Monday in Nature Weekly Photo July 20, 2015

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<p>Monday Morning Salutations,<br>

Everything in nature changes in some way. Caterpillars become butterflies, acorns become mighty trees, small drips in a cave become fantastic formations. Some are easy to see and others not so.</p>

<p>I'd like to invite you on a bit of a journey into one of natures small changes. Last year I found some white stuff on a log. It got my attention, but I only made mental note of it as too many other items went into my collection basket. Originally I didn't think it was fungal. Then I really took a hard look at it. I was surprised that these milky white blisters on a rotted log were slippery and hard. Maybe they were fungal after all. I finally dug some off the log and took it home, but it was low on the priority list, and the sample sat, unattended. Maybe a month or more passed and I returned to the sample. It was dried, of course, but the white stuff was no longer and in it's place was some black stuff. I wondered if I had an anamorph. Hmmmmmmmm.</p>

<p>So, I decided to start over and waited till this year when the white stuff surfaced on rotted logs in the only place where I've seen it. I now have a pet of white stuff on some well decayed wood that does a wonderful reappearing act with water. It has lovely structures and it's clearly fungal. A better camera for the microscope has been quite helpful. (photos temporarily unavailable due to technical difficulties) While it doesn't have the status of the household felines, it will be treated well. Maybe I'll figure out what it is.</p>

<p>One thing that doesn't change is the great nature photography to enjoy on Monday in Nature. Anyone else have any strange pets from nature?</p><div></div>

<p>Sorry, Laura, no pets from me. My image does depict change, though. The image of these yellow coneflowers comes from a coastal preserve which was all cornfield just a few years ago. The meadows look pretty good already, though the adjacent coastal woodland still has a long, long way to go.</p><div></div>

<p>Hummingbird...</p><div></div>

<p>Leaf edge, 3 images stacked</p><div></div>

<p>Like Christoph's, this image is of a local success. There is little deciduous woodland left in Wales, and what there is, is mainly private, or overgrazed, or both. So this little gem of a place, just a couple of km from the sea so moist and warm, and managed for regrowth and wildlife, is rather special.</p><div></div>

<p>Hi Laura:<br /> He is not considered a pet; but, George, the green frog <em>Rana clamitans, </em>returns Harry's barks when we feed the fish in the pond. Harry's task is to call the fish (Koi, they do respond) and George is now in on the game. On the other hand, Hattie is quite content to observe without participating (Harry and Hattie are 4yr old Corgis).</p><div></div>

<p>If this one were to be a pet, it would be a predator worse than the most fierce tiger, but it's size is less than that of your fingernail. William Blake said it best.<br>

"Tyger! Tyger! burning bright <br /> In the forests of the night, <br /> What immortal hand or eye <br /> Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18056832-lg.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="646" /><br>

Robber Fly, Hoosier National Forest. Pentax K3, Pentax A* 200mm macro f4.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Superb stuff as ever! No pets from me either, but a bee (not sure which kind) coming into land on a bramble flower.</p><div></div>

<p>Not exactly a pet but another picture of the extremophile algae <em>Haloarchaea</em> from the Cullinan Ranch wetlands restoration site in northern California --Sally</p><div></div>

<p>Another non-pet, although I do feel a little proprietorial when these delightful creatures come into the garden, as this one did a couple of days ago. <em>Aeshna cyanea</em>, the Southern Hawker.</p><div></div>

<p>Love the bee shot, Colin</p>

<p>Tiny mushroom (cap size ~ 2mm) in bog. 8 Stacked images?</p><div></div>

<p>Good Morn all. Found this near a mountain of ants....and was v. careful to avoid it :>).</p><div></div>

<p>Sally,</p>

<p>Wow, I don't see microbes often on this page, especially Archaea. I did a postdoc with Methanosarcina so I really appreciate your contribution.</p>

 

<p>Douglas, love your robber fly. Colin, think it is a brown-belted bumble bee.</p>

<p>I haven't noticed a strange pet, but I caught these two Great Spangled fritillaries hovering on the beebalm. Reading further about them taught me that the invasive violets I had been chucking out are host plants for the fritillaries, and their caterpillars feed on them exclusively. Now I'd better enjoy these violet "weeds". :)</p><div></div>

<p>Edwin, you have yourself a species of Physarum, a myxomycete, or slime mold. The "cap" in this genus is known for lime deposits that give a crusty white appearance. That's about as big as they get. Very nice stack.</p>

<p>A pair of the hemipteran, Cosmopepla conspicillaris</p><div></div>

<p>Monarch from one of their stop off locations, Pacific Grove, CA.</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks, Douglas. Private e-mail follows. --Sally</p>

Laura, go figure. I would not have guessed a slime mold. Thanks for the id.

<p>Great images this week.<br>

Mine is not of a sort of pet, last time I was stung by a ancestor of the subject, my hand became twice as thick.</p><div></div>

<p>This Butterfly Weed attracted an insect, just the wrong kind.</p><div></div>

<p>Daisies in Black & White.</p><div></div>

<p>Great nature pics, as usual! Edwin, the beauty of some (Laura would say all) slime molds can take you by surprise.<br>

Swallow-tailed kites regularly skim the surface of the lake for a drink on the fly - it's almost like having pets as I can count on them being there in the late afternoon.</p><div></div>

<p>No pets for me either, just a shot from one of my favourite places to explore, along my back fence. There is a grape vine there, which, depending on the weather and season can change quite dramatically. In the year we have been living there, I have seen it bare and seemingly without life, I have seen it gradually come to life and produce grapes, then die off again. A few months ago, after days and days of rain, it was covered in moss, and to me quite beautiful. Here's a shot of what I found there recently.</p><div></div>