I have been on sabbatical for the last 3 plus months, and it has been a time for self-reflection, new research ideas, manuscript preparation, projects at our new house in Akron, and exciting journeys through the beautiful Cuyahoga National Park system. I am excited about several new research projects that I am currently developing with collaborators across Ohio, and will post more information on these stories in the upcoming months. In the meantime, I wanted to share some pictures taken from my hiking and field work adventures these last few months. Looking forward to a wonderful new year...happy holidays to all! Caption legend
Top left image: A massive spittlebug nest at Fern Valley Reserve in Holmes County Top middle image: A differentiated grasshopper (Melanoplus sp.) sunbathing on a warm day at Fern Valley Reserve Top right image: A wayward mouse found at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio. Right after I snapped this pic, it came right after me! Bottom left image: Fire colored beetle larvae (Family: Pyrochroidae) enjoying a fungal meal under the bark of a rotting ash tree. Bottom middle image: A nest of yellowjackets at the bottom of my rosemary pot! Bottom right image: A wood wasp (Family: Siricidae) trying to lay her eggs into the trunk of an oak tree.
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On the way to the New Canaan Land Trust office, I glanced over to the side of the windshield and saw a green stick-like figure disappear onto the roof of the car. I didn't think much of it as I was driving. However, when I arrived at the office and exited my car, I was shocked to find a praying mantis on the trunk of my car. Now seeing this, I realized that the stick-like figure was the praying mantis. Having driven up to 45 MPH on the way to the office, I was shocked that it was able to stick onto the car. This got me thinking back to the concept of invasive species and how they are moved across countries by humans. As this insect was able to effortlessly cling to my car for 15 minutes, it is easy to imagine that if an insect is on a ship that is crossing the ocean at a much slower pace would easily be able to survive until the ship arrived at the next port. Once at the port, the insect which could be on a shipping container would be offloaded on to the mainland and then be able to expand into the new region. It is amazing to see a concept like this play out in front of you in real life rather than being explained in a classroom.
Last week, I spotted this robber fly (Diptera: Asilidae) munching on a shiny green long-legged fly (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) on the tomatoes in my community garden plot. Every time I see a robber fly, I have to stop and my tracks and ponder at it in amazement. It might not seem obvious, but soldier flies are the absolute terrors of the winged insect world; they are voracious predators of any insect that flies in front of them. They will often capture insects that are much bigger than them, and if you watch them carefully, they perform the most outrageous aerial maneuvers to catch their prey mid-flight. They then take their meal to a nice perch, inject it with dissolving enzymes, and suck it dry. If they weren’t so generalized in their eating preferences, they might be considered beneficial garden insects but, alas, they will readily prey on important pollinators as bees and wasps! Some robber flies even go so far as physically mimic bees to deceive their unsuspecting preyas they stalk them. (https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2014/09/06/robber-fly-mimics-bumblebee/) Some of the larger robber flies can inflict a painful bite if handled. Robber flies are fascinatingly terrifying!
Like many college students, my summer plans were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. I was able to piece together some part-time jobs in my town with previous employers such as the New Canaan Land Trust and the Waveny Conservancy. Both of these jobs afforded me the opportunity of being in the outdoors while requiring minimal effort to maintain proper social distance. My days while working at the Land Trust entail mostly trail maintenance which takes the shape of weed whacking meadow paths and bittersweet trimming in the forest. Bittersweet is a vine that can easily climb up trees and shade them out leaving them standing dead and a threat of collapse on to the trails below.
At the Waveny park in town, my days look slightly different. Instead of clearing paths, I am performing forest succession management. In this specific area, one of the ponds in the park that was severely overgrown has just been cleared out. However, visibility from the trails to the pond remained low as invasive species overtook the surrounding understory. My task has been managing the invasive such as Japanese Barberry, Privet, and Euonymus (burning bush) which has not only improved the sight lines into the pond but the ability for forest succession to properly take place. I am grateful to have been able to piece together a meaningful summer work experience that fits into my areas of interest. While allowing me to maintain connections with past employers in my hometown of New Canaan. |
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