We have some odds and ends today, but they’re none the worse for that. First, Diana MacPherson sends a raccoon (Procyon lotor):
Since you’re back, I thought I’d send you this picture of a raccoon I took in December. It was in a tree in my yard after Kala, my dog, barked him up there. He looks like a young one so maybe a late summer litter. He left cute raccoon footprints in the snow all over my backyard.
Garry vanGelderen from Ontario sent a photo of a coyote (Canis latrans) in the snow:
Here’s a mystery from reader Tom Alves:
I was in Bhutan where I found this grasshopper with holes in the body. I’ve no idea what it is or why. Perhaps your readers might shed some light on the subject?
JAC: I don’t think these are puncture wounds; they really look like natural perforations:
Finally, Emma Crawford sent an unusual creature with a “spot the” extra:
My partner and I recently spent some time at a field centre in Sabah, Borneo. We thought you and your readers would find these photos interesting.
We had taken a number of photos of the Bornean least pygmy squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis) whilst exploring the jungle. Several weeks later when editing the photographs, we noticed someone else in a few of the images!
See if you can spot the photobomber who appears in both the following photos. [JAC: I reveal it below the fold.]
- Amongst the World’s Smallest Squirrels: The Bornean Least Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis) https://zoomologyblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/03/amongst-the-worlds-smallest-squirrels-the-bornean-least-pygmy-squirrel-exilisciurus-exilis/
- A Few Forest Frogs (including that sneaky frilled tree frog!) https://zoomologyblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/08/a-few-forest-frogs/
- Into the Jungle: One Week at a Field Research Centre in Borneo https://zoomologyblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/into-the-jungle-one-week-at-a-field-research-centre-in-borneo/
Well-known in racing for weight reduction –> greater speed, those holes in the grasshopper are a modification in this case to allow it to jump farther.
Great photos. Love that Raccoon and the Coyote.
It looks like the holes are in the wings of the grasshopper not the body. Given the texture and colorization, I imagine this would appear like dried fallen leaves that had been previously nommed by a caterpillar.
I agree. The holes are pigment patterns, adding to the ‘I’m a dead leaf’ narrative of this insect.
I agree with Justin #3: where are the forewings that lie along the back? If the parts above the holes are forewings then there’s hardly any abdomen & the segments – I can’t make them out. My suggestion is it’s being parasitised from inside the abdomen by a wasp grub & the forewings are there, but damaged.
Total speculation from an insect dunce
Changed my mind. Remembered this PCC[E] Lichen Katydid 2016 post & so all bets are off. Nature has more imagination than me.
Wonderful pictures. I especially like the raccoon and grasshopper.
A little white mousey-like critter?
I’m sorry but what perforations? I see a grasshopper with a grey body and black and pale grey markings that match the background.
I’m agreeing with you now – enlarged, the grey ‘holes’ are not not of focus like the background
I spot the hidden critter. Cool!
The “perforations” in the grasshopper appear to be gaping holes behind the head on both sides of the body. Something ate that grasshopper and left the exoskeleton.
The grasshopper holes make it look like it has big eyes that are angry. Maybe that serves some purpose. Damn, do eat that grasshopper; it’s bad to eat them when they’re angry.
Squirrels!