Yes! “Unsung heroes? How hoverflies play key pollination role”
Just posted: a new article about the role that Hoverflies play in pollination and how they will (and do) help to balance the work of bees while we search for answers on the Colony Collapse disorder. For those in the KMC / Rhineland Palatinate – Has anyone seen any other locals?? 1. Marmalade Hoverfly 2.…
Up close: Two Snails & a Slug
1. Roman Snail Spotted during the rainy days of April, this gastropoda snail is called Helix pomotia (Family: Helicidae) and is apparently edible as a form of escargot; however, it’s listed as protected in Germany under the Bundesartenschutzverordnung. Apparently, they mate at the end of May and lay their eggs in June and July. There’s…
Bug-Hunting on a Cold Mid-Spring Afternoon – They need shelter too!
We just got past the three days of the “Ice Saints” and the polar vortex still lingers for several days. It feels as though Spring has abandoned us, or worse, betrayed us to Winter winds. I woke to 3C, finding yet another Cucumber plant dead in a pot in the front yard. By 10 a.m.…
Macro shots: 5 Ladybirds of SW Germany
7-Spotted Ladybird The biggest feature of this lovely ladbybird is the heart shape pointed towards the heart, held up by two white half-circles as though they were bushes under a tree. The white spots are perhaps echos of the spots around the eyes, meant to distract a predator to the shield rather than the face.…
Macro shots: Butterflies & Moths of SW Germany
Pieridae Butterflies Orange Tip – Anthocharis cardamines LHPs include: Cuckoo FLower (Cardamines pratensis); Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata); Tower Cress (Arabis turrita); Honesty Plant (Lunaria annua); Herperis lacinata. Artogeia rapae – Small White Polyvoltine. LHPs primarly brassicaceae, and also Capparis spinos, Atriplex sp, and Reopaeolaceae and Resedaceae Nymphalidae Nymphalis sp. This butterfly, Anthocharis cardamines, prefers to…
European Nettles & Look-alike Friends
Stinging Nettle & Protein Soup The most familiar Nettle known among children is the dreaded Stinging Nettle. Whether walking along a path with ankles exposed, or reaching down to pick up a rock, it’s easy to brush a foot or hand against the fast growing small leaves blending in among other harmless plants. The German…
Macro shots: 30 Bugs from SW Germany
Ladybugs 7-Spotted 14 Spotted Hyaline Grass Bug This bug somewhat looks like a stinkhorn; however, it is distinguished by its thickly tipped antennae and the wings which extend past the main body. Liorhyssus hyalinus, Family: Rhopalidae Not a picky eater! It’s listed as “extremely polyphagous” with preference for Asteraceae, which is why it is no…
A Visual tour of Bees, Wasps, & Hoverflies in SW Germany
In the last two months, I’ve regretted every moment that I went outside without a camera. It’s since become a permanent feature on my head-swiveling shoulders. What I learned was first, exhausting. Catching bees up close is a spirited chase followed by followed yogic postures involving squats, planks, and lunges. I definitely didn’t appreciate what…
Kid’s Book Review: “How the Goldfinch got his Colors”
Reading about real world Goldfinches has only made me appreciate our latest children’s book about how the rainbow colored Goldfinch got it’s colors. As I teach my daughter how to feed the birds in Winter, I’m hoping to spark some interest in bird watching when we get the Spring arrivals. The story starts when ‘the…
Guide to Nature Identification Apps: Part I
“PictureThis: Identify Plant, Flower, Weed, and More.” As an amaeuter naturalist, I am constantly scanning the surrounding area for birds, plants, insects, mushrooms, and more. For years, I have used the app “PictureThis” to categorize plants as I travel through Asia, Europe, the Levant, and the States. I’ve collected over 800 plants so far, and…
European Blue Tits
#macrophotography #birding #nature No, this isn’t a raunchy post–it’s about the birds that live in my backyard. However, they were incredibly difficult to ID with the naked eye. I was finally able to snap the pictures below after buying an 80mm birding monocular from Amazon.com. For close-up or “macro” photography, you need at least 50mm…
Comparing 4 Types of Eucalyptus Trees in Jerusalem
Growing up in Southern California, I remember the spicy aroma in the air when the Eucalyptus trees dropped their leaves, leaving them to decompose in a pile. Little did I know that there are more than 700 types of Eucalyptus species! On a trip to visit the Jerusalem botanical gardens, I was amazed to find…
Four easily spotted Birds in Israel
1. Hoopoe I was walking along the beach in Tel Aviv when a stunning bird caught me by surprise. It had a hammer-like plume on its head, with a brown chest coupled with black and white stripes on its wings. This Hoopoe – Upupa epops turned out to be the state bird of Israel. I…
How much Humidity is needed for Houseplants and Health?
Preventing the Common Cold Shortly before reading an article on the health benefits of raising the humidity of the air, a colleague of mine mentioned how he would turn on the humidifier in his bedroom when one of his kids got sick, which seemed to limit the time they were sick and also prevented others…
Himalayan Blackberry Brambles – Invasive Tip Layering and Sturdy Root Balls
Himalayan Blackberry bush – or another name by which I like to call it – The Great Bramble. In my rural village in the Rhineland Palatinate of Germany, it seems the entire neighborhood has been taken up by these giant sprawling brambles. While they do produce a multitude of blackberries for the birds (and people)…
10 Mushrooms of the KMC
Located in Hermersberg, Germany, the first week of October, 2019. 1. “White Dapperling” – Leucoagaricus Leucothites I originally mistook this for an highly poisonous Amanita aka “Deathcap” because of the white caps, a ring around the younger mushroom, and white spore print. However, the caps have a much more rounded umbrella, the base is shaped…
Waunder 