What is it Wednesday archive: May 16, 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

May 16, 2018. 

And the answer is....

The black dots inside the spirally blobs of gel are spring peeper eggs, found in the garden pond at Terra Dei. 

These were discovered in late April and are now hundreds of tadpoles. In about another month they will hop out of the pond as small frogs. 

Spring peepers are responsible for the high-pitched “peeping” sounds heard when the weather gets warm. Many people think this sound is created by an insect, but it is actually the call of these small frogs looking for a mate. Though they are not much larger than a fingernail, they can raise quite a loud sound on spring and summer nights!

The LEEP staff frequently encounters spring peepers during Animal Encounters in Life in the Wild camp, on night hikes during summer camp and overnight field trips, during Camp Blast and other special occasions, and of course they are the backdrop sound of summer nights at Lutherlyn. Check out Lutherlyn.com for more on ways you can visit Lutherlyn and encounter these delightful little parts of God’s creation. 

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: April 15, 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

April 15, 2020. 

And the answer is....

This is a northern spring salamander, found along the Chapel Rock trail near Shawnee Run last week. 

Spring salamanders are part of the family of lungless salamanders, which take in oxygen through their skin. Because of this, they require a habitat with cold, unpolluted water with a lot of oxygen. They love hanging out in and near springs, seeps, and flowing streams – which perfectly describes the area where this salamander was found. 

This salamander appeared to be injured – it was sitting in the middle of the sunny trail, had blood in its mouth, and you can just see in the photo a raw patch of skin on the back of its head. I suspect some critter – maybe a garter snake – tried to eat it and changed its mind. Like many amphibians, spring salamanders release toxic secretions from their skin that deter predators. It may be hard to tell because of how it is positioned in this picture, but this salamander was big enough to require two hands when I carried it in some leaves to a safer and shadier spot near the stream.

We don’t see spring salamanders often at Lutherlyn, maybe because they are mostly nocturnal, but we usually come across one or two a year. Based on its size and color this salamander was probably an “elder” - older spring salamanders have a darker color and fewer mottled markings than younger ones. They can live up to 18 years and spend 3-4 years as a juvenile in the water! I hope it survived whatever caused its injury that day.

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 archive: August 21, 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

August 21, 2019.

And the answer is....

This is an owl pellet. 

Owls are predators who eat their prey whole or in large chunks. Parts of the prey that are not digestible (like bones, claws, etc.) get compressed into a pellet in the owl’s gut and regurgitated. 

Owls usually produce about one pellet a night, so several are often found in the same place, where owls perch night after night. We often find owl pellets around Upper Lake, especially in the evergreen trees near Bullfrog fire circle.

Dissecting an owl pellet is an interesting way to find out more about the owl’s habits. What do you think this owl has been eating?

We at LEEP love to check out things that have been regurgitated, excreted, and decomposed! Eww! For more about how LEEP can help you move such things from something gross to something fascinating that connects you to the natural world around us, 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 archive: November 6, 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

November 6, 2019.

And the answer is....

This is the case of an evergreen bagworm moth. 

Each bagworm moth caterpillar begins to create a case from the vegetation around it soon after it hatches, and can move short distances while inside the case. In this stage the case provides a camouflaged habitat for the caterpillars.

When the caterpillar is ready to pupate, it spins silk to attach the case to a twig and seals the case shut – it is now the cocoon where the caterpillar will transform into an adult moth. 

After metamorphosis, adult male evergreen bagworm moths emerge as a small fuzzy black moth with transparent wings and feathery antennae. Female evergreen bagworm moths, however, remain inside their cases after metamorphosis. They continue to resemble caterpillars, with no wings or antennae and very small legs. When a female emits a pheromone, a male will extend its abdomen inside the female’s case to mate. The female stays inside the case after the eggs are fertilized and eventually dies there. The following spring the eggs hatch and the new larvae emerge from the case, to begin creating their own new cases.

The cases seen here were photographed in October, so likely are either empty (a male moth has left it behind after emerging) or hold eggs. Bagworm caterpillars do eat the plants they live on, so we will pick these cases off to prevent damage to this pine tree, and check the trees around it as well. In some places bagworm infestations can cause serious damage to host plants, but here in Pennsylvania they are usually a minor nuisance.

For more on how LEEP can help you identify the unusual things you find in nature and how to care for your natural surroundings, through school field trips, summer camp, Saturday safaris, special events, and more, 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 archive: November 13, 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

November 13, 2019. 

And the answer is....

This is the egg case of a praying mantis. 

In the late fall, a female mantis lays between 12 and 400 eggs, then covers them with a frothy substance that quickly hardens, creating this case. A hardened egg case is known as an ootheca and protects the eggs inside from weather and predators throughout the winter. In the spring, the nymphs hatch from the eggs then emerge from the case, ready to hunt.

We found this case when removing tree shelters from places where we had planted American Chestnuts. When we saw the case on this one, we left the shelter there, so the eggs can hatch and provide the world with more of these captivating predators. 

Since praying mantises eat other insects, they can be helpful to have around gardens and houses – if you see an egg case like this, leave it where it is and support the mantis population!

For more on how LEEP can help you spot the benefits in the details of the nature around us, through school field trips, Saturday Safaris, summer camp, special events and more, 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: June 12, 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. 

 June 12, 2019. 

And the answer is....

Sometimes we post a What is it Wednesday picture of something that also made us say “What is it?!” This is one of those instances. 

This strange creature, about an inch and a half long, was found swimming in the garden pond at Terra Dei. With a little poking around in field guides and online we were able to determine that it is the larva of a diving beetle.

While we don’t see the larva often, diving beetles are very common in ponds and other slow-moving water. Diving beetles act like scuba-divers – at the surface of the water they attach a bubble of air to the underside of their abdomens, then breathe from that bubble of air while swimming underwater. There are many species, of various sizes and color patterns. 

Diving beetles live in the water as both larvae and adults, but because they can also fly, they can migrate from one body of water to another.

At LEEP we love continuing to learn! For more about how LEEP can help you continue to learn about the world of nature around us, through summer camp, school field trips, Saturday safaris, and more, 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: May 29, 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 

May 29, 2019. 

And the answer is....

This big floppy flying insect is not a giant mosquito, it’s a crane fly. 

They are sometimes seen gathering around lights at night in the summertime, or floating around the forest, and they are harmless – they can’t bite or sting. 

We often see crane fly larvae during stream studies – although the adults live on land and fly in the air, the larvae live in the water. The larvae are one of our favorite “creepy-cool” things to find in the stream – they are a large white segmented “worm” about the size of a finger, and often do a wiggly “dance” in the water.

Stream studies are probably the number one most popular LEEP activity! To find out how you can be a part of a stream study at summer camp, a school field trip, or other special events, 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: May 15, 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

May 15, 2019. 

And the answer is....

This is the skin of a cicada nymph. Annual (every-year) cicadas are common in late summer, around August and September. The nymphs develop underground for 2-5 years, then emerge and climb up a tree, plant, or other structure. The adult emerges from the nymph skin, leaving this “shell” behind. Annual cicada are also sometimes also called “Dog Day Cicadas” because they emerge in the “dog days” of late summer. 

adult annual cicada

The familiar sounds are made by the adult males to attract a mate. The sounds are produced by vibrating drum-like plates on their abdomens called tymbals. Their mostly-hollow abdomens magnifies the sound, which can be quite overwhelming during a large emergence! 

Periodic cicadas are famous for remaining underground for 13 or 17 years, then emerging in large numbers. Different “broods” emerge in different years in different regions. When so many cicadas emerge all at once, there are way more than predators can eat, ensuring that many cicadas will survive to reproduce. Nymphs of both annual and periodic cicadas are not dormant when they are underground – they are tunneling and feeding on plant juices which they suck from the roots. 

17 year cicada

photo from Wikimedia Commons, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

In 2019, brood VIII of 17 year cicadas will be emerging in parts of western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia! They emerge when the soil is 64 degrees F – usually mid-May to early June. Keep an eye (and ear) out for these amazing creatures! They are the longest-living insects on earth. 

They aren’t harmful, and spraying them with pesticides provides very little benefit to people, but can harm the insects, the animals that eat them, and the ecosystems they are a part of. 

Let us know if you hear or see them in your area!

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: April 17, 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

April 17, 2019. 

And the answer is....

These are both redback salamanders, but the one in the center of the photo is an unusual color variation known as a “leadback.” 

Redback salamanders typically look like the one in the bottom of the photo – dark and a little speckled on the sides and belly, with a brick-red stripe running the length of the back. Upon seeing a leadback, some people may think the red stripe hasn’t developed yet, but the stripe is either present from the beginning of a redback salamander’s life, or it is not present at all.

For more on how LEEP can help you learn about the splendid variety of nature, through school field trips, summer camp, Saturday safaris, special events, and more 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 archive: fall 2017

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 

sometime in the fall of 2017. 

And the answer is....

This is what is left of a spruce cone after a red squirrel has been eating it. 

We often find these littering the paths through patches of evergreen forest at Lutherlyn. 

Gray squirrels predominantly hang out in deciduous forest, while red squirrels prefer evergreen forests, which are also known as coniferous forests because they produce cones. 

The seeds in the cones are hidden at the base of its “scales” so a squirrel has to peel off the scales to get to the food they want, leaving behind a litter of scales and  something that looks a lot like a tiny corn cob!