Favoritos de captainmantis37

First photo close-cropped to show flight, the rest of the photos full size, with them roosting high up in the big, tall tree below this one flying, and then, when we came out from visiting the museum, they were gone!

For a fruit bat roosting kind of solo, above the others in this tree, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/192439294

Fruit bat acro*bat*ics here: inaturalist.org/observations/192435661 & inaturalist.org/observations/192437621

When I stepped out into the dark, I felt a soft lump. No shoes were involved. We both survived without serious injury. Toad moved to opposite side of doorway. I apologized. I feel tolerated, but not accepted and will never be sure if I've been forgiven. That is fair. Be well, Toad.

There was a toad at the door the previous night as well, maybe the same?

Crop/full size; for the Broadleaf Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/180717109; for the pinkish Swamp Smartweed (Persicaria hydropiperoides), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/180701285; for the coppery Least Skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor) butterfly, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/137375641

The entomopathic fungus attacked and killed this ant: spores from a fruiting fungus body infected the ant passing by, the mycelium (branching, thread-like structures) grew inside the body, ultimately killing the host, and these forms sprouting from the corpse are fruiting bodies of the fungus preparing to start the cycle again

Our guided nature walk leader showed us a similar parasitic fungus, inaturalist.org/observations/158479395

Who can ID to species this entomopathic fungus that attacks and kills, a phenomenon that started when it invaded the grasshopper, eventually multiplying and becoming master, forcing the Zombie Grasshopper to crawl up to die as the insect-eating fungus (collectively called Zombie Fungi, for the way they infect, and ultimately kill, their hosts) matured, and then fungal stalk-like structures burst through weak points (joints) in the grasshopper’s exoskeleton and exploded out of the host, for the fungus needs the victim to take it high enough so the fungus' spores will blow in the wind and spread most efficiently, an environment favorable to their dispersal, a good spore-release position on the underside of a twig a few of feet above the ground

These parasitic fungi usually attach to the external body surface of insects in the form of microscopic spores (usually asexual, mitosporic spores, conidia); under the right conditions of temperature and (high) humidity, these spores germinate, grow as hyphae and colonize the insect's cuticle, and they bore through the exoskeleton by way of enzymatic hydrolysis (use of a specialized pressing structure called an appressorium, an organ that forms a needle-like peg pressing against the cuticle and puncturing it), reaching the insect’s body cavity (hemocoel), where the fungal cells proliferate in the host body cavity, usually as walled hyphae or in the form of wall-less protoplasts (depending on the fungus involved), and once inside, the fungus starts to grow mycelia (the vegetative part of a fungus composed of long strands of hair-like hyphae that worm their way through the insect’s innards, feeding on tissues but not killing its host, not at least yet or quickly), and the fungus can then absorb nutrients from its host and grow until a critical fungal mass develops, and then the Cordyceps moves to the insect’s head, where the fungal parasitoid forces its victim to climb to a prominent perch in a tree or shrub, causes it to clamp down tightly, and kills it, for the fungus, which has mostly consumed the insect’s inner workings by this point, prepares to reproduce, sending stem-like spikes called stroma to shoot from the victim’s body, capped by perithecia, until the insect bristles with these fungal fruiting bodies, the perithecia soon rupturing, releasing scores of windborne spores, the reason for the fungal reprogramming of the victim: to force it into a breezier location for successful spore dispersal

Our guided nature walk leader showed us a similar parasitic fungus, inaturalist.org/observations/158411706

I spotted bioluminescence on the hillside beside the trail on the Night Owl Hike; some photos with flashlight

The larvae look typical of beetle grubs, females look like the larvae (larviform, neotonous, or paedomorphic: retaining juvenile features into adulthood), both larvae and females having luminescent organs ("lanterns"); however, females communicate with males via pheromones (chemical perfumes), not light intensity, (explaining the male’s lovely, sensory antennae, for in his brief life he does not eat but lives only to mate), and then the female lays eggs in clusters on the ground, encircles and guards them, glowing the whole time, until her death about a week later; eggs may not glow immediately but may luminesce before hatching

For the adult male beetle here at the Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Center, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/157456482

Very light grey, also easily spooked..not sure was a catbird, didn't see rusty bottom ... didn't look like northern mocking bird ...or act like the ones I'm used to..I will probably be able to get more pictures as been hanging around

Wildlife: unfenced New Forest pony, one of the recognized mountain and moorland, or native pony, breeds of the British Isles, a British breed with right of way on all Forest roads that are unfenced, free to roam the entire Forest, will keep to its own territory, rarely straying further than a 1-2 mile radius, as the ponies know where to find to water and best grazing and browsing on their home territory… the New Forest pony has an unusual background for a native pony breed, thought to be on the New Forest since the last Ice Age; in 2014 the Rare Breeds Survival Trust listed the ponies in its minority breed category watch-list due to significant decline in breeding mares, now fewer than 3,000 on the New Forest (it was "new" when established in the year 1079)

New Forest District, a Municipality in Hampshire, South East England, its council based in Lyndhurst, has a fascinating history; the local government area covers most of the New Forest National Park, hence its name

Not only did I finally get a photo of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker on the Okefenokee Refuge, but I got six!

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. October 27, 2022.

• Location: Upland Discovery Trail off Swamp Island Drive
• Sunny, with high near 83.
• Sunrise 7:41 AM; Sunset 6:45 PM
• Daylight Hours: 11 hours, 4 minutes (-1m 43s)
• Moon 6.8% Waxing Crescent
• eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S121753468

See and learn more about the great Okefenokee Swamp at www.okefenokee.photography

In wet peaty longleaf pine savanna (location: last 2 photos), petiolate leaves held at ground level; considered an annual, it can grow through the winter (once the plant blooms, it will die or decline)... in full sun, the plant appears red; however, with less sunlight, leaves are greenish with red stalked mucilaginous 'tentacles' glands

Two males fought for control of my pool deck. The greener one ended up winning when it successfully shoved the other off the edge. Here's a short video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDKqu1oqkjY

©williamwisephoto.com Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. October 26, 2022.

• Orange trail between Billy's Lake and Canal Run N30.82583° W82.30293°
• Cloudy early, then clearing with high near 83.
• Sunrise 7:40 AM; Sunset 6:46 PM
• Daylight Hours: 11 hours, 6 minutes (-1m 43s)
• Moon 1% Waxing Crescent

See and learn more about the great Okefenokee Swamp at www.okefenokee.photography

©williamwisephoto.com Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. October 26, 2022.

• Orange trail between Billy's Lake and Canal Run N30.83371° W82.31678°
• Cloudy early, then clearing with high near 83.
• Sunrise 7:40 AM; Sunset 6:46 PM
• Daylight Hours: 11 hours, 6 minutes (-1m 43s)
• Moon 1% Waxing Crescent

See and learn more about the great Okefenokee Swamp at www.okefenokee.photography

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. October 26, 2022.

• Billy's Lake N30.83324° W82.33680°
• Cloudy early, then clearing with high near 83.
• Sunrise 7:40 AM; Sunset 6:46 PM
• Daylight Hours: 11 hours, 6 minutes (-1m 43s)
• Moon 1% Waxing Crescent

See and learn more about the great Okefenokee Swamp at www.okefenokee.photography

See it breathe (3 good photos)! "On the first day of Christmas", of the 12 days that begin Christmas Day, December 25, "my True Love gave to me: a Partridge in a Pear Tree", plus: 'a snail in a Christmas Fern frond'!

For the Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), cf. inaturalist.org/observations/145061884