Month: April 2025

Taricha torosa

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Taricha torosa

The highlight of my weekend was getting to hold a California newt, possibly the cutest amphibian I have ever seen. The skin glands of Taricha torosa  secrete a powerful neurotoxin that is hundreds of times more lethal than cyanide. It is potent enough to kill most vertebrates, including humans. For this reason, I have never touched one; but our newt expert said it was fine unless we had a wound on our hands. He told a story about licking a newt once long ago; the moral of the story was that we should not try the same experiment. I held this little lady for a long time (then washed my hands). Such a thrill.

field ecology weekend

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FEW

This was my fourth Field Ecology Weekend, and my third as an organizer. The weather was capricious this time, but we gamely carried on through cold nights and a very wet morning. Attendance was great, spirits were cheerful, the learnings were valuable … and I’m exhausted (but happy).

Tipuloidea

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Tipuloidea

This morning there was a crane fly on the outside of the window, allowing me a view of its ventral side. Interestingly, it had another teensy insect on its leg — it was so small that I couldn’t tell if it was tangled or what. Was it a baby crane fly? How big are they when they metamorphose into adults?

In some places, crane flies are called mosquito hawks or “skeeter-eaters,” despite the fact that they don’t prey on adult mosquitoes or other insects. Adults have a lifespan of 10 to 15 days. The larvae of crane flies are commonly known as leatherjackets, and usually feed on decaying plant matter.

Crane flies first emerged in the Middle Triassic period, approximately 245 million years ago, making them one of the oldest known groups of flies. To date, scientists have described over 15,500 species across more than 500 genera.