What is it Wednesday: November 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

November 24, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

There are two turkeys perched in this tree – an adult and a chick.

Turkeys are such large and awkward-looking birds that many people assume they can’t fly, but they can. Turkeys  roost in trees at night, fly into trees for protection, and even eat the tender buds at the tips of tree branches in the spring.

This picture was taken during the summer, when baby turkeys have hatched and are growing up. This chick had grown enough to be able to fly well, and when mama and baby were disturbed they both flew to safety on this branch.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We at LEEP are grateful for all of you! 

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: November 17, 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

November 17, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

These strange looking fruit are paw paws, from a tree at Lutherlyn’s Terra Dei homestead. 

Paw paws are the largest edible fruit native to North America. They are most abundant throughout Appalachia, and at Lutherlyn we are near the northernmost edge of their native range in Pennsylvania. Paw paws are a small understory tree which, in the wild, often grows in lowlands near water. Inside the leathery skin, the fruit has a texture like avocado and tastes a bit like a combination of banana and pear. Once they are ripe, they bruise easily and are only good to eat for a few days.

We have found that here, they often ripen late in the fall, and with this year’s warm fall weather there are some still just ripening even after the leaves have fallen from the tree. This year's harvest is the most fruit we have gotten from our trees yet. We have two trees - one planted about 20 years ago, and one a little more recently, maybe about 15 years ago. One tree has started producing a lot (increasing gradually over the last five or so years, to this year's abundance) and one still has only a few fruit on it every year. 

Paw paws flowers are dark burgundy rather than a bright color, and have a faint and slightly unpleasant scent instead of a strong sweet fragrance. Because of this, they are primarily pollinated by insects such as flies and beetles instead of other more typical pollinators like bees and butterflies. If the right types of pollinators are not around, little or no fruit is produced - as a result, sometimes people assume paw paw trees need a pair in order to produce fruit. One paw paw tree alone can produce fruit, but only if the right pollinators are present. It may take a while for the trees to mature enough to produce lots of flowers, and for the pollinators to be aware they are in the area and be attracted to them - but when they do, the result is lots of delicious paw paws! 

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: November 10, 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

November 10, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 This is a wild honeybee hive that is out in the open on a tree branch,
instead of inside a cavity.

Earlier this summer, when we were establishing beehives at Lutherlyn, the bees disappeared from one of our four hives. This happens occasionally – for some reason the bees “swarm” – they move as a group from the hive box to a different location and establish a new hive there. (Usually this happens when they need more room, or there’s something about their location that is not providing what they need. We’re not sure why one hive swarmed and the other three hives were fine.)

This open hive is about 100 yards away from our established hives, so it seems likely that this is where that swarm established their new home. Usually honeybees establish a hive inside some kind of cavity, like a hole in a tree. It is pretty uncommon for bees to establish a hive in the open like this. The theory is that when there is a dense cluster of leaves on the tree, bees sometimes see an opening into that cluster of leaves and perceive it as a cavity, and end up building their nest inside that cluster of leaves. Of course, once the leaves fall, that space is not protected at all, and the nest is out in the open. Unfortunately, this hive will not survive the winter out in the open, and it is too late in the season for them to create enough honeycomb and honey in a new home in a hive box –they would not survive there either.  Perhaps after the bees have died we can retrieve this honeycomb to learn more about what they produced there.

Honeybees are not native to North America, so any wild honeybee hive we come across in nature is in some way the result of a swarm from a beekeeper. This one just happened to come from very nearby, very recently! We’re looking forward to seeing how our beehives do over the winter and into their second summer at Lutherlyn. Thanks to Pastor Nathaneil Christman for establishing Lutherlyn's hives and keeping them healthy, and also for pointing out this open hive to us!

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: November 3, 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

November 3, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 This large insect is a wheel bug, found in Lutherlyn’s garden at Terra Dei.

The wheel bug is named for its armored crest between the head and abdomen that looks like a wheel with cogs. It is the only insect in this area to have such a crest. 

Adult wheel bugs are large – about an inch and a half long, with a wide and thick abdomen. The nymphs are much smaller, have an arched back, and when young are black with a bright red abdomen. We see the nymphs often on the grapevines at Terra Dei, but the adults are well camouflaged and seldom seen.

Wheel bugs are a type of assassin bug – predatory insects that eat other insects. Some of the insects wheel bugs eat are major garden pests like Japanese beetles and cabbage worms, so despite their intimidating appearance, we love having them around in the garden! Wheel bugs are aggressive predators, but are not aggressive towards humans. However, like most critters, they will bite if disturbed, and have a very painful bite! The bite has been described as more painful than wasp stings, with pain followed by numbness, and discomfort lasting for two weeks. (Despite its unpleasantness, the bite causes no long term damage unless it is infected or causes an allergic reaction.) As we put the garden to bed for the winter it is nice to know helpers like these are around to help keep our garden healthy! 

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 6, 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

October 6, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

This unusual-looking creature is actually a type of moth, known as a plume moth. 

We see them frequently around the dining hall throughout the summer and into early fall.

Plume moths look the way they do because of unusually modified wings, and the resting position of those wings. Each wing is deeply cleft or lobed, creating two or three long narrow sections per wing, often with bristles extending from them. This gives the wings a very feathery look when they are open.

Photo by Didier Descouens from WikiMedia Commons

under license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

 

 However, we almost always see plume moths when their wings are at rest – rolled tightly and extended out to the sides from the body, giving the moth its distinctive T-shape.

Sometimes the more you learn about a simple encounter in nature, the more magical it becomes! 

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!