Where’s Waldo?
I resolved to find and take some fresh pictures for InsectPOD yesterday. No matter that there’s snow on the ground, no matter that the arthropod biosphere is all but depleted, surely there must be something out there I can photograph! Where do the bugs go in the wintertime? I shall find them, and photograph them. Who knows, maybe they’ll be shivering, all blue in the face and with their mandibles chattering.
I am thrilled (and perhaps a bit embarrassed) to say that the arthropod biosphere is flourishing. When I went outside it was about 6°C. As you can see, there is still a solid blanket of snow over much of my back yard. But all I had to do to see a live critter was look down. Did you find Waldo? Here he is:
And here’s a closeup:
Now this little guy is still mostly in hibernation. Nighttime temps hover around -8°C. But I went out this morning to check on Waldo, and he had moved! (Please note that I have no idea what the gender of this caterpillar might be. In the event that he is a she, I would like to take this opportunity to in advance to say “Whoa, I thought you were a dude. My bad. I am so glad we’re not spiders.”)
I said the biosphere was flourishing, enough to embarrass myself for thinking it was inactive. But I’ve posted pictures of hibernating woolly bear caterpillars already. What’s to be embarrassed about? Well, I found another bug in the lawn, and this one was very much not in hibernation. Wanna see the picture? Well… you’ll have to wait until Friday!
(cue spooky music!)
tceisele said,
February 12, 2008 @ 1:05 pm
Hmm, friday. I assume that means a spider is involved?
And, did you turn over any rocks yet?
For that matter, Wanderin’ Weeta has a nice method for finding at least some arthropods in soil, grass clippings and leaf litter: it seems that springtails float. Maybe you could turn up a lot of other stuff this way, too.
Scott said,
February 12, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
Cool!
David Brady said,
February 12, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
tceisele: Okay, Wanderin’ Weeta is now on my daily blogread. COOL!
I haven’t turned over any rocks yet. I don’t have an official “no disturb” policy but I definitely have an unofficial one. Every time I visit my father-in-law he’s says “Hey, wanna go dig up some bugs for your blog?” The first time I said yes I discovered that he was being literal: he grabbed a shovel and headed for the garden.
When possible I like to photograph bugs au naturel, such as a casual stroller might observe just by walking by. Partly it’s an eco-friendly stance, but mostly I feel like manipulating the environment is cheating.
Perhaps this is an overly restrictive stance. I certainly am suffering for photos this winter, and after yesterday’s outing I am convinced that there are millions of bugs just outside my door.
Hmm… it wouldn’t be cheating too much if I were to dig up some midge larvae from the pond floor to photograph. Then again, while it wouldn’t be cheating it would a lot of cold, wet work….
David Brady said,
February 12, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
tceisele wrote: Hmm, friday. I assume that means a spider is involved?
Yep! As I was leaning over the caterpillar for a closeup I saw a flicker of motion out of the corner of my eye. My eyes have become trained to recognize this type of motion, and sure enough, it was a little racing spider. I didn’t get a great photo of it, but I did get one. Friday will be another “where’s waldo” post, only it will be much harder.
Insect Picture of the Day » Woolly Bear said,
February 18, 2008 @ 7:07 am
[…] is “Waldo” from last Monday’s photograph. He actually moves around, though not often and not with any alacrity. It was 6°C outside when I […]