Monthly Archives: June 2012

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Posted on by

The Desert Bighorn Sheep is found in Nevada’s mountainous desert and is designated the official state animal of Nevada. They are stocky, heavy-bodied sheep; large rams grow to 4-1/2 feet tall and can weigh as much as 200 pounds. I saw two herds of them today.

With their unique padded hooves, bighorns are able to climb the steep, rocky terrain of desert mountains with speed and agility. 


 
Both the male and female develop horns soon after birth and their horns continue to grow throughout life. Older rams have impressive sets of curling horns that can measure over three feet long and one foot of circumference at the base.

The horns of females are much smaller and lighter and do not tend to curl. Desert Bighorn Sheep use their horns for fighting, and as tools to break open cactus, which they consume.

Bighorn sheep are gregarious, sometimes forming herds of over 100 individuals, but small groups of 8-10 are more common. Mature males usually stay apart from females and young for most of the year in separate bachelor herds.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Mudpuppy

Posted on by

This creek near the Ohio/Pennsylvania border looked like a cool place to explore.

There were many cool freshwater invertebrates to be found, such as this: a Stonefly larva.

A bit later I found something that I’ve never seen before, a Dobsonfly pupa. It was pretty weird looking.

Turning rocks in the creek revealed a number of small fish like darters, suckers and catfish. One rock had a large creature under it that at first I thought was a catfish. Then I realized that it had no fins and I was looking at an amphibian that I have not seen in the wild for over 20 years – a Mudpuppy.

Mudpuppies are large aquatic salamanders. They have gills and spend their entire life underwater. They show a degree of parental care, tending to their eggs after attaching them to submerged stones and logs.

Mudpuppies prefer shallow lakes and streams that have slow moving water and rocks to hide under. They have a voracious appetite and eat a large variety of food items, which enable them to survive under diverse conditions. These foods include worms, water insects, crayfish, mollusks and small fish.

It was awesome to see one of these big amphibians in the wild again!

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Cicada

Posted on by

Lately I’ve been coming across these red-eyed insects in tall fields of vegetation. These are known as “periodical cicadas” and they’re only found in eastern North America. All other cicadas are “annual cicadas.”

Larva for periodical cicadas live underground and develop very slowly, taking either 13 or 17 years (depending on the species) to reach adulthood. Here’s a larva that I found in central Ohio, though I’ve also seen them in my yard on occasion, under rocks and logs.

Populations of periodical cicadas are called broods, and each emerge all at once as winged adults – sometimes by the thousands…and sometimes by the millions.

Annual cicadas don’t have red eyes. Their loud, buzzing sawlike call is the loudest in the insect world. Adults don’t eat and only live a few days. Here’s one that I found in Las Vegas in 2009.

When the larva emerges from underground the back of its shell splits and a soft, pale adult emerges. It takes a few hours for the insect’s exoskelton to harden and for its wings to dry. Here’s one that I saw on a tree in my backyard that had recently emerged.

This insect’s amazing lifestyle has been a source of fascination since ancient times. Several cultures, such as the ancient Chinese, regarded these insects as powerful symbols of rebirth. Here’s a carved jade sculpture of a cicada that I got in China Town (San Francisco) – it resides on my kitchen windowsill.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

 

Northern Blue Flag Iris

Posted on by

I’ve been seeing a fair amount of this graceful, sword-leaved plant with three showy, downward-curved, violet, boldly veined petal-like sepals.

This is a native iris of northeastern wetlands. Insects attracted to its sepals facilitate the plant’s pollination.

iris 049

Northern Blue Flag Iris can be seen in marshes, swamps, wet meadows, along shorelines, and in forested wetlands. It grows to be about three feet tall.

iris 058

Its rootstalks have long been used in herbal medicine to treat a variety of ailments.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Northern Pine Snake Laying Eggs

Posted on by

Ever since I was a kid and read about an elusive seven-foot white snake with a bold, black pattern which lives underground, I’ve been fascinated with Northern Pine Snakes. I’ve been keeping them for a number of years. Here is one of my females laying eggs today. She lined the first half-dozen up neatly in a row.

The secretive nature of pine snakes makes them difficult to find in the wild. They spend much of their time in the subterranean tunnels of pocket gophers, their favorite food item. Occasionally a Northern Pine will enter an animal burrow, consume the inhabitants, and then take possession of the burrow.

Not only do wild Northern Pine Snakes dig nests for egg-laying purposes, but they also practice communal nesting. Multiple pine snakes return to the same site year after year to deposit eggs. A pine snake burrow is truly an impressive sight, with the sand pile excavated by the female sometimes being 2 or 3 feet across.

Northern Pine Snakes prefer to inhabit pine barrens and sand-hill regions throughout their scattered range.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail