Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Rik Gern is specializing in mushroom photos lately. Here are some photos from Wisconsin, though Rik lives in Austin, Texas. His captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.
Here are some more mushroom pictures from my recent trip to northern Wisconsin. This is the first of two batches dedicated to the ubiquitous Pinewood gingertail (Xeromphalina campanella). These technically edible, but bitter-tasting mushrooms are usually found in large clusters.
Here are some on a fallen tree:
This cluster was found at the base of a living tree:
A closeup of this group of Pinewood gingertails in an old tree stump gives the impression of giant mushrooms at the mouth of a cave!:
These mushrooms growing in the crevice of a tree look like more giants, this time growing on the side of a rocky cliff:
The rest of the pictures are of individual and clustered mushrooms growing on mossy logs. I don’t know what it is about this species that I find so beautiful, but to my eye they represent the Northwoods as much as the ferns and pine trees:
Today we have photos of a swell trip taken by Robert Lang, physicist and origami master. (I believe it was this trip, sponsored by New Scientist and Steppes Travel, and featuring Richard Dawkins as lecturer) Robert’s notes and IDs are indented, and you can click on the photos to enlarge them.
Hawaii Wildlife
We spent a week sailing around the Hawaiian islands. We saw quite a few birds, both endemic and introduced, but I didn’t get many good pictures of the endemics; most of them were too skittish and/or stayed in heavy leaf cover. But I did get this Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola), which is an introduced species, but was too pretty to pass up.
We also did some kayaking along sea cliffs. I loved the brilliance of this Red Pencil Urchin (Heterocentrotus mamillatus), which was just above the waterline.
At one point, the ship we were on spotted a pod of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins (Stenella attenuate). As we revved up the engine, they joined us to surf the bow wave.
The highlights of the trip were two snorkeling excursions. First, a night snorkel with Reef Manta Rays (Mobula alfredi). The organizers set up surfboard with lights, which attracted plankton; the plankton attracted the rays, which did repeated somersaults just underneath us—literally less than a foot away. This picture is a screen capture:
But I hope you will able to see the video:
Later we did a day snorkel on Lahaina with Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas). There were quite a few people in the water (as you will see in the video), but they just ignored us, coming up to the surface for a breath, then heading back down.
We’d arrived on the big island of Hawai’I while one of the volcanos, Mauna Loa, was undergoing an eruption (note, this is not the volcano with all of the telescopes on it—that’s Mauna Kea). We only saw lava distantly from the plane on the way in, but the ash in the sky gave us some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
Robert didn’t ask me to put this up, but I couldn’t resist. He sent it while on the trip, with the remark, “Richard had a slide in one of his talks comparing embryonic development to origami, which was why he pulled me in as a visual aid when that slide came up. That was, of course, great fun. Charming fellow, I gather he’s done some biological something-or-other in his day.”
Finally, since Mauna Loa is having one of its rare eruptions on the Big Island, I asked Robert if he saw it directly. He responded:
We did see the eruption from afar, from the plane while flying in. (Pic below.) One of the days we drove up to within a mile of the flow, but it was fogged in so we couldn’t see anything.
Today’s selection comes from Ivar Husa from Washington State, but the photos are from Arizona. Ivar’s captions and ID’s are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
These photos were taken near Buenos Aires NWR southwest of Tucson. I might add near our southern border.
Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) are birds of prey that often fly stealthily by staying below treetops, rising above only when they get close to their nest. This one bears a rodent for the chicks.
These chicks fledged within a few weeks of these photos being taken.
It was jarring to see for myself a new section of border wall slashing through wildlands southwest of Tucson. Animal movements are restricted, causing ecological damage.
Here are images taken south of Tucson AZ
American Snout, Libytheana carinenta These were present in prodigious numbers at lower levels of the Santa Rita Mountains. I crudely estimate that along an 8 mile stretch of Box Canyon Road that perhaps 100,000 American Snout could be seen.
Here is a look at them along the road. Every black spot on the road, every one, is an American Snout. They had record rains this year which perhaps explains their spectacular abundance here. Sulphurs were nearly as abundant in other locations.
Tiny Checkerspot, Dymasia dymas. Did they say ‘tiny’? These have wingspans in the range of 2.3 to 3.5 cm.—around an inch.
Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui:
Finally, this cutie. I showed a picture to a local birder (as one does, herpetologists being less abundant in the field) and asked “What do you call this red-spotted toad? “:
To my surprise and amusement he replied “Red-spotted Toad.” Anaxyrus punctatus. This one is yet only about 3.5mm (1.5”) long and will grow much larger.
Photos taken with Canon 5D SR with 100-400 Mark II and 1.4X multiplier.
Again I importune you to send in your phots. In a few days the situation will be dire!
Today, though, we have a diversity of photos from Rachel Sperling, including Lepidoptera, landscapes, and herself. Her captions are indented; click on photos to enlarge them.
Here are a few wildlife photos for your site, taken around New England and New York this summer and fall.
Hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe), a moth in the Sphingidae (hawkmoth) family. They really do resemble hummingbirds at first glance and they’re hard to photograph because they don’t stop moving! Not for me, anyhow.
Common loon (Gavia immer) on a small lake in the southern Adirondacks this August:
White oak (Quercus alba) on the Appalachian Trail in Pawling, New York. This particular oak, known as the Dover Oak, is at least 300 years old and is thought to be the biggest oak (if not the biggest tree) on the entire 2,190-mile trail. I guess I AM an unabashed tree-hugger.
This black birch (Betula lenta) also known as a sweet birch or spice birch, is also on the AT in New York … and is clearly possessed by some kind of angry spirit. Consensus among hikers is that it was hit by a shotgun shell some years back (it’s still alive). I’d be angry too.
Smooth rock tripe (Umbilicaria mammulata) on a boulder on the AT in New York, though I’ve seen it almost everywhere I’ve hiked in the northeastern US. [JAC: This is a lichen.] So-named because of its resemblance to tripe (cow’s stomach) it’s apparently edible as a last resort. (According to accounts, George Washington’s men ate it to keep from starving at Valley Forge.)
I don’t know if you’re still collecting photos of readers, but this is me (Homo sapiens) on the summit of Mount Mansfield, highest peak in Vermont, trying not to get blown over by the high winds (I think it was gusting around 30mph, maybe more). There wasn’t much of a view at the summit, but once I began my descent, the clouds dispersed and it got better. This was back in late September. When I’m not hiking, I’m a librarian at a university in Connecticut.
“I didn’t mean to climb it, but got excited and soon was at the top.” – John Muir
The formal title of this celebration is “International Day of Veterinary Medicine,” celebrated yearly on December 9. The Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care site says this:
International Day of Veterinary Medicine celebrates those intrepid souls who work hard to keep our animals safe, and are constantly going through ongoing education to stay at the very front of the medicine that will keep our pets alive and healthy for years to come. A special shout-out goes to those who practice exotic animal medicine, learning about critters that are rarely kept as pets.
So here’s a special shout out: I know of only one reader who practices veterinary medicine, and it’s only on exotic animals. She’s Divy Figueroa of Florida (highlighted before in a “photos of readers” feature), who is practice manager and vet tech for a practice that includes her husband, Ivan Alfonso, as the doctor. I asked her for some photos of veterinary medicine in action, and she sent some photos from a recent visit. I also got some earlier photos of Divy with some cool animals. Her narration is indented:
We really don’t have many good photos of us working together, because I’m usually the photographer, and when I’m working hands-on, nobody takes pictures of us.
This was a call we had last week in south Florida of an Aldabra tortoise feeling under the weather, so the clients wanted bloodwork. This tortoise weighed between 350-400 lbs, and was not allowing us to grab his tail to draw blood. Though most giant tortoises are turned sideways to draw blood, due to the animal’s history we didn’t do it in this case to avoid stressing him. We had the owner use his forklift to lift the tortoise. My tech steadied the tortoise in the front to prevent him from falling forward, while my husband drew blood and I passed him the necessary blood tubes and collected the blood samples. The tortoise excreted and urinated on him, while flashing his penis to the both of us. It was a tense few minutes, but we got the job done. The screenshot in the second picture is very blurry, but I wanted you to see how we had to elevate the tortoise, and to see that it was no easy feat.
Here are a couple of different pics of me with a cute Geoffrey’s cat [JAC: a kitten getting its checkup] and with a Patagonian Cavy. We had already finished the cavy’s physical (again, we have no pics), but the cavy approached me to tell me all was good. (That client just got some cool, new animals, so we should be visiting them within the next month for an inspection. I’ll take good pics. )
We’re BACK with this feature, which I guess will be sporadic. But I invite you to submit your photos (2 max) and a narrative.
Today we have two—count them, two—readers, Dom and Jez, both hailing from England. Jez sent the text (he’s on the right below).
As you [Jerry] know, WEIT reader Dom just visited us here in Royston, Hertfordshire for a couple of days.
Royston is a small market town about 13 miles from Cambridge, 43 miles north of London, and very close to the prime meridian. According to those who grew up in it, the town is world famous (!) for several things. Two ancient roads, (Roman) Ermine Street and the (prehistoric) Icknield Way, meet here which is probably why the town was founded here at all; the mysterious Royston Cave lies under the town centre; the town was the site of an Augustinian priory built in about 1250, part of which forms the nave of the current church; King James I of England (and VI of Scotland) had a palace here; and the Royston Golf Club claims to be possibly the oldest golf club outside of Scotland. Recent notable people with connections to Royston include trumpeter Alison Balsom, British blues guitarist Danny Bryant, and pianist Joyce Hatto. (The latter was proclaimed by The Boston Globe as “the greatest living pianist that almost no one has ever heard of”, until the fraud perpetrated by her husband was uncovered! The story was the subject of a film written by Victoria Wood called Loving Miss Hatto.)
When he visits, Dom is always keen to visit Therfield Heath, a chalk escarpment with Neolithic and Bronze Age barrows which is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and just a short walk from the town centre. Here’s Dom (on the right) with me and my wife Lyn at the Heath on Tuesday.
Dom is now retired, following the closure of the specialist library at University College London where he worked. I’m a self-employed academic proofreader; after a brief hiatus due to papers being postponed for reasons related to the coronavirus things have been unusually busy. My theory, which is mine, is that with no conferences etc. to attend, academics have finally been able to get around to writing up the research that they conducted a while ago. That’s been good news for Lyn and the kids, as they’ve been trapped at home since March but I’ve had less time to play guitar (very badly). Dom looks rather dubious about being in the photo at top, despite my best attempts to ply him with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord (it’s not the same from a bottle, though). I freely admit to being the least musical member of the family, and that includes Marcus Clawrelius (pretentious, moi?) our toothless cat. The photo of Marcus was taken earlier this summer.
We have another entry, folks, and I urge you once again to send me a couple of pictures and a narrative. I have a feeling that there are a gazillion more stories in the Naked City.
Today’s reader is. . . well, he introduces himself, but give him a round of applause for his work with the disabled!
My name is Art Rigsby, 78 years old and retired for 18 years. I spent 9 years in the Army and retired as an IT manager of an electronics company in Silicon Valley. I spent most of my life in California with a few in Idaho before I ended up in Bloomington, IN.
To keep busy I do a lot of volunteer work. I volunteer at a local food bank, do handyman work for seniors, and assist in building ramps for disabled individuals. The ramps are provided free of charge to people who don’t have the funds to have one built.
I have enclosed a picture of me dressed for the job. I was screwing down the boards that comprised the walk way on the ramp. I think I placed about 250 screws that day.
The other picture of me was taken in front of the Gus I. Grisson Memorial in his hometown of Mitchell, Indiana:
I have also enclosed a picture of my cat Cujo. I think he is about 10 years old. My late wife and I got him from out next door neighbor and we converted him from an outdoor cat to an indoor one. Cujo has no teeth. He had 3 teeth when we got him but the vet said they had to go. I suspect his previous owner(s) didn’t take him to the vet very often if at all. I live alone, so having him around makes my day a little better.
