby.

 

[icycatelf]

Already starting to wither away, but first new species of the year!

Devil's Dipstick, a stinkhorn mushroom

Spoiler:

 

[icycatelf]

Things spotted over the past few days—some old, some new:

Another Bellsprout perfoliate bellwort (aka wood merrybells), some Coprinellus-genus inkcaps, a fresher example of the devil's dipstick, garlic mustard, another not-pitcher plant Jack-in-the-pulpit, sigil lady beetle larvae (they're COVERING that fence, but at least they're beneficial!), another lycopod root fossil (Sigilaria), and common vetch

One would think the vetch's leaves had been cut, but that's just how they look!

EDIT: Added some fossil horsetail foliage (Annularia) I found a week or so ago. Nature-painted stars!

 

[icycatelf]

New caterpillar! Also starting to see the brood XIV cicadas emerge, and turtle bc turtle.

EDIT: Added an oblique-banded longhorn beetle!

 

[icycatelf]

House finch enjoying a soak before the storm. Pretty sure I spotted one the other day but thought it was just the sun catching a brown-headed cowbird at a funny angle.

Also got an decent (for me when it comes to birds) photo of a white-breasted nuthatch.

Extras: A chipmunk under the bird feeder, and a shot of the forest tent caterpillar where you can more clearly see the "penguins riding a roller coaster."

EDIT: Added what I believe is a black horsefly larva. Giving off slight Dudunsparce Giratina-Origin vibes.

EDIT 2: Found another gray petaltail and took the opportunity to nab a better pic.

EDIT 3: Grapevine Epimenis caterpillar added.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

This is beautiful nature photography, vividly-colored turtles, insects, plants. The birds have got to be my favorite though, just look at that finch!

Sharing a little personal project down below.
These plants were just seedings a week ago I had got them from the farmer's market last weekend for Mother's Day, mum wanted some new herbs as gift, so there is some fresh basil here, parsley, tarragon, chive, rue, thyme and sage. I planted them for her and am very proud to see they more than doubled in size so fast.



We are getting ready to cultivate some fruits and vegetables soon next. The seeds for the sugar baby water melons came in the mail yesterday. Might be posting updates as things grow

 

[𒈟Lavemu𒐫]

Found 3 cicadas chillin also one coming out of shell!!!

 

[VisionofMilotic]

Fabulous Lavemu! You are so lucky to catch it in the middle of evolving. Those copper wings are beautiful.

I have a photo to share. There is an old rock quarry in my town that was used to mine gravel for the city streets, but abandoned many years ago. It was flooded after the mining operations stopped, and the city in recent years turned it into a nature park, there's cycling trails, and roses but what I wanted to show off was the view from the top. I snapped thus shot yesterday, when I visited the site with my mom and dad for my mom birthday.