A few random things from recent days, including a beautiful grass

 

A Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) strikes a pose on a wingstem leaf. Last night was hot, humid, with some showers and lots of the little frogs were out and about. This was at a recently acquired Arc of Appalachia property in Holmes County, Ohio, along Killbuck Creek. Our crew found lots of interesting creatures during our nocturnal foray. The peepers were especially notable, and we saw many. August 8, 2024.

The desiccated corpse of a Long-jawed Orbweaver spider in the genus Tetragnathus is enveloped by a fungal killer, Gibellula pulchra, a fungus that preys on spiders. When a spore lands on a suitable arachnid, the fungus begins to envelope the victim, penetrating it with mycelia that consume its inner tissues. As a last hurrah, the fungus sends out rather showy elongated hyphae that produce spores, thus starting the cycle anew. Shauna Weyrauch spotted this grisly scene on an epic nocturnal foray at a new Arc of Appalachia acquisition. Holmes County, Ohio, August 8, 2024.


A portion of the flowering spike of Side-oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula). The orange appendages are the grass's anthers, which contain the pollen. The white feathery objects are the stigmas, which are the pollen receptacles. Rather than evolve fancy flowers to lure insect or other animal pollinators, grasses go for the simpler carpet-bombing strategy. These plants release thousands upon thousands of tiny windborne pollen grains in the hope that some land on the stigmas of other plants and thus cross-pollinate them. The multisyllabic scientific name is a mellifluous delight: Boo-teh-loo-ah ker-tih-pen-do-la. This Side-oats Grama is in my front yard in Worthington, Ohio.Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) eggs with freshly emerged nymphs. This pest hails from Asia and was first collected in 1998 in Pennsylvania. Since then, it has spread to nearly if not every state. The first Ohio record dates to 2007 and now they're everywhere around here. One female can apparently lay up to 400 eggs, so the one that dumped these isn't done yet, or she already laid many other eggs. I must admit, there is an artistic symmetry to the bugs/eggs at this stage. My backyard in Worthington, Ohio.