If they weren’t such ferocious predators you might compare these guys to Laurel and Hardy. Common freshwater insects of ponds, marshes, and lakes these guys represent the big and tall end of invertebrate predators. But don’t look for laughs. Neither has a particularly comical side to its personality.
Nicknamed “Toe Biter” the Giant Water Bug is a master predator.
The long, narrow shape of the Water Scorpion makes it nearly impossible to see – until it’s too late.
Water Scorpions and Giant Water Bugs have something else in common – at either end of their fascinating bodies. Both insects are considered “Piercer Predators.” As the name implies they have a hardened beak at the end of their head which they use to pierce and kill prey. The giant water bug actually has the ability to inject enzymes similar to that of spiders for pre-digestion. Both use long forelegs to grasp their victims. And since both the water scorpion and the giant water bug have a tendency to hang upside down and wait for prey, each has a specialized breathing apparatus at the tip of the abdomen which extends just above the water surface.
You’d think with all the water we have in our Northwest clime we’d see a lot more representatives of Testudinae here. Unfortunately this is not the case. Our abundance of H20 comes at a cost, well known to us natives, in sunshine. Turtles may love water, but they adore sunlight almost as much, a quality we definitely lack for a good portion of the year. Basically, we have three species: the Red Eared Pond Slider, the Painted Turtle, and the endangered Western Pond Turtle. Snapping Turtles have reportedly been introduced and are found in isolated pockets in Oregon and Washington. But there is one surprise. According to the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians the giant, half ton Leatherback Turtle is seen along our coast as far north as British Columbia. Now that would be a sight to behold!
The Painted Turtle on the left displays the distinctive red and orange blend that give it its name. In the middle is the unmistakable red ear of the Red Eared Slider. And on the right is the speckled and exceedingly rare Western Pond Turtle. This particular specimen was brought to the Northwest Trek Park after being found wandering around a convenience store parking lot.
But unless you have special equipment, time, and a lot of luck you are far more likely to see our three most common representatives: the Red Eared Slider, the Painted Turtle, and the endangered Western Pond turtle. These three chelonians are collectively grouped in the family Emydidae, a very diverse, worldwide gang of shelled reptiles that includes the box turtles as well. Sliders and Painted turtles are by far the most common of the lot, sort of like the garter snakes of the turtle world and subspecies of them are found throughout the US. The Western Pond turtle is a much rarer commodity. The Peterson Field guide even opines that it is probably extinct in western Washington. I have seen proof (see photo) that this is not the case, but the turtle is exceedingly rare.
Sometimes the solution to a problem is so obvious it escapes attention.Take the case of animal whiskers.Do you realize how many animals have them?In the mammal world, in fact, the with whiskered far outweigh the whiskerless.Consider for a moment how many mammals are whiskerless:Primates, elephants, whales, dolphins…Not too many more than that.Sloths and most bats seem to get along without them, but the list gets pretty thin after that.Now think how many mammal species have them – just about every other mammal on earth.Forget humans, by the way.That stylish thing we call a moustache is utterly useless in the realm of real world survival.
By the way, animals are VERY good for your health. Find the proof here: Positive Health Wellness
The wonderful world of whiskers. From Beavers to Squirrels and Sea Lions just about every mammal has them. Marine mammals boast the most sensitive.
With that many whiskers sprouting out in the animal kingdom there must be some very useful function associated with them and of course there is.These particular tactile hairs are called vibrissae.That they have a special name is really not all that special.The hair itself, although distinctly different than mammal fur, is no more alive than the hair on your own head.Vibrissae, despite the exotic name, essentially do nothing more than wave around in the air and bump into things.The real story is on the other end of the whisker, the sensitive follicle at its base. Loaded with nerve endings the follicle is sensitive to the slightest movement of the whisker.
It’s one of those things you read about and hear about all the time but seldom see. Then one day you happen to notice an odd discoloration on plant such as a sunflower. You look a bit closer and notice something even more odd – the discoloration is moving.
So you look closer. And there they are herding and milking aphids in the same way we humans herd dairy cows.
In this case a species of harvester ants tends to a herd of root aphids common throughout North America. It’s a real bargain for both the insect and the tiny invertebrates that belong to the Aphidae family.
Ants protect their herd as fearlessly as sheep dogs and reap a reward of sweet nectar by a specialized tapping of their antenna against the rear of the aphid. This nectar, called honey dew, is produced from the anus of the aphid. Despite the fact that aphids are a major agricultural pest this unique invertebrate relationship is fascinating to observe.
The big serpents loose in the Florida swamplands have been in the news lately and people down south are understandably concerned about these big constrictors ( please see note below). They are a real hazard.Now I doubt that any of these big snakes could survive one of our Northwest winters (or even summer for that matter) but it is worth noting that we have a very interesting constrictor of our own – the Rubber Boa, Charina bottae.
At a maximum length of less than three feet our boa constrictor is hardly a threat to anything but mice and other very small animals. They are, however, true constrictors and member or the Boidae family of snakes that include the giant pythons and boas of the world.As you may suspect our representative gets its name from the rubbery feel of its scales and body. As you can see from the photographs the scales of this snake are large, quite smooth and glossy. Compare this to the rough keeled scales of the garter snake and the difference in texture is obvious.
Due to the large number of subscriber fleas I have shut down unrestricted subscription to this website. If you like to subscribe, and I sincerely wish you would, kindly refer to the Subscriber/Comment Policy page.
If you happen to be in the Seattle/Tacoma area on 31 August I’ll be giving a presentation at the Federal Way Library on the people of Afghanistan that Monday night beginning at 6:30 pm. Details are in the poster found at the link below. I do a couple of these prsentations from my time over there; the other is about Afghan wildlife.
Federal Way Library • 34200 1st Way S • 253.838.3668 Monday-Thursday, 10am-9pm • Friday, 10am-6pm • Saturday, 10am-5pm • Sunday, Noon-8pm
Perhaps it is better to describe these people as vermin instead of just plan fleas. For some reason they subscribe to my website numerous times under different usernames and slightly modified email accounts. I have no idea what the purpose of this foolishness is, so just as I would get rid of any annoying pest I fumigate them from the site. For those of you who are honest bloggers out there here are the email addresses of several of the biggest fleas on my site:
If you belong to one of these email addresses or any variation thereof maybe you can explain your reasoning. I’ve dealt with animals from ants to elephants so I am sure I’ll be able to understand you. Meanwhile I’ll just keep deleting you from the site. Perhaps someone else out there would like to send these folks a note.
This Rugose Stag Beetle is actually a tiny little fellow despite his rhinoceros like appearance. The odd face mask staring at you is one of a group of beetles called Fire Bugs.
What do rock music and the insect world have in common? Superstars, that’s what. Here’s an easy question for you: What was the most popular rock group in history? The Beatles, of course. Now make this arthropodic leap of irony and answer this: What it the most successful group of insects in the world? Beetles, of course. The Coleoptera are in fact the largest single order or animals in the world. Much more popular than that harmonious bunch of homo sapiens with the odd spelling.
The more odoriferous side of beetles are seen here as a pair of Dung Beetles wrestle for a bit of you know what. The guy on the right standing on his head and exposing his rear end is a Darkling Beetle. Get too close to that glistening wet spot and you’ll choke like you’ve been exposed to tear gas.
Now you can argue whether or not John, Paul, Ringo, and George deserve the title or how they got it to begin with, but there is no zoological doubt in the world that beetles rule. One out of every four species in the animal kingdom is a beetle; about 350,000 different kinds and counting; over 30,000 in North America. They are among the smallest, largest, fastest, strongest, and most colorful members of the insect community. There may very well be an unnamed new member of the beetle clan in your own backyard. Get out there and look! Current theory holds that modern beetles evolved sometime during the Jurrasic period along with dinosaurs but their earliest ancestors started crawling around the earth some 265 million years ago during the Permian Period. Despite all the earthly upheaval since then Coleopterans have seen the dinosaurs and a lot of other animals come and go – yet they’re still here thriving with incredible success. Why? Let us consider a few answers to this very important question.
Anyone who visits this site is at least curious about wildlife or some aspect of it. I am utterly and unabashedly fascinated by it. But although the natural world is my consuming passion it is not the only driver of my soul. For as long as I can remember I have loved literature and writing as well. And I have this odd, expansive imagination layered on top of it. All things considered my two favorite programs as a lad were not surprising: Wild Kingdom and Twilight Zone.
For many years I wrote and dabbled, wrote and dabbled – and then one day while laying on my stomach photographing a toad in southern Afghanistan I had an idea for a book:
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when the Wild Kingdom collides with the Twilight Zone seasoned with a good deal of humor and reality (as I’m sure you have) than this collection of stories is for you. Twenty four tales – all based on real life stuff; incidents from my life in the Army, Disney, zoos, circuses, wildlife chases, and travels around the world. Check it out. I’d be honored. You don’t even need to buy it. Since Amazon lets you check it out like a library book.
