How to Make a Baby Dragon…

Insects like most multicellular life on this planet reproduce through sexual reproduction.  Simply put they exchange genetic information between two individuals.  This exchange of genetic information between two different individuals creates new genetic sequences that allows for the tremendous variation within a species and ultimately explains the diversity of life on the planet.  Species with more variation within the species will be more likely to produce offspring that will be suited for the environment.  This is not to say that every individual is best suited, quite the opposite, only a select few will have the opportunity to pass on their genes to the next generation.

The process described above is a simple idea to comprehend and is often called under the simplified term of Natural Selection; the mechanism of evolution.

 

Insects reproduce is very different ways that we are familiar with as mammals.  Many insects have very elaborate rituals to win mating rights.  Some even sacrifice their own lives for the simple opportunity to mate.  It may seem like a cruel world but the drive to pass on one’s genes to the next generation makes organisms (human or otherwise) do some extreme behavior.

 

Dragonflies have a rather unusual method of mating.  The male has claspers on the end of his abdomen that he uses to clasp onto the perspective female’s head.  This love grip allows the female to conjugate with the male using her elongated abdomen.  The position may seem odd but it allows the pair to maintain flight ability throughout the mating process.  Together they fly through the air avoiding the hazards that lurk by perching on the ground or vegetation.

The photo above clearly illustrates how the conjugated mating position allows for sufficient movement and clearance of both sets of wings.  I found this pair resting right outside my front door late last summer.

The photo above is a detail of the male claspers grasping the female by the head.  The morphology of the claspers prevents damage to the sensitive eyes of the female.  I think this could be the dragonfly equivalent of a hug.

When the mating is complete the female will visit a nearby water source where she will lay her fertilized eggs just below the surface of the water on aquatic vegetation or debris.  The eggs will hatch into tiny nymphs and will spend up to several years developing underwater before emerging as an adult dragonfly on a cool summer night.

I saw my last dragonfly of the season on November 7, 2011.  This was an extremely late date to see dragonflies flying around in central Minnesota!   Without flying insects to eat adult dragonflies ultimately succumb to the elements or loss of food.  Only those who were able to pass on their genes will influence the population of dragonflies the following summer.  Without sexual reproduction we would not have the tremendous diversity of life on this planet.  Without a diverse genetic library within a species there cannot be success for that species no matter where it lives.  Without the variation it is genetically destine for extinction.  That genetic threshold is difficult to identify and depends largely on the species.   One must ask themselves if many of our “endangered species” are already effectively extinct from a genetic perspective.  Loss of a single individual can have dramatic effects in a small population from a genetic perspective.

What is the purpose of conservation?  Are we conserving the world for humans or for all life?

 

Froggy Flower Power

The social upheaval in the United State of the 1960′s is sometimes summed up with the catchy phrase “flower power”.  What this really means is lost someplace deep the mind of an original hippie somewhere.  Flowers are the reproductive parts of a the plant, understanding this basic botanical anatomy changes the meaning of the phrase quite drastically.   No matter what it means the phrase has become a symbol of the social and environmental movements started, largely, in the 1960′s.

Flowers are serve as an oasis for many species of insects.  Their plentiful nectar is reserved only for those that have the right tools to get it.  Some present their good quite flamboyantly, other are much more subtle.  Like my previous post Spider Sniper details flowers also attract a variety of predators to take advantage of the bountiful prey.

Like the watering hole in the drought stricken African Savannah, predators of all types flock toward flowers with the simple knowledge that eventually their prey will have to come to them.   My previous post detailed how the crab spider sits patiently for its prey, but there are larger predators out there…

As the old adage goes “There is always a larger fish in the pond”, so too does this statement ring true with every other ecosystem on earth.  Every predator must be on guard because it is also prey.  The predatory crab spider from Spider Sniper would be a crunchy morsel for this young tree frog.  The tree frogs invade my flower garden each summer to feast on the plethora of invertebrates that have come to garden to feed (on the flowers or other invertebrates).   A keen eye can spot a frog on nearly every plant, patiently waiting for its prey to make an appearance.

Tree Frogs may be the top predator of the plant or the leaf but they certainly do not own the garden.  They must avoid becoming prey for snakes, birds, weasels, shrews and a myriad of other predators.

Tree Frogs can change color from gray to green to match the color of their background, and hopefully avoid detection by predators.

This young frog recently emerged as an adult from the vernal pool just feet behind my garden.  It’s head still looks more like a tadpole than an adult frog and there is still a little vestigial tail from its days as an aquatic larvae.

Now this frog might look like I posed it for the shot, but I assure you this is where I found this particular frog.  It is one of those moments that is just too perfect to pass up.  A tiny frog sitting on the head of a dew covered daisy.  (cue the “AAWWWW”)

I really like the one above,  you can see the Bee Balm just out of focus in the back.

Here the little frog waits for its invertebrate prey.  The carnage of the struggle for life happening in my own peaceful garden.  If “flower power” is supposed to make a call for peace and tranquility, then those individuals who chant the call have never truly witnessed the simple struggle for survival that occurs in every garden around the world.  Nature is not peaceful, or tranquil despite the delicate appearance.  Nature is a gloves off fight to the death and only the victors live to see another dawn, “Flower Power” indeed.

 

Spider Sniper

Spiders are among the most primitive of all terrestrial predators.  Not long after insects first invaded the land the primitive ancestors of modern spiders followed to gorge themselves on the newly invaded soil.  Today spiders still hunt their insect prey as they did millions of year ago.  The technique used to capture their prey varies widely and is even specific to a particular species.  The classic example is spider’s webs.  A silken web of sticky strings that capture prey in a tangled coffin.  Although all spiders have the capacity to make silk not all spiders build webs.  Some spiders are active hunters,  the wolf spiders, jumping spiders, and crab spider are all predators on the foot.  They stealthy stalk their prey and attack with vicious speed and agility.  They are true predators in every sense of the word.

Because spiders have an extremely low metabolism they have the uncanny ability to wait.  They can go day or even weeks without eating, simply waiting for their prey to make a fatal error.  Crab spiders are among those species who do not build webs but rather wait for their prey to come to them.

I found this large, perfectly white, crab spider perched on a large daisy in one of my backyard gardens.  It sat motionless waiting for an unsuspecting pollinator to land for a quick meal.  Crab spiders get their name from the way they hold their legs out stretched, much like a crab.  Unlike a crab these spiders do not walk sideways, their legs are out stretched like a foot trap waiting to spring.

If an unsuspecting pollinator does land on this particularly deadly daisy the spider’s trap will be sprung.  In the blink of an eye the spider’s forelimbs will spring forward and snare its prey delivering a fatal bite from the spider’s fangs.  If there ever were an arachnid equivalent to a military sniper this it.

Even the spider’s eyes are adapted for ideal vision and ranging.  It’s large binocular vision allows it to perceive motion and distance with deadly accuracy.  Even on this minute scale the adaptation for binocular vision in predators is very apparent (large predators typically have their eyes in the front to allow for accurate interpretation of motion and distance, think lions, eagles, wolves, and even people!).

Even the most serene of places has a never ending struggle between life and death occurring just out of sight.  The battle is not invisible but is only view by those with a curious eye.  Next time you see a spider, stop and ask yourself what it is really up to.  Is just aimlessly walking around or is it out on the hunt!

Visions of Summer

November in the Upper Midwest is a time of seasonal purgatory, the colors of fall are decomposing on the forest floor, the summer residents are well south of their local summer stomping grounds, the woods seem uncomfortably silent, as if they are still coping with the loss of its seasonal residents.  Minnesota becomes a land of brown and bland.  There is no green of summer or pure white of winter, it is Mother Nature’s way of saying “BLAH”.

Reviewing my photographs from last summer I found a file full of photos that had remained untouched since I took them this summer.  My next several posts will be a reminder of the difference a few months can make here in the great state of Minnesota.

A juvenile grasshopper basks on the petals of a cone flower in the morning light.  Grasshoppers go through a process of incomplete metamorphosis.  This means that, even in their juveniles stages, they look very similar to the adult.  Grasshoppers over winter as eggs laid in late summer.  When they hatch in early spring, miniature grasshoppers emerge and grow throughout summer until they are fully matured adults ready to pass on their genes for the next generation.  Think of this like the opposite of butterflies, flies, bees, and most other insects that go through complete metamorphosis, where the larval and pupal stages look nothing like the adult (think caterpillar and butterfly).

The landscape is brown and bleak now in November, but I cannot help but think of all the hundreds of thousands of eggs of a myriad of insects that lay in wait for next spring.

A small fly takes a break on a leaf.  Note the amazing iridescent color on the thorax.

Bumblebees, unlike the grasshoppers do not overwinter as eggs.  Rather only the queen overwinters.  She was hatched late in summer and traveled out of nest to find a place to overwinter.  Come spring she will be among the first flying insects to fly, often while snow is still on the ground.   Early blooming plants and trees will fuel her establishment of a new colony of up to a hundred or so bees (depending on the species).

Although the colors of fall may seem like all life as disappeared from the land remember all of those forgotten year round residents that are simply waiting for the appropriate conditions to recolonize the land.

Up Next:  Frogs and Flowers

Frosty Frogs

October is a time of change for all ecosystems here in Minnesota.  The summer visitors begin migrating south lands of eternal warmth.  Many of the year round residents who are unable to flee the approaching frosts are forced to adapt to the cold or simply wait it out until the following spring.  A vast majority of species choose the latter, with only the heartiest species staying active throughout the long northern winter.

October signals the deciduous trees to drop their leaves, squirrels to create caches of food to last through winter and animal of all kinds to find shelter.  Frogs are no exception to this rule, the must find a place to over-winter or risk never rising from their slumber.  Unlike many other animals frogs, specifically tree frogs, have the amazing ability to freeze completely solid.

The Eastern Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor) is a common tree frog throughout much of Minnesota.  They spend a majority of their lives away from water in forested areas.  They return to vernal pool in late spring until the beginning of July.  They spend the long winter underneath the leaf litter of the forest floor frozen completely solid.   This is no small feat for a complex vertebrate, in fact they are among a very few vertebrates who can tolerate being frozen solid.

Tree Frogs perform this amazing feat by literally turning their blood into antifreeze.  They increase the sugar content of their blood to such a degree that as the temperature falls the water in their blood is unable to form destructive crystals.  The frog simply freezes solid without the formation of any water crystals that act like microscopic knives cutting through tissue.  Humans call this formation of ice in the body frost bite.  Severe frost bite can result in complete necrosis of the affected area.  Frogs bypass these effects by putting themselves into the equivalent of a diabetic coma.

Eastern Gray Tree Frogs are among my favorite of all frog species in Minnesota.  They are amazing not only for their ability to freeze solid but also change color.  As the name suggests they are often “gray” but they can also change to a bright green as they transition between bark and leaves.  In addition to changing color that can change the texture of their skin, all be to a lesser degree, to match their surroundings.

These unique abilities of this frog species allows them to inhabit everything from the forest floor to the tops of the trees.  This diverse habitat allows them to exploit a wide variety of insects to feed on.

 

It may not look like effective camouflage close up but placed in a more natural habitat it serves its purpose quite well.

Did you find the frog?

Next time you take a mid-winter hike through a snowy wonderland think about all the thousands of insects, frogs, and plants that are patiently waiting in a dormant state for the first sign of spring.

Entropy

Controlling fire is one of thing that makes humans very different from the rest of the animal kingdom.  We have harnessed the constructive and destructive powers of fire and used it for thousands of years.  We have used it to clear areas to attract game, we have used it to forge weapons and we have used it to warm the spirit on cool winter nights. 

What is fire?  What is energy?  The second question is one I recently asked my freshmen biology class.  They began listing many different forms of energy but nobody could really put their finger on what energy really is.  Einstein once stated that “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can only change in form”.  This statement again alludes to the different forms of energy but does not give us a good idea of what it actually is!

Fire in the simplest terms is the light (a form of energy) and heat (another form of energy) release from the combustion of a given material, in this case maple logs.  The light and heat is released as the wood is combusted.  But where did the energy start?

To figure out where the energy from fire comes from we need to look at what is being combusted.  In this case it is wood from recently felled maple trees.  Maples are plants and therefore collect all of their energy through the process of photosynthesis.  As plants the use light energy from the sun to convert Carbon Dioxide and Water into Glucose (sugar) and Oxygen.   The energy is not “used” per say, but merely transferred into the chemical bonds within the Glucose molecule.

The Glucose produced from Photosynthesis is used to create the structures of the plant.  Cellulose is a polymer (long chain) of Glucose molecules.  Starch, another polymer of Glucose, is used as the plant’s food source (humans also love to eat plant starch!).  That simple Glucose molecule itself is broken down releasing energy used to create other complex molecules.

The plant stores all that captured energy within its chemical bonds.  Some of the energy is lost through each transfer.  The lost energy is returned to the universe.  Entropy is a measure of randomness.  As the energy leaves the plant at each step of transfer it is said to have higher entropy, or more randomness.  This idea of entropy is not easy to think about, but it helps explain how the natural world functions and even how we fit into the ecosystem of Earth.

Next time you sit at a fire and enjoy the heat an light on a cool autumn night take a moment to reflect on how it got there.  You are witnessing entropy in action.  The energy that originally came from the sun is now being released back into the universe.  It’s path on this planet is complete. Entropy has the final say. 

 

Up Next:  October Frog

Mountain Critters

Critters up in the mountains have a some amazing adaptations for survival.  Pika, small alpine relatives of rabbits, spend all summer stacking and drying grass.  The dried grass turns into hay and will feed the pika throughout the winter.  And we thought only farmers made hay!!   One common adaptation of alpine animals is dark coloration.  While in Montana I found several common Garter Snakes, all of which were much darker than the usual low land snakes I as used to.  The darker color is an adaptation that allows those snakes to absorb more radiative heat from the sun that lighter snakes.  More heat means more energy, which in turns means more offspring in the long-run.  Mr. Darwin had it right!!

Marmots (Marmota monax) are the alpine version of wood chuck, or ground hogs depending on where you call home.  These marmots were living in a rock outcrop in the middle of camp.  The make use of the human presence to fend of predators like coyote or mountain lion and gorge themselves on the vast supply of Kentucky Bluegrass.

Here you can clearly see the sunning behavior of Marmots.  With a belly full of grass I’m sure a little heat does just the trick to aide digestion!

One of my favorite animals to catch is frogs.  I found this Colombian Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris) sitting in a backwater of the Boulder River.  The water was numbingly cold for me but the frog seemed to right at home.  Many tree frogs have the ability to turn their blood into antifreeze during winter months.  Perhaps this species has something similar flowing through its blood to give it an advantage in the cold mountain streams it inhabits.

The Pine Borer Beetle (genus Dendroctonus)  has been chewing its way through western forests for sometime now.  The beetle is not a new problem.  It has always been there.  Nature had kept it in check for all of its existence until recently.  Poor forestry practices, the suppression of all forest fires for nearly a century (thank you Smokey the Bear), and increasing average annual temperatures at higher altitudes has created the ideal conditions for the beetle to spread.  The forests are composed of smaller, younger trees tightly packed together.  This proximity allows the beetle to spread much quicker than in an healthy old growth forest comprised of trees of varying age and size.  Forest fires periodically move through forests clearing out all but the largest of trees.  With fire suppression efforts we have done nothing more that create a large tinder box ready to ignite.  We have also created ideal habitat for the Pine Borer. Smokey had it wrong, the forests do need to burn.

The Pine Borer is so deadly because it lays its eggs under the bark of pine trees.  The larva then bore through the cambium of the tree.  This effectively prevents the tree from bringing nutrients or water to or from the leaves, suffocating the tree.  When the tree falls it leaves behind a mosaic of stories under its bark.  A subtle reminder of the destructive power of one small beetle.

 

Mountain Flowers

On my recent trip to Montana I enjoyed the sheer diversity of flowers that were found at various altitudes.  On one hike we climbed several hundred feet up to a mountain pass.  Each mile was traveling back in time with regard to the flowers.  At the trail head it was certainly early August according to the flowers.  At the top it looked more like June or maybe July by the flowers that were in bloom.  The colder climate high on the mountains leaves very little time for many flowers to bloom.  This means that those flowers that we usually associate with late summer in the lowlands may not even be found at higher altitudes.

Orchids are usually associated with a tropical paradise in some far off land.  Orchids can be found in just about any habitat, from prairie to mountain top, for those willing to look.  Orchids like a thick layer of dead and decaying plant matter to grow.  This is why we usually don’t see them, there just aren’t too many places they can live around people.  The first thing humans do for the sake of “development” is to strip the topsoil from the designated area.  This important layer holds seeds for many plants and acts as a that dead layer where plants like orchids thrive.

This picture tells a story.  The log in the background was once a tree.  When this tree, and others around it, fell it created a light gap in the forest canopy.  This change in light changed the types of plants that are found there.  One example is the red flower in this picture, Indian Paintbrush..  This flower is one of the quintessential mountain meadow flowers.  It is also one of my favorites!How neat is that!!

Wild Rose is another late bloomer up in the mountains.  Wild Rose produce Rose Hips when they are done flowering.  Rose Hips contain one of the highest concentrations of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in the natural world.  More that oranges or other citrus fruits.  A lack of Vitamin C in your diet leads to scurvy.  Scurvy once accounted for up to a 1/3 of death on sea voyages.  Captain Cook was the first to identify this and required all of his crew to eat citrus or other “scurvy grass” each day.  This revolutionary (seemingly common sense) change was one of the reasons that the British Navy rose to become masters of the sea!  A little Vitamin C goes a long way!!!

Daisy fields were found throughout the meadows.  Daisies are often one of the first flowers to move in after a disturbance like a fire or flood.  It is nature’s version of a bandaid.

Gaillardia is another wild flower that can be found in many mountain meadows.  Note the different stages of the flower in the pictures above.  The first several photos show the final product after the flower has finished blooming.  The seeds ensure there will be Gaillardia next year.  The final picture shows the flower in full bloom.  Note the pollen granules on the flower.

This last picture is one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken.  I have an unofficial top ten list and I know this has to be somewhere up there .  I really like how it is a different angle.  The sun, the sky and the flower all seem to be working together.  The flower is reaching toward unattainable heights.

Yep,  one of my favorites.

Up Next:  Mountain Critters

Mountain Insects (and an Arachnid)

My recent trip to Montana was an excellent opportunity to experience a different ecosystem than my home ecosystem in Minnesota.  Mountains offer not just one ecosystem but more like an ecosystem buffet. The changes in altitude as you move up or down a mountain create different microclimates.  Different climates means different organisms which means different ecosystems.  On one hike there were flowers that were in bloom at the top of a mountain that had already gone to seed at the bottom.  These subtle changes in climate have drastic effects on the biotic community.

Bumble Bees are very well adapted to life in the mountains.  Each night the temperature gets quite brisk.   This daily temperature change would be enough to kill most insects.   Most insects cannot regulate their own body temperature and their activity is dictated by the ambient air temperature.  Bumbles on the other had have a unique adaptation that allows them to heat themselves on cool mountain mornings.  The bees have strong flight muscles attached to their wings,  these muscles usually enable the bee to fly miles a day.  In the early morning the bee is too cool to fly so it must warm up.  It does this by putting those big flight muscles in ‘neutral’.  Just like putting a car in neutral and revving the engine will warm the car up, the bee flexes its muscles without engaging the wings.  This way it can sit motionless warming up for flight.  In spring this unique adaptation allows bumble bees to be among the first pollinators at early blooming flowers, sometimes when snow is still on the ground.

This male bee, a drone, could not get enough of my hand for some reason.  Male bees do not have stingers, so although this may look dangerous there is absolutely no threat of getting stung.

One of my favorite places to look for insects is around lights that have been on all night.  There will always been some late night visitors still hanging out.  On my first morning at our cabin I investigated a light near the shower house.  I found this large Sphinx Moth clutching to the side of the building.  Sphinx Moths are important nocturnal pollinators of many different plants.  There are also Sphinx Moths that are diurnal, are active during daylight hours.

I sometimes tell my wife that I have Nature Attention Deficit Disorder because when I’m outside every little thing is worth another look or a quick stop to investigate.  Our walks, hikes, runs or other outdoor activities often involves sudden stops by me to investigate a feather, insect or other curiosity that catches my eye.  I was stalking a family of marmot to get a bit closer when I saw this female spider in the crack of a rock.  On her abdomen she has hundreds of her juvenile offspring.  She carries them with her to protect them from predators.  Spiders are given a bad rap in our culture.  This mother spider is protecting her offspring just as any more snugglely animal might.  This is one of those curiosity that took precedence over my previous engagement of stalking the marmots.  I spend about 10 minutes watching and photographing this spider as she moved through the rocks.  It was amazing to think that each one of the dots on her abdomen was an individual spider looking back at me.

Life is often short in the high mountain altitudes.  Many individuals cannot compete with other or the elements and eventually die.  When the last flicker of life leaves a animal it is not long before other organism begin to recycle it back into the ecosystem.  This interesting looking insect is a Carrion Beetle.  These beetles like hot lunch, the smellier the better!  They are among the first ones on the scene of a dead animal.  Together with fly maggots, bacteria and other decomposers they will make quick work of even large carcasses.

Butterflies of all sorts take advantage of the short mountain summer.  When the mountain meadows bloom the bring with them a sudden boom in food resources for a myriad of different pollinators from bugs to birds.  The butterflies flit around using some of the most efficient flight patterns found in the animal kingdom.  Butterflies often look like they are just casually gliding through the air.  This casual flight is very specific and directed as a means of conserving energy.

There are some insects that I really hope to see whenever I’m outside.  They are my favorites.  This Pine Sawyer Beetle is one of those insects.  They are truly amazing beetles.  They just don’t seem natural, more like something developed for a Hollywood movie than a product of millions of years of evolution.  What is it about their long antennae that gives them advantage over others?  I don’t know, and that’s why I am constantly reminded just how amazing nature really is.  Simply claiming that this beetle was created to look like this takes away all of the amazement of this organism.  The world is so much more interesting when you realize that you don’t have all the answers, that everything can’t be explained with a simple answer.  It is even more amazing when you realize that you can figure it out!!

Up Next:  Mountain Blooms

A Trip to Big Sky Country

For the past 30 years my wife and her family have spent a week in the Boulder River Canyon in Montana.  I recently had the opportunity to go out with them as an official member of the family.  I enjoyed the hiking, rock picking and most importantly the fresh mountain air.  Here are some pictures from the trip.

The Boulder River and many of the rivers in Montana are in flood stage.  The raging waters had washed the road to camp out in several places just weeks before our arrival.  The high water gave me the opportunity to play with my shutter speed a little.  I only with I had my tripod!!

This is the sunrise on our first morning in Montana.  We stopped at a friends cabin just south of Miles City and this was the sunrise that greeted us.

One thing that I like to look for when I’m away from urban areas is the different types of lichen.  Lichens are actually a symbiotic relationship between algae and a fungus.  A lichen is not a single organism but actually two that are so connected they are often considered one.  Lichens are sensitive the air quality, specifically Sulfur Dioxide (SO2).  Sulfur Dioxide is a by product of burning fossil fuels.  In urban areas the levels of Sulfur Dioxide is too high for many species of lichen to survive.  They simply cannot survive.  The farther you get away from the city the more lichen species seem to show up.  On this rock i found several contrasting examples.  Many lichens that grow on rocks can be decades or even hundreds of years old, slowly spreading over the rock, breaking it down as they go.

Montana is known as Big Sky Country and for good reason.  Everywhere you look the sky seems to be larger than life.  Even in the reflection of a river backwater the sky seems to demand your attention.

Up Next:  Montana Flowers