It’s been a while since I drew an insect with Trisha from Insectopia. I learned a new term: SULCUS (singular) / SULCI (plural) for folds in an insect’s exoskeleton. It also refers to the depressions or grooves in the brain.
Ammopelmatus fuscus
Tag: nature journaling
chard roots
Tipuloidea
Mosquito hawk. Skeeter-eater. Gallinipper. Gollywhopper. Jenny longlegs. Daddy longlegs. Crane flies are found all over the world and go by many different names. There are several common misconceptions about these insects:
- That they are the most venomous insects in the world (in fact, they have neither venom nor the ability to bite).
- That they prey on mosquito populations (also untrue; the adult crane fly is anatomically incapable of killing or consuming other insects).
Crane fly larvae can be important in the soil ecosystem, because they process organic material and increase microbial activity. Larvae and adults are also valuable prey items for many animals, including insects, spiders, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals. However, the larvae of some crane fly species are agricultural pests, as they feed on the roots, root hairs, crown, and sometimes the leaves of crops. But mostly, these giant, delicate creatures are completely harmless.
Phrynosoma blainvillii
Malosma laurina
Finally got around to the Day 7 prompt from International Nature Journaling Week: renewal and regeneration.
buzzfeed
I’d seen a tuning fork used to trigger pollen ejection from nightshade flowers, but an electric toothbrush is cheaper and more accessible for demonstration purposes. I might add one to my school walks kit.
imaginal discs
Why had I never heard of imaginal discs before? Such a cool name, and structure!
passiflora
Phlebodium aureum
The plants in our fernery don’t get a lot of attention apart from watering, but could probably do better with some TLC.
In other thoughts, I got curious about the etymology of ‘emergence’ and ‘emergency’ two similar words with very different meanings. They both come from medieval Latin emergentia, from Latin emergere ‘bring to light’ or ‘arise’.
Pseudacris hypochondriaca
Hmm, I thought we had the Pacific Tree Frog aka Pacific Chorus Frog here, but now I’m learning that the species was divided into three in 2006, and in Southern California ours is called the Baja California Tree or Chorus Frog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca).
Due to its proximity to Hollywood, this species of chorus frog has often had its vocalizations featured as stock sounds in film and television. Consequently, its distinctive “ribbit, ribbit” call has become the quintessential frog sound in the English-speaking world, even though only this species and a few closely related ones actually produce that sound.
hashiworks 