RAINED OUT (AGAIN!)

Last weekend we went on our annual department field trip. This is partly an opportunity for us to bond as a group (we work in two different locations so these opportunities are rare) and also, importantly, an occasion for collecting various specimens for the live collections at the Museum.


So here we are setting off to do some trespassing er I mean, collecting! We also had a first in that we had a canine member of the group. Speckles was a delight and extremely well behaved except for when she had a face-off with a turkey!
Our first port of call was the Vermilion River to do some seine fishing and some dip netting.


Here is Jamie leading the team out to do some seine netting. An amusing technique to observe from the shore.


Two people hold the net taught and slightly angled while the rest of the team start a crazy, splashing, soft shoe shuffle towards the net. In theory driving the fish in front of them.


Then at the last minute the net is scooped up to trap the fish. We have several tanks of native fish species on display at the Museum and this is how we keep them stocked.


Meanwhile back along the shore Amber was doing some dip netting. This can often be very productive as there are all sorts of cool aquatic invertebrates and larvae hiding out amongst the tree roots.


Like this ferocious looking Hellgrammite Corydalus cornutus who's fearsome jaws you want to avoid at all costs!


There are often good pickings to be had on the waters edge too as various creatures seek out moisture


One of the more impressive being this Ichneumon Wasp. This is not a great photo but the two huge appendages that can be seen curling round either side are actually the wasps ovipositors!


A personal favourite of mine was this Big eyed Toad Bug Gelastocoris oculatus that was hopping around at the waters edge.


All kinds of neat stuff to keep us biology geeks happy!
After we were done at the Vermilion River we headed off to Starved Rock State Park to pitch our tents and get settled in for the evening. Vincent cooked us a delicious meal and we all ate far too much! When we had gotten over our gluttony we went out after dark to collect some amphibians. We managed to get an American Toad, two Gray Treefrogs and a Cricket Frog, all of which will be coming back with us to make their homes at the Museum. When we got back from the amphibian collecting trip Doug had set up his black light and there was plenty to see on it.




I thought this was the adult form of the hellgrammite, a Dobson Fly but not being an entomologist I always like to double check my photos with Bug Guide and it was a good job I did because this is actually a Spring Fishfly Chauliodes rasticornis (shows what I know!!)


And this bizarre looking creature is a Giant Casemaker Caddisfly Ptilostomis spp.


And while we are on the subject of bizarre, this has got to be natures version of a fighter jet design. A Dark-spotted Palthis Palthis angulalis


There were also several of these Sexton Beetles Nicrophorus orbicolis They eat carrion and also provide it for their larvae. When they find a small dead animal they slowly excavate the soil from underneath it so that it gradually disappears underground.


I suppose for some blacklighting is the stuff of nightmares but we all slept very soundly that night.
Unfortunately early in the morning the rain arrived and that pretty much put an end to our collecting. Before heading back to Chicago one day early, we did take a short hike around Starved Rock and got some great views of the Illinois River



It was a rather damp, humid hike but it certainly was nice to be out of the city.


We made one more stop on our way to do some more seine fishing at a nearby stream which proved very fruitful. Vincent tried to keep his feet dry but by this stage it was rather a lost cause!


So we packed our soggy selves into several cars and headed back into the city, leaving severe thunderstorms, seventy mile an hour winds and one inch diameter hail behind us!


Photo Credits - CJT

ALMOST A BIOBLITZ.

Last summer I posted about a Bioblitz that I worked on in Illinois. It was great event and in the 24 hour period we cataloged well over 1500 species. On Friday we set off to Indiana Dunes to do another one but unfortunately the weather forecast was appalling. Even more unfortunately, for once, the forecasters were right! We had flash flood warnings, severe thunder storm warnings and high wind warnings, all of which occured!


This is what all the top models will be wearing on the Paris catwalks this summer! Belive it or not we are standing on a footpath not in a pond! The neoprene chest waders were definitely the clothing item of choice for the weekend! Unfortunately we all still managed to get soaked to the skin when we were not wearing them. In an area of such diverse habitats we should have been able to get a massive species count in the 24 hour period but the appaling weather really hampered everyones activities.


The region is known for a particularly rare species of butterfly called the Karner Blue Lycaeides melissa samuelis Its host plant is the wild lupine and there was certainly no shortage of that around but not a single butterfly to be seen in the awful weather.


This Six-spotted Tiger Beetle Cicindela sexguttata is almost obscured by the rain drops captured in this picture, not a great picture of the beetle but it certainly gives a good idea of how heavily it was raining! Needless to say the insect count was pretty low.


One group that was not detered by the weather of course, were the amphibians. This handsome American Toad Bufo americanus joined us at our blacklighting sight in the evening. He was hoping that our light would draw in some tasty snacks for supper, we were hoping that the light would draw in some interesting species for our count, we were all disappointed, the torrential rain kept pretty much everything away!


The only interesting visitor to our blacklight was this Honest Pero Moth Pero honestaria. We managed to catalogue it, I don't know whether the patient toad made it supper later in the night! Next morning we went looking for more amphibians.


We found these two amorous American Toads firmly hanging onto either end of a Fowlers Toad Bufo fowleri but unfortunately, as sometimes happens in these situations they were so focused on keeping a hold of her they had actually drowned her. Even though she was dead they were still determindly hanging onto her! We did manage to pry them off and they then immediately latched onto our hands. If you get hold of a male, it squeaks, thus telling another male to get off! The females don't squeak and neither, of course did our hand, so the male toad thought it was onto a winner!


A much more descrete character is this charming Blue-spotted Salamander Ambystoma laterale. Usually found under decaying wood it feeds on spiders, centipedes, slugs and earthworms. We were able to add several of these to our count.
Inspite of a couple of hundred scientists best efforts, the species count for the 24 hours of this bioblitz was only somewhere in the region of about 860 which is very low. But at least we got chance to be out in the field which is always a bonus. Now we just need a few days to dry all our equipment out!!


Photo Credits - CJT

THE BATTLE OF THE BACKBONE..........

Katydid - seen whilst assisting with fish cataloging.

As a very non PC Brit one of the things that struck me upon my arrival in the US of A was what great lengths people went to not to offend people of different race, creed, colour, sexuality or religion. It does seem, on occasion, to reach somewhat epic extremes but, in general, it is obviously well intended. There is one area, it seems, where this does not apply and the gloves really do seem to come off. I refer, of course, to which side of the fence you happen to be on in the great 'vertebrate or invertebrate issue!' LeConte's Haploa Haploa lecontei seen at a blacklight.

I happen to work somewhere were working with vertebrates immediately makes you a second class citizen. I have always thought this a great shame and also a missed opportunity. After all, the vast majority of people who work in the natural sciences are aiming for the same thing, preservation of a healthy and varied balance of species, both vert and invert. Harlequin Ladybug Harmonia axyridis, introduced from Asia.

I spent this weekend working at a BioBlitz where the usual lines in the sand were drawn and all the 'bug folks' were in their little groups and all the 'birders' or 'herpers' were in theirs. Don't you think it would be nice if there were less references to 'going to the dark side' - studying vertebrates and more unity between us? Reversed Haploa Haploa reversa, also came into the blacklight.

As a move in the right direction I have posted some pictures I took at the BioBlitz, not a spinal column amongst them! I was there to count birds and herps but also found these little beauties. And yes I know I have included an invasive species too but hey I am an 'alien' after all, at least according to immigration, although my little green horns aren't really that obvious!

Photo Credits - CJT

FIELD TRIP (Part One)

Every year around this time we (the Biology Department at the Nature Museum) go on a department field trip. It is partly a specimen collecting excursion, partly a department bonding opportunity and partly a great excuse to hang out with like minded people and indulge in what many people would consider to be somewhat ' weird' interests. And before you start jumping to inappropriate conclusions, these interests are things like wading round in flooded ditches after dark catching frogs and toads or setting up a black light at night to see what insects are attracted to it - nothing more raunchy than that!
This year we went to Illini State Park. We left on Sunday lunchtime and got down there in about an hour and a half. If you haven't been, it is a lovely camp site on the banks of the Illinois River with all the necessary facilities, its a very scenic spot with beautiful big oak trees, prodigious bird life and resident woodchucks.
On the Sunday afternoon we stayed around camp, grilled out and then at nightfall Doug set up his black light. As you can see from the picture, this is a simple device, comprising a rope strung between two trees with a white sheet hung on it and then a black light hung in front of the sheet, powered by a large battery. Then it is simply a matter of waiting to see what flies in. In the picture Doug is photographing one of the bugs that landed on the sheet.





I managed to capture a reasonable shot of this beautiful Isabella Tiger Moth Pyrrharctia isabella (most people are more familiar with its caterpillar form, the wooly bear) but it is not an easy task. You know how moths are around lights, they never stop moving. That combined with the fact that because you have to stand in front of the light to get the shot you get constantly bombarded with bugs, you begin to see that only Biology Department crackpots would call this fun! I also managed to get a shot of an Eight-spotted Forester Moth Alypia octomaculata although, as you can see, it is not such a perfect specimen as the Tiger Moth.
After the battery on the black light had run out of juice we went out to explore the nearby ditches and check out the local night life! This proved to be very productive with four different types of frogs and toads spotted, and three photographed (by me anyway!) The first frog we spotted was a Green Frog Rana clamitans which is native to the Eastern US. It was very obliging and posed patiently for photographs before diving into the weed. There were several of these frogs all within a relatively short distance along the ditch. Next we found the ubiquitous Bull Frog Rana catesbeiana although it was rather a small specimen. Many people are not overly fond of this particular species because of their voracious appetite and their ability to consume pretty much anything that has the misfortune to get too close. And a crazy fact for you - two Bull Frogs were launched into orbit in 1970 on the Orbiting Frog Otolith spacecraft! Anyway we decided not to send this one into space and just left him, happily swimming in the ditch.

Our final amphibian encounter of the night was in fine voice and definitely on the look out for a mate. This is the American Toad Bufo americanus and as you can see from the picture he was working hard to impress the ladies! In fact we heard him long before we saw him. We could also hear masses of Grey Tree Frogs but unfortunately when we tried to follow their call we ended up almost walking into someones back yard! We decided that rather than run the risk of getting shot we would leave that frog for another night! So we headed back to camp for our final treat of the day. John, the fire-miester and Jamie the queen of smores got us all equipped with long toasting forks and we sat and roasted marshmallows on the fire - a perfect end to the day. Jamie is wearing red in the picture and wielding the toasting fork, John is on the far right, stoking the fire.

Photo Credits - CJT