Yearly Archives: 2012

Rock Bass

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Today I caught this very cool fish. A Rock Bass can change from light to dark colored (and back again) very quickly to blend in with their surroundings. It has a very large mouth and red eyes. Rock Bass have a dark “teardrop” under each eye.

As their names implies, Rock Bass prefer clear streams and rivers with a rocky bottom. They often hide near large boulders, rock piles, or tree roots.

Male Rock Bass build nests in gravel, often next to a large boulder. Females then deposit up to 10,000 eggs in a nest, often with more than one female using the same nest. Males remain over the nest to fan the eggs and maintain water flow over the eggs until they hatch in three to four days.

Rock Bass do not get as large as other Ohio bass, they are usually 8 or 9 inches.

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Chinese Mantis

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While walking through this field, a large flying insect attracted my attention as it soared by. I noted its landing spot and decided to check it out.

The “Praying Mantis” is truly a remarkable creature with a striking appearance and curious habits. Its name comes from the way it holds its front legs up the front of the body as if it were praying.

They grab and hold onto their food (mainly other insects) with their front legs, which are pointy to provide a good grip. They blend in well with their surroundings, allowing them to ambush unsuspecting bugs. Mantids commonly remain quiet in one place until another insect comes within reach.

One of the most unusual characteristics of the mantis is that it’s an “auditory Cyclops” – it is the only animal known to listen to its world through one ear. The ability of mantids to cock their heads from side to side is unique among insects; it is the only insect that can look over its shoulder.

First introduced into the United States in 1896; Chinese Mantis are native to China. Nurseries and garden centers sometimes sell their egg cases and as a result, they have a wide distribution in the United States. The Chinese Mantis is most commonly seen in late September and early October either resting on plants or fluttering through the air.

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Pickerel Frog

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Walking along this creek and flipping rocks around the edges revealed several Pickerel Frogs.

Pickerel Frog 007

These amphibians are usually tan with rectangular spots, which are oriented in two columns down its back. A prominent white line outlines the upper jaw.

Pickerel Frog 004

In case of attack, Pickerel Frogs have an interesting defense mechanism: they emit skin secretions which are irritating to people and toxic to some predators. This toxicity makes the Pickerel Frog the only poisonous frog native to the United States. Because of this, most snakes and mammals will leave Pickerel Frogs alone.

Pickerel Frog 003

Although these frogs are often found in aquatic environments, their toes are unwebbed. Pickerel Frogs are most often seen along the edges of streams or flooded ditches, but they can also be found in caves and sometimes along roadsides.

Pickerel Frog 010

Its call sounds like a quiet, long drawn-out snore.

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Joe-Pye Weed

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Walking along virtually any waterway in late Summer, you have a very good chance of seeing this flower. Joe-Pye Weed is an amazing plant that is an herb, a wildflower, a butterfly plant and an ornamental for the flower bed. It obtained its name because a Native American herbalist, named Joe Pye, used it to cure fevers.

Though we tend to think of it as a wildflower in the United States, it’s long been an ornamental plant in England where cottage gardens are popular. Joe-Pye Weed is a “weed” only in the sense that it is a wild plant (in North America). “Wildflower” would be a better name for a plant with such an attractive flower and imposing presence (up to 10 feet tall).

There are several species of this plant in Ohio and it can be hard to identify the exact type. Many insects are attracted to the nectar of Joe-Pye Weed, including bees and butterflies. The seeds of this plant are eaten by White-footed Mice, ducks and Wild Turkey.

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Black and Yellow Garden Spider

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Around here the largest spider you’re likely to come across is this one. Many people are freaked out by it’s size and bold coloration, especially when they encounter one unexpectedly.

Its web is a distinctive circular shape up to two feet in diameter, with a dense zigzag of silk, known as a stabilimentum, in the center. The purpose of the stabilimentum is disputed. It is possible that it acts as camouflage for the spider lurking in the web’s center, but it may also warn birds of the presence of the otherwise difficult-to-see web.

In a nightly ritual, the spider consumes the circular interior part of the web and then rebuilds it each morning with fresh new silk. This spider, found on the Erie Canal towpath, has caught a hornet.

As is true in many spider species, females of this species grow to much larger size than males. Black and Yellow Garden Spiders are harmless to humans. Because they are large, many people fear them; however, not only are they harmless, but they are beneficial because they eat a lot of insects.

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Labor Day Weekend Albino Nelson’s

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Way back on June 25 of this year, one of my Albino Nelson’s Milk Snakes had a clutch of six eggs. Here she is with five eggs out and one more to go.

On Saturday some of the babies started breaking through their eggshells. Baby snakes tend to stay in their eggs for a couple of days after cutting through their shells.

Yesterday the first one came out.

Then one of its siblings decided to do the same.

And today the scene looked something like this.

Not a bad way to celebrate the holiday weekend!

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White-footed Mouse

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While looking for snakes today, I came across this rodent. White-footed Mice live in a variety of habitats, but are most often found in woody or brushy areas. They are a common rodent in mixed forests and edges of agricultural fields in the United States.

They build nests anywhere it is warm and dry, such as in hollow trees, old bird nests or on the ground underneath some sort of cover.  White-footed Mice feed mostly on seeds, nuts, fungi, and insects.

When alarmed, these mice drum their feet rapidly. They will also sometimes drum their front feet on a hollow reed to make a musical buzzing noise, though we don’t know why.

In comparison to House Mice, White-footed Mice have larger eyes and ears. They are considered by most people to be more “attractive” than House Mice.

White-footed Mice are good swimmers and excellent climbers. They often climb shrubs and trees looking for food. Their tails give them good balance.

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Sweetgum: My Favorite Tree

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The star-shaped leaves make for easy identification of this tree. It is often planted as a shade tree and for its bright red fall colors. Sweetgums are aromatic, meaning they have a pleasant smell. You can crush a leaf to get a good sense of this.

Oak trees are the only other tree that surpass the Sweetgum in commercial value – its dark reddish-brown hard, heavy wood is used for barrels, flooring, plywood and furniture veneer. Sweetgums often grow with other trees, like maples, oaks, pines and elms.

Sweetgum has woody, spiny, ball-like fruit that is still immature when green, though later in the year, when it turns brown, it opens and releases seeds, which are eaten by birds and animals. I have several of these trees planted at my place of work and some of them are carrying fruit.

But perhaps the most famous use of this tree is that pioneers once peeled the bark and scraped the resin-like solid to produce chewing gum. The resin has also been used medicinally as well as for soaps and adhesives.

It’s genus name is Liquidambar. While in high school and learning tree identification, my teacher told me that its a easy genus to remember, because “You get liquid at the damn bar.” What more can you ask for in a tree?

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Northern Hog Sucker

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It was a pretty nice day, so I decided to explore this Ohio creek, because that’s what I do on days like today.

Although it is well camouflaged, I saw this fish in the shallow water – a Northern Hog Sucker. It has a large head and long, slender body.

This fish is known for its sucker mouth on the underside of its head. It almost looks a bit like a cartoon character.

Unlike the majority of other species of suckers in Ohio which are primarily pool oriented, the hog sucker has adaptations for life in fast currents. The Northern Hog Sucker has a very streamlined head and body that deflects the flow of water upward, pushing their body down. This allows them to sit effortlessly on a stream bottom with fast flowing riffles.

Hog suckers require streams with clean gravels and cobbles where they feed on the aquatic insect larva which live there. The rocky streambed also allows the fish to blend in because of their color and pattern.

I enjoyed finally meeting one if these fine fish “up close and in person,” but soon it was time to release it.

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Eastern Newt

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Walking along a waterway in South Chagrin Reservation today, I saw a few Red-spotted Newts. There are many different types of newts in the world, but in the United States we just have Eastern Newts (like the Red-spotted) and Western Newts which live in California and all the way up the coast into Alaska.

Newts are a particular family of salamanders that are mainly active in the daytime. Most newts are aquatic and spend a lot of time in the water.

The Eastern Newt has a unique life cycle. They emerge from mid-March to early April from hibernation. Often their first meal of the year is the eggs of other salamanders. Here’s a newt that I saw in March heading over to a woodland salamander breeding pool to eat eggs.

Later, the newts themselves breed. Their own eggs are subject to predation from other animals, but if they’re lucky, they hatch in 3 to 5 weeks. The eggs hatch as gill-breathing larvae, much like other salamanders. They stay this way for three months.

But unlike other salamanders which then metamorphose into adults, they have an imtermediate phase, where they develop lungs and a rough-textured skin. Eastern Newts also turn bright orange and leave the water to live on land. This phase of the is known as a “Red Eft.” Here’s one that I found in Central Ohio.

Red Efts take slow, deliberate steps and do not seem to have any particular destination. The bright colors advertise the young newt’s toxic nature (though they are safe to pick up – just don’t eat one). This “adolescent stage” is unique, no one is sure why the salamanders don’t transform directly into aquatic adults. Red Efts wander the forest floor for a year or two.

Eventually they will make it back to the pond where they originated and change to their adult background color of green, develop a flattened tail for swimming and become aquatic.

There are several subspecies of Eastern Newt. The Red-spotted Newt resides here in Ohio. The Central Newt lives to the west and typically lacks spots; here’s one that I found in southern Illinois last year.

These four-inch amphibians can live for well over 10 years.

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