What is it Wednesday archive: October 31, 2018

 Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

October 31, 2018. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 This eerie looking fungus has a spooky name: dead man’s fingers. 

Here it is growing out of a dead log, but it is sometimes found poking up out of soil or leaf litter, perhaps giving the appearance of fingers reaching out of a grave. Spooky! 

There is something dead here, but it’s not fingers. Dead man’s fingers, like most other fungus, lives by consuming the decaying matter of dead wood, which helps the dead sticks, logs, trees and roots in our forests turn into soil to nurture the next generation of plants. 

There are many cases in nature of something looking “scary” to us, and maybe even leading to a superstition, when it is just doing its job. Learning about these things can help us see what we encounter in nature as less scary and more interesting. 

For more on how LEEP can help you can transform the scary into the fascinating through knowledge, check out www.Lutherlyn.com/ee. 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: October 28, 2020

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

October 28, 2020. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

This is a dead moth covered by a cordyceps fungus.

There are over 400 species of cordyceps fungus worldwide, most in Asia, but a handful are found in Pennsylvania. Some grow on the larvae and pupae of insects, and others grow off of other fungi. Some produce visible club mushrooms above the surface of the soil. And some, occasionally, parasitize adult moths like this one.

In conditions with the correct temperature and high humidity, spores from the fungus land on an insect and penetrate its body. As the fungus begins to infest the insect, the insect often moves to a high resting place, like the end of a branch. The fungus then develops further inside the insect and eventually emerges to its surface, completely covering it and killing it. The strands that extend from the surface of the fungus, along with the high resting place of the insect, make it easier for the new spores of the fungus to disperse.

Fungi that function this way are called entomopathogenic -- entomo means having to do with insects and a pathogen is an organism that causes disease or harm to its host. Some types of entomopathogenic  cordyceps fungi that control their hosts’ behavior are called “zombie fungus” – spooky! Other types of cordyceps mushrooms are valued in traditional Chinese medicine or are being studied as possible natural insect controls. Happy Halloween everyone! 

What is it Wednesday archive: October 30, 2019

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

October 30, 2019. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 This beautiful spider is an orange marbled orb weaver. 

There are many color variations of marbled orb weaver, but the bright orange variety seen here give this spider the common name “pumpkin spider” and makes it a perfect feature for October and Halloween! 

Spiders have two body parts – the abdomen and cephalothorax (head and “chest” in one section). The abdomen is the most visible part in this picture, the cephalothorax is just barely visible (and a bit blurry) on the spider’s bottom right side under its outstretched legs.

All orb weavers are part of the arachnid family Araneidae. That makes this orb weaver a relative of the  yellow and black Argiope garden spider, a previous What is it Wednesday feature. All orb weavers build a round web with “spokes” of thread radiating outward from the center, some of them sticky “capture” threads. While argiopes wait for their prey in the middle of the web, marbled orb weavers wait for their prey while concealed off to the side of their web. A single signal thread reaches from the center of the web to their hiding spot, and vibrations on this thread of the web alert the spider that something has landed in the web.

The bright colors and large abdomen of this spider give it a startling appearance, but they are docile and non-aggressive, so humans have nothing to fear from them. In fact, they are great neighbors to have, because by preying on insects, they help control insect populations. In fact, most of the creatures that humans fear in nature are harmless and just doing their job as part of the ecosystem.

For more on how LEEP can help you transform your view of nature from fearful to fascinating, through school field trips, Saturday Safaris, summer camp, retreats and more, check out www.Lutherlyn.com/ee. Happy Halloween everyone!  

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: October 14, 2020

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

October 14, 2020. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

This amazing mushroom is often known as sheepshead (especially in Western PA). 

It is also called hen-of-the-woods, maitake, and ram’s head. Its scientific name is grifola frondosa. It is considered a choice edible and is also used medicinally. It has no dangerous look-alikes - the few mushrooms that resemble it  are also edible (though not as delicious). It is not at all uncommon to find specimens as big as the one in this photo, and sometimes even larger!

Always remember that whenever trying a new wild food it is important to make sure you have the correct identification and preparation, and to try a small amount at first to make sure you don’t have a bad reaction. With mushrooms especially, confirm identification with multiple sources and/or a trusted expert. (As always, the safest way to be sure you don’t eat any poisonous wild mushrooms is to not eat  any wild mushrooms.)

Congrats to our friend Zachary for such a wonderful find! 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: October 7, 2020

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

October 7, 2020. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

This is the nest of a leaf-cutter bee. 

Leaf-cutters are solitary bees, slightly smaller than honey bees, and similar in appearance but a bit darker.

Female leaf-cutter bees construct nests by cutting small circular pieces from the edges of leaves, which they stick together into a tube inside a hollow spot, usually in rotting wood or other narrow spaces. Each “cell” of the tube contains one egg, and pollen and nectar. Each nest may contain a dozen cells, and each female bee may create several nests, laying up to 40 eggs. When the egg hatches, the larva feeds on the pollen and nectar. The larva will eventually spin a cocoon and pupate inside the cell. The adult bee emerges from the cocoon and overwinters  inside the cell, then in the spring chews its way through the leaves and emerges to mate and begin the cycle again. (You can see the small holes left behind by the emerging adults in this old nest we found.) 

Leaf-cutter bees are good pollinators. Females collect pollen on many small hairs on the underside of their abdomens. This makes it easy for the pollen from one plant to brush off as a bee visits another plant, helpfully spreading pollen from plant to pant. There are native as well introduced species of leaf-cutter bees throughout North America. Leaf-cutter bees rarely sting, only when handled, and their sting is mild.

You can identify the presence of leaf-cutters near you by spotting the circular or half-circle holes left behind in the edges of leaves. Lots of other leaf-eating insects leave holes in the edges of leaves (caterpillars, beetles, katydids, walkingsticks, etc.). The holes left behind by leaf-cutter bees are very smooth and circular, while those left behind by other insects are more ragged and irregular. 

circular holes left behind by leaf-cutter bees, in redbud tree leaves

You may also find evidence of the leaf-cutter bees by finding their nests left behind in narrow gaps and holes in wood dead trees or man-made structures.  

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!