Photography
grrlscientist | September 25, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
A view of the Seurasaari beach (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
awild | September 25, 2009
Nicrophorus orbicollis, Sexton Beetle, Illinois
The intrepid students of IB 468 caught this beautiful black burying beetle during a field trip to Dixon Springs, Illinois. They were kind enough to let me photograph it before it went to the collection.
Rather than me blathering on about this insect's biology, I'll direct you instead to the N. orbicollis wikipedia page. Wikipedia is normally hit-or-miss with regard to insects, but the page for N. orbicollis is an example of the medium at its best.
One thing about carrion beetles, though. Pretty, yes. But they smell terrible, and I…
grrlscientist | September 25, 2009tags: Ring-necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ring-necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, photographed in Lyman County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 1 February 2005 [larger view]
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 24, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
A tree behind the Seurasaari Ravintola (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 24, 2009tags: Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla, photographed at Smith Point Hawk Watch, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
bioephemera | September 24, 2009
football game
pattagon's flickrstream
Inspiredology offers 40 tilt-shift images of urban landscapes. Some of them are truly hard to credit with reality. They're certainly better than my attempts at faux tilt-shift!
Previously on BioE: Alan Dragulin's toyscapes.
laelaps | September 23, 2009
A group of small birds on the back of a bison (Bison bison). Photographed at Antelope Island, Utah.
grrlscientist | September 23, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Petunias on the deck of the Seurasaari Ravintola (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 23, 2009tags: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Empidonax flaviventris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Empidonax flaviventris, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 15 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/125s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | September 23, 2009
A pair of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), photographed at Grizzly Lookout in Yellowstone National Park.
grrlscientist | September 22, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Pansy on the deck of the Seurasaari Ravintola (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 22, 2009tags: Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis, photographed at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | September 22, 2009
A raven (Corvus corax), photographed at Yellowstone National Park. While there I observed that some of the birds would pick the splattered insects off cars for an easy meal.
grrlscientist | September 21, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Petunias on the deck of the Seurasaari Ravintola (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 21, 2009tags: Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, photographed at Bob Road, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | September 21, 2009
A male pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), photographed at Antelope Island in Utah.
grrlscientist | September 20, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
That restaurant that I visited on Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Does anyone know the name of this place?
awild | September 20, 2009
Soybean aphids piling up in a spider web
It's been snowing aphids the past few days here in Champaign-Urbana. Trillions of them are drifting across town, settling out on our garden, getting caught in our hair. I've never seen anything like it.
I recently learned that this sternorrhynchan storm is composed of soybean aphids (Aphis glycines). That would explain all the aphid biomass. Illinois is a major producer of soy, and there's no shortage of soy fields around here. Sensing the end of summer, the aphids are moving en masse to their winter host, buckthorn.
Soy has traditionally been…