Multicolor Gill Polypore

Posted on November 22, 2023 by tspuckler

While looking for reptiles and amphibians in the woods in southern Illinois, I noticed this bracket fungus on a tree stump.

Multicolor Gill Polypore is widespread across Europe, Asia, and North and South America. In the United States it is very common from the East Coast to the Great Lakes states, south to Texas, and on the West Coast.

From the top, it looks very much like Turkeytail Mushroom, but by viewing the underside of the cap, there are gills instead of pores.

The “gills” of the multicolor gill polypore are actually radially arranged tubes that are forked and fused, which can make them look like gills. These tubes are tough and leathery, as opposed to true gills, which are more fragile.

This species exists as a network of fungal cells (mycelium) within rotting wood. The mycelium obtains nourishment by digesting the wood. When ready to reproduce, it develops the brackets outside of the wood, which are reproductive structures.

Multicolor Gill Polypore plays an important role in the ecosystem, breaking down dead wood and returning nutrients to the soil. This species also helps to recycle carbon and nitrogen, aiding in the growth of new plants and trees.

Mushrooms decorate nature the way wildflowers do, adding to our pleasure on hikes. Many mushrooms are most prominent in the fall, when wildflowers are winding down.

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Water Scorpion

Posted on November 17, 2023 by tspuckler

This was a super cool creature that I encountered while on my trip to southern Illinois. It is sometimes called a Needle Bug or Water Stick Insect.

They are more commonly called “Water Scorpions” due to their superficial resemblance to scorpions – raptorial forelegs and the presence of a long slender tube at the posterior end of their abdomen, which resembles a tail.

These insects mostly inhabit stagnant or slow-moving freshwater habitats like ponds, marshes, canals and streams. Though they do not sting with their tail, but they do have a painful bite, although it much less harmful to humans than a true scorpion’s sting.

Water Scorpions are rather poor swimmers and typically crawl about on aquatic vegetation. To swim, they rely on an alternating oar-like movement of their second and third pairs of legs to slowly propel them along; they are built much more for camouflage than they are for swimming. They can fly, but this is an infrequently seen behavior.

An underwater predator, the Water Scorpion hides among dead leaves where it waits to ambush its prey. Its tail actually acts as a kind of “snorkel,” rather than a stinger, so it rests hind-end-upward with the tip of this tube projecting above the water surface; therefore it can stay submerged for long periods of time.

Their front legs are modified into pincer-like grabbers that are used to grasp their prey. They feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates such as other insects, as well as worms, but occasionally take small fish or tadpoles.

Interestingly, Water Scorpions produce sound by friction. In this case, a leg segment is rubbed against the body, making noise underwater. Sometimes a faint squeak can be heard from a Water Scorpion that is pulled from the water.

When fully grown, this species measure about two inches in length, from the tip of their tail-like breathing tube, to their head. This slow-moving, cryptically colored and shaped invertebrate was a fun find while exploring the Land of Lincoln.

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Blanketflower

Posted on November 10, 2023 by tspuckler

While on a hike in Missouri, I noticed this eye-catching plant growing in a dry field. It has a flower that resembles the brightly patterned blankets of Native Americans.

Another possibility for its common name is that it refers to the plant’s habit of “blanketing” the ground in areas where it thrives. Either way, this colorful wildflower is much loved by bees, which are drawn to its bright petals.

The plant also happens to be a food source for caterpillars of the brilliantly colored Gaillardia Flower Moth and Painted Schinia – these insects have wing patterns and colors that mimic blanketflower’s petals.

Blanketflower is often found on the dry slopes and meadows of uplands and mountains. It is drought tolerant and capable of growing under very harsh conditions. It prefers full sun.

Its flowers are typically bicolored with an inner red band surrounded by an outer yellow band. However, they can also be entirely red or yellow, have an inner band surrounded by a white band, or, on rare occasion, be entirely white or yellow.

With the Scientific Name of Gaillardia aristata, the genus Gaillardia was dedicated in 1788 in honor of the early French botanist Gaillard de Charentonneau. Aristata means “bearing bristles” in botanical Latin, in reference to the rough hairy leaves and stems.

Blanketflower has flowers to three inches in diameter, and very hairy, light green, elongated leaves. It typically grows to about a foot tall. This was a neat find on my trip.

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Prairie Kingsnake

Posted on November 3, 2023 by tspuckler

While driving back to my hotel one evening last month after a long day of herping in Missouri, I crossed the Mississippi River and not long afterwards saw this snake crossing the road.

The Prairie Kingsnake is a medium-sized, tan or gray snake with numerous brown blotches. The top of the head usually has a backward-pointing, arrowhead-shaped marking, and there is usually a thin dark marking between each eye and down to the corners of the mouth.

The name “Prairie Kingsnake” is somewhat misleading because this common, harmless species lives not only in prairie habitats, but also along the edges of crop fields, hayfields, fallow farm fields, or the edges of open woodlots, on rocky, wooded hillsides, and near farm buildings.

Small mammals such as mice, voles, and shrews constitute some 60 to 80 percent of this reptile’s diet. It also eats lizards and occasionally small snakes. This species kills its prey by constriction. As with other kingsnake species, it is immune to the venom of Copperheads, Cottonmouths, and Rattlesnakes.

Although sometimes called the Yellow-bellied Kingsnake, the belly is often cream to tan in color and interrupted by faint rectangular or square markings that extend across several belly scales.

The Prairie Kingsnake is active during the day in Spring and Fall, but becomes nocturnal in the summer. It may be found hiding under rocks, logs or boards or in small mammal burrows. When disturbed, this 3 foot long snake may vibrate the tail rapidly, hiss and strike (although it is harmless to man).

This was a serpent that I’ve wanted to see in the wild for quite some time, so it was an excellent find on this year’s trip to the Midwest.

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American Gizzard Shad

Posted on October 27, 2023 by tspuckler

While visiting Illinois this month, I came across a couple examples of this cool fish.

A member of the Herring Family, American Gizzard Shad is native to large swaths of fresh and brackish waters in the United States. Adults have a deep body, with a silvery-green coloration above, which fades to plain silver below. Although they can grow as long as eighteen to even twenty inches long, they are often in the range of eight to fourteen inches.

This fish is so named because it possesses a gizzard-like organ, a sack filled with rocks or sand, that aids the animal in the breakdown of consumed food. The American Gizzard Shad inhabits a variety of quiet-water habitats, including natural lowland lakes and ponds, artificial impoundments, and the pools and backwaters of streams and rivers.

It is most active at dusk and at night. American Gizzard Shad travel in large, constantly moving schools near the water’s surface and frequently leap clear of the water or skip along the surface on their sides, earning it its other common name “Skipjack.”

American Gizzard Shad are filter feeders that eat mostly plant material, phytoplankton, and algae. To eat, they take water or mud into their mouths and then strain it though a set of rakes on their gills. Water and sediment are removed, and food is captured and eaten.

Because of their small size and relatively high abundance, this species has been introduced into many lake and river systems as a source of food for game fish, such as Walleye, Bass, and Trout.

It was cool to net a couple of examples of this neat creature while on my herping adventure.

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American Persimmon

Posted on October 20, 2023 by tspuckler

While visiting southern Illinois this month, I encountered this fine tree and tasted its fruit, which happened to be in season.

American Persimmon is native to most of the eastern half of the United States. It grows in full sun and a wide variety of soils. The dark green leaves are your stereotypical “leaf shape,” so aren’t much help by themselves for identifying the tree. It grows wild, but has been cultivated for its fruit and wood since prehistoric times by Native Americans.

This tree can be 60 feet tall, but normally it doesn’t reach more than 20 feet. The trunk and branches are thin with grey-brown bark that is said to resemble reptile scales. The principal uses of the wood are for golf-club heads, shuttles for textile weaving, and furniture veneer.

American Persimmon is dioecious, which means some trees only produce male flowers and some trees only produce female flowers. The fruit is round, usually orange-yellow, and about two inches in diameter. Both the tree and the fruit are referred to as Persimmons, with the latter appearing in desserts and other cuisine.

During the spring, the flowers provide a rich source of nectar for Honeybees, Bumblebees, Small Carpenter Bees, Digger Bees, Mason Bees, Leaf-cutting Bees and Cuckoo Bees. Raccoons, Foxes, Black Bears, Skunks, Turkeys, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Cedar Waxwings, Catbirds, American Robins, Pileated Woodpeckers and Mockingbirds eat Persimmon fruit. The fruit is high in vitamin C, and extremely astringent when unripe.

Known scientifically as Diospyros virginiana, Diospyros means “divine fruit” in Greek.

American Persimmon is also known as Common Persimmon, Eastern Persimmon, Simmon, Possumwood, Possum Apples, and Sugar Plum.

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Ringed Salamander

Posted on October 12, 2023 by tspuckler

While herping in the St. Louis area last weekend, I found a salamander that was definitely a highlight of my week-long herping trip.

Above, the ground color ranges from grayish black to black. The belly is normally slate gray to buff yellow. A series of bold, narrow white or yellow rings usually extends over the back but may be broken at the midline. The rings never completely encircle the body. This amphibian is usually 6 to 7 inches in total length.

The Ringed Salamander is a species of mole salamander native to hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forested areas in and around the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

It is found in damp, wooded areas, usually under leaves, rotting logs, or in abandoned ground holes of other organisms – often near shallow ponds. Highly fossorial (adapted to digging), adults are commonly found in subterranean refuges.

This salamander is increasingly rare and perhaps endangered. This is likely a result of its restricted range and specific breeding habitat needs. In Autumn, stimulated by heavy rains and cool temperatures, they migrate by night to fishless woodland ponds, where they may congregate by the hundreds for breeding.

It was awesome to encounter this strikingly colored salamander that is mostly cryptic and underground most of the year.

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Prairie Ringneck Snake

Posted on October 7, 2023 by tspuckler

While exploring a glades habitat in Missouri, I came across a few examples of this fine serpent. Ringneck Snakes are easily recognizable by their small size, uniform dark color on the back, bright yellow-orange belly, and distinct yellow ring around the neck.

The Prairie Ringneck Snake tends to live in open or partially open canopy settings including bluff prairies, open rocky road cuts (usually southerly exposed), old fields with rocky structures at the surface or along railroad grades where access to underground retreats and overwintering habitat is suitable.

These snakes are highly secretive, spending much of the day under flat rocks, pieces of bark or in and under large woody debris. In the Spring and Fall, they usually remain in open-canopy conditions, but move to more shaded and moist places as Summer approaches.

When alarmed, this species will coil its tail and expose its brightly colored underside. When captured, it usually does not bite (though this one did), but will discharge a pungent, unpleasant musk from glands at the base of the tail.

These snakes not only take shelter under rocks but also find prey there — primarily earthworms, but also slugs, soft-bodied insects and small salamanders. Although they are completely harmless to humans, these snakes have weak venom in their saliva which they use to subdue their prey.

Prairie Ringneck Snakes are egglayers, with females laying 1-10 eggs and averaging four per clutch. There is evidence that this species may nest communally. Eggs are laid in abandoned small mammal burrows or under large flat rocks and hatch in late August or early September.

We usually think of snakes as fierce predators, and no doubt that is how earthworms, slugs, and insects view this species. But small snakes like this are equally as important as a food for other predators — including mammals, birds and many more.

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Autumn Yellow-Winged Grasshopper

Posted on September 29, 2023 by tspuckler

While hiking through open fields in Missouri, I noticed several examples of this cool insect. This large, brown grasshopper is about 1-1/2 inches long and most often seen from late Summer into Autumn. This rather drab-looking creature belongs to the family known as the Short-horned Grasshoppers. It occurs throughout the eastern and central United States in open woodlands, grasslands, dry fields and prairies.

When approached, it is quick to retreat and fly away. When it flies away, it shows its bright yellow or orange hind wings and makes a rattling noise. The sound produced in flight is a behavior known as crepitation.

Species that produce sound also have hearing organs. In crickets and katydids, these “ears” are on the front legs. In grasshoppers, they are on the sides of the first abdominal segment. Many grasshoppers produce ultrasonic mating calls (above the range of human hearing). In some species, the sounds may be as high as 100 kHz. (Human hearing extends to about 20 kHz.)

When resting, this species often blends exceptionally well with soil. Its wing pattern puts it in a group known as Bandwinged Grasshoppers, which are usually heavy-bodied and bear enlarged hind legs. The head of this grasshopper often appears enlarged and broadly rounded.

Autumn Yellow-Winged Grasshoppers feed on various grasses. They do not seem to occur in abundance anywhere and therefore they are not considered a pest species.

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Brown Pelican

Posted on September 22, 2023 by tspuckler

While visiting South Carolina, I saw several examples of this comically elegant bird with an oversized bill. It is the smallest of the eight pelican species, but is often one of the larger seabirds seen in their range.

Brown Pelicans feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up. They are fairly common today — an excellent example of a species’ recovery from pesticide pollution that once placed them at the brink of extinction. These are a very gregarious birds; they live in flocks of both sexes throughout the year.

These birds incubate their eggs with the skin of their feet, essentially standing on the eggs to keep them warm. In the mid-twentieth century the pesticide DDT caused pelicans to lay thinner eggs that cracked under the weight of their incubating parents. After nearly disappearing from North America in the 1960s and 1970s, they made a full comeback thanks to pesticide regulations.

The Brown Pelican is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Chile, including the Galapagos Islands. It nests in colonies in secluded areas (often on islands), vegetated land among sand dunes, thickets of shrubs and trees and mangroves.

It mainly feeds on fish, but occasionally eats amphibians, crustaceans, and the eggs and nestlings of birds. Brown Pelicans residing in Southern California rely especially heavily on the Pacific Sardine as a major food source, which can compose up to a quarter of their diet. In level flight, they fly in groups with their heads held back on their shoulders and their bills resting on their folded necks.

The Brown Pelican the official state bird of Louisiana, appearing on the flag, seal and coat of arms.

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Tim Spuckler's Blog

Reptile Ramblings and More

Multicolor Gill Polypore

Water Scorpion

Blanketflower

Prairie Kingsnake

American Gizzard Shad

American Persimmon

Ringed Salamander

Prairie Ringneck Snake

Autumn Yellow-Winged Grasshopper

Brown Pelican