Archivos de diario de marzo 2020

17 de marzo de 2020

How to photograph terrestrial mushrooms to get an ID

Denis Benjamin, Mycologist at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, recently shared a document created by Billy Stone (also of BRIT) that outlines the photos needed to get a proper ID of terrestrial (ground growing) mushrooms. I thought it was very helpful information and worth sharing on iNaturalist!

Publicado el marzo 17, 2020 06:52 TARDE por kimberlietx kimberlietx | 6 comentarios | Deja un comentario

27 de marzo de 2020

Lace balloons in the grass?

Sometimes when you are under Disaster Emergency Self-imposed I-refuse-to-get-coronavirus Quarantine, you get bored. I was wandering around the yard one day and got down on my knees to look at crane fly larvae. While I was there, I noticed these crazy lace balloons attached to the stems of Bur Clover (Medicago polymorpha).

It only took a second to spot the larvae, too.

I was fascinated watching the little larvae wiggle around in their lace balloons, but I couldn't tell if they were related to the egg stage or the cocoon stage. So I sent my field assistant (read: nephew) to bring my phone camera and collection supplies. I was able to open one of the lace balloons to see that it was a cocoon with a pupa inside.

But what ARE THEY? I suspected they were some kind of beetle (probably weevil based on the "snout" of the pupa,) but there were several species in the grass that day, so I collected a few cocoons to see what emerged.

And here it is... the Alfalfa Weevil.

I didn't know at the time to look for eggs in the stems or I would have had the full life cycle. Nevertheless, it was hands-on nature learning at it's finest.

whatdidyouseetoday

You can read more about the Alfalfa Weevil life cycle here: http://extension.cropsciences.illinois.edu/fieldcrops/insects/alfalfa_weevil/

Publicado el marzo 27, 2020 12:15 TARDE por kimberlietx kimberlietx | 4 observaciones | 7 comentarios | Deja un comentario