What is it Wednesday: March 24, 2021

 

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

March 24, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

These are the eggs of yellow perch

(both in the hand and in the water). 

Perch are one of the first aquatic animals to lay large masses of eggs in early spring in Miller Lake at Lutherlyn. 

Unlike bluegills and bass, yellow perch don’t build a nest for laying and developing eggs. Instead, females lay their long spiraling strands of eggs along the bottom of the shallow edges of lakes and ponds, sometimes draping them over sticks and vegetation. The males then deposit sperm over the strands of eggs. Eggs hatch in about 8-10 days. Neither the male nor female perch protect or care for the eggs or young. It is thought that perch eggs have a chemical deterrent, as they are rarely eaten by fish or other predators even though they are unprotected.

There are many signs that nature is “waking up” as winter fades and spring arrives. What spring signs have you noticed, in waters or on land? 

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!