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!

What is it Wednesday: February 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

February 24, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

This is an abandoned nest of a house wren, which was built under
the lid of thepropane tank at Lutherlyn's Terra Dei Homestead.
(It was discovered when we needed to check
the level of the tank a week or two ago.) 

It’s not clear why the nest was abandoned, or why one of the eggs has a hole in it and the others were left intact. When a baby bird emerges from its egg the egg is usually broken fully into two or more pieces, but this egg only has a small hole in it. If a predator ate the egg, why didn’t it eat the rest of them? Perhaps the mother bird was unable to return to the nest to continue incubating the eggs, and when an animal discovered the eggs some time later it broke into the eggs looking for a meal but discovered they were empty. It is unclear what happened but it was an interesting surprise to find a nest with eggs in it in the dead of winter. It this area, only large birds like owls and eagles are incubating eggs in a nest this time of year.  

It is pretty clear that this is the nest of a house wren, because it is built of a platform of coarse sticks with a small lining of smaller twigs, grasses and feathers in the center of the nest. 

The number, size, shape and color of the eggs also match that of house wren nests. 

House wrens are also well-known for building nests in any unusual protected nook they can find. Peterson’s Field Guide to Bird’s Nests says they have been recorded as nesting in “radiator of unused auto, top of pump, empty cow skull, leg of work pants on clothesline, flowerpot, pocket of scarecrow, boots, shoes, in or on nests of other birds.” Here they found a well-protected area completely covered by the cap covering the propane tank controls. With the cap in place, you can just barely see the bottom twigs poking out of the gap at the bottom. No wonder we didn't see the nest until February! 

If you find a bird nest, noting the size, shape, building materials and location of the nest will help you identify what type of bird has built it. If the nest has eggs in it, the size, shape, color and number of eggs will also narrow things down. Keep an eye out and you may find bird nests in both surprising and expected locations, and in nesting season and all year long. 

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 8, 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

August 8, 2018. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

These are the eggs of a squash bug, on the bottom of a zucchini leaf.

Squash bug is a pest of zucchini, butternut, pattypan, cucumber, and other plants in the squash family. 

The Lutherlyn gardens at Terra Dei use no chemicals as pesticides or fertilizers, so often we try to control pests by hand. When we find squash bug eggs, we squash ‘em! 

Birds, frogs, toads, snakes, and some insects also help us control pest populations by eating animals that could be pests. We have added many features around Terra Dei to provide habitat for these helpful predators. This allows us to supplement the dining hall salad bar with fresh, organic, very local veggies!

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: sometime in 2017?

What is it Wednesday

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 2017 - probably August. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

tomato hornworm with parasites

This is a tomato hornworm caterpillar, covered with parasitic wasp pupae! 

Tomato hornworms are a terrible garden pest that can grow to 4-5 inches long and decimate a tomato patch, leaving large round gouges in the tomatoes they have eaten. If you find a tomato hornworm in your garden, kill it! 

But if you find a tomato hornworm in your garden that has white ovals on its back, keep it. Those ovals are the pupae of a parasitic wasp which kills tomato hornworms. Keeping them helps the wasp population, which controls the tomato hornworm population. 

The wasp lays its eggs under the skin of the tomato hornworm. When the larvae hatch, they begin to eat the insides of the caterpillar. The protective case of the pupae stick out of the skin of the caterpillar, and those are the white ovals we see. By the time the wasps emerge as adults, the tomato hornworm is dead or near death. This means the tomato hornworm won't itself go through metamorphosis, become and adult moth, and lay eggs to create more tomato hornworms.  

Allowing the animals that naturally co-exist in your garden to help control your pests is a part of "integrated pest management", or IPM. IPM is an approach to controlling pests that uses as many natural controls as possible, and chemical pesticides as little as possible or not at all. This sometimes involves encouraging predators which will help control pests, by creating habitat for them in or near the garden. Sometimes all it takes is recognizing a beneficial insect (in this case, the parasitic wasp) and not killing it. 

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: 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: May 6, 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

May 5, 2020. 

And the answer is....

This is the broken egg of a wild turkey, found at the edge of the forest behind Baker Chapel. We found at least three eggs in this one spot. 

Wild turkeys make their nests on the ground in dead leaves at the bases of trees, under brush piles or thick shrubbery, or occasionally in open fields or meadows.

Turkeys begin to lay eggs in April and early May, laying one egg a day until the nest contains 8-15 eggs. After the last egg is laid, the hen begins to incubate them all. The baby turkeys, called poults, generally begin to hatch in June. This nest was probably pilfered by a predator. Animals that might eat turkey eggs include raccoons, opossums, skunks, gray foxes, groundhogs, and snakes. If a turkey’s initial nest fails to produce poults, the hen will often lay another clutch of eggs in a new nest.

When you are out in nature, take some time to observe all around you, at various heights, including on the ground – you might find surprising things!

  

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: May 8, 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 8, 2019. 

And the answer is....

These are the eggs of a red-back salamander. (We saw a variation of the redback salamander, called a “leadback,” in a recent What is it Wednesday post.)  

Redback salamanders lay their eggs in grooves in rotting logs, or sometimes under decaying leaves, like these ones, in late spring and early summer. The eggs are laid in a grape-like cluster, usually attached by a single thread to the leaves or log. The female salamander stays with the eggs and young salamanders, protecting them until they are large enough to head out on their own.

Redback salamanders are one of the most common salamanders we see at Lutherlyn, and looking for salamanders and other amphibians is one of our most popular nature activities at Camp Blast! Join us this Saturday May 11 for this fun FREE open house for EVERYONE with dozens of great Lutherlyn activities happening all day. Check out www.Lutherlyn.com/campblast to find out more! 

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!