First, remember to send in (today!) photos of your pets eating Thanksgiving leftovers. As a one-time offer, you can send animals other than cats—even d*gs. (Do not think for a moment, though, that I’m softening on canids.)
Back to business: we have some nice photos of molluscs and arthropods from a new contributor, Jonathan Wallace:
I’m not sure of the identity of these snails – they may be Theba pisana or Cernuella virgata, both of which occur around the Mediterranean area and both share the same habit of climbing plant stalks, fence posts and a variety of other vertical structures to aestivate. It seems quite odd behaviour as one would imagine that it would expose them to heat and desiccation compared with burrowing under a rock or into the soil, say. It is nevertheless a very common sight in the Mediterranean area to see snails clustered like this. I believe both species have been accidentally introduced into other parts of the world including North America. They are considered a pest as their plant climbing habit means that they can foul up farm harvesting machinery.
These pictures were taken at a place called Bouskoura near Casablanca in Morocco.
[JAC: I’ve seen snails doing this in England (the famous Cepaea nemoralis), but was never sure what the aggregation was about.]
Note the variation (“polymorphism”) for color and banding, variation that has been the subject of many evolutionary-genetic studies in Cepaea nemoralis. After decades of study in that species, nobody knows what the evolutionary significance of this variation is—if any.
This is Cerambyx miles, a large longhorn beetle I found scrambling to climb into a bush in the same area of France as the cicadas. There are four species of Cerambyx that occur in France of which C miles and C cerdo are very similar. The first five segments of the antennae can be used to distinguish them, being much shorter in C miles.
And, finally, SPOT THE CICADA. You get to see one first, and then have to find it in the second photo.
These are two shots of Cicada orni, a cicada species that is extremely numerous in Provence, France and elsewhere around the Mediterranean basin. They create a deafening noise every summer but despite the racket they make it can be surprisingly difficult to spot them on the trunks and branches of trees. The cicada in the first photo might not be quite as hard to locate as some of the nightjars and picas you have posted, but does give an indication of how cryptic they are.
The photos were taken on the foothills of Mont Sainte Victoire, the mountain near Aix en Provence that was the subject of many of Cezanne’s paintings.
Spot it!
Got it!
Yes, near the top of the trunk in the picture. Look for the two dark eyes, then you’ll see the body vertically below then.
Found it. Attached to a specimen of Quercus robur, aka Pendunculate oak / English oak.
I would think snails like that would be a bounty for some snail-eating bird. Feast time!
Surely there are there snail-eating birds?
Exactly what I thought. Snail kabob!
Thrushes – Turdus philomelos
https://www.ecosia.org/search/images/q/thrushes+snails
Snail Kites, Hook-billed Kites…but alas, not co-occurring with C. nemoralis.
Great photos all! I really like the beetle because of it’s dainty face & notched antennae. You’d expect to see something similar in faery tale book.
Really interesting photos. Polymorphism in tree snails is very common, but I do not know if it serves any purpose. Their aggregations are equally mysterious to me. But perhaps it is either for group defense or for sex. The things animals do is often for sex.
The big cerambycids are always fun to come across. If you pick them up they will ‘stridulate’ loudly by bobbing their thorax up and down. This makes a very audible squeaking sound.
Wonderful photos, Jonathan! Any relation to THE Wallace?
Alfred Russel? Not that I am aware of, I am afraid. I’m glad you like the pics.
And uh sub
I recall when I was about 6 or 7 years old, there was an absolutely huge number of cicadas that year, at least by our local standards. The molted shells as they emerged as adults were everywhere. I have seen videos of cicadas elsewhere that put ours to shame.
Saw the cicada right away. Nice post.
Amazing snails – never heard of this before. Very cool. 🙂
Fascinating pictures, thanks for contributing them, Jonathan!
By the way – of possible interest –
http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/19/19042058-how-snails-point-to-the-trails-of-ancient-seafarers-in-ireland?lite
Of course Jerry’s friend Steve Jones has studied these Cepaea…
Interesting article.
I once worked for a population biologist at Cornell who, with a grad student, did a bit of work on C. nemoralis. I swear I remember a story about the species being purposely introduced in the US by someone who tossed them off trains at railroad stops, though I can find no mention of such a story via a quick Googling.
Stands to reason that a relatively large, easy-to-keep food item like a land snail would be known to accompany humans on their treks.