Rambling thoughts: 100 Degrees of Nature

Depending on where you live, you may not have the pleasure of sweating through day after day of near 100-degree temps as we are in DFW. This morning I went out from 8:30am-10:30am and came home drenched, despite staying in the shade 80% of the time. I wish we had a pool, but since we don't, I keep on keepin' on with nature.

It seems like I've been busier than usual lately. I enjoy having "projects" to learn from, and I've get several going at the moment, which you have probably noticed if you are following my observations. I'm in the middle of photographing Hackberry Galls for a "reference" point of what we see in the field versus what Gagne described and photographed in 2013.

I've also been learning about and rearing leafminers to document life-cycles, which I always find interesting. These micromoths and flies are tricky though. I seem to be documenting more parasitoid wasps instead. Oh well! Still interesting!

I've really struggled with the Bluebird monitoring this year. Just as I got all the boxes prepped for the season and volunteers ready to help, COVID19 pulled the rug out from under us. Instead of being able to check the boxes every 3-4 days with the help of 4 resident volunteers, I'm doing good if I can make it by all 50 boxes once a week on my own. I've also had a record breaking year of fledglings, too! 195 so far and another 60 growing big and strong. If not for being able to see those sweet little faces from hatching to adolescence, I'd have given up a long time ago!

And today kicks off National Moth Week! Wooohooo!! I'm much more excited than I have energy for at the moment, though. I'll put out my mothing gear tomorrow and hopefully get to see some very-very-very-missed friends at a covid-minded gathering at the end of the week. A couple of moths ago I joined a project to collect some particular micromoths that will hopefully help the microlepidoptera research community on some gaps and unknown species. I've been slacking on that and I'm looking forward to seeing what's new at the light since I put it out last.

If you hung in there with me this long, tell me what iNat-ish stuff you've been up to lately! I miss seeing my IRL iNatters so much!! Stay cool...

Publicado el sábado, 18 de julio de 2020 a las 01:27 AM por kimberlietx kimberlietx

Comentarios

I don't see how human beings can live in the U.S. any further east than Stephenville--it's bad enough here. The compounding effects of humidity and temperature are unbearable to this West Texas boy, reared in a location where sweating actually works as a thermoregulatory mechanism to dissipate excess heat! I succumb to overheating just sitting in a chair at the bug sheet. Moth week needs to be moved to the spring or fall!

I've been obsessing over my Tiny Beetle Club. Tiny beetles arrive early to my sheet at night, so I don't have to stay up late and sweat them out.

I've been identifying my focal taxa listed on my Profile page.

I've collected a few Bombus pensylvanicus and B. sonorus from a location where both occur together and am sequencing their DNA to determine if they hybridize as some have claimed. I'll get those observations posted once the DNA sequencing is done.

I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of March when I'll be searching north-west-centralish TX for a possible new species of Anemone!

And I'm enjoying seeing what emerges from @kimberlietx 's leaf miners.

Anotado por pfau_tarleton hace mas de 3 años

Being at high risk for COVID-19 limits my outside activities a lot. So, as far as INat activities go, I just try to help identify plants in observations. I enjoy researching to learn about some of the species with which I’m not familiar. As for insects and other areas of nature, I just photograph what I see around my house and post observations. I know that the humidity had really gotten to be a problem in the DFW area before I moved in February. But it is constant here on the coastal plains. For instance, today the sun is shining, but the humidity is 99%! I can hardly wait until cooler temps allow me to explore my new location. In the meantime, I enjoy seeing the observations of other people, especially those in the DFW area where I lived for 47 years.

Anotado por suz hace mas de 3 años

@pfau_tarleton Every time I see a tiny beetle I wonder if it's in your club already. And then I get distracted by the hundreds of photos I edit and post, and then I forget to look! I want to do that this week and see how many overlap. I love the Anemone hunt every spring, and I'm expanding into Triodanis now too! Dare I ask if you will be at Acton on Saturday?

@suz I grew up in Houston, so I remember the constant humidity well. I really want to come visit you this fall, so Covid better be flat as a pancake by then! crossing fingers

Anotado por kimberlietx hace mas de 3 años

@kimberlietx hopefully by fall we will be able to explore the many nature locations in this area. When I look on the iNat map after posting an observation, I see so many that I want to explore! I will look forward to seeing you in the fall. Hopefully, by then I'll have drapes and/or curtains covering my windows. Everything came to a standstill in March, and it still can't seem to get going. I'm grateful that the plants haven't quit flowering and bearing fruit and seed!

Anotado por suz hace mas de 3 años

Añade un comentario

Entra o Regístrate para añadir comentarios