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One of the great things about traveling is seeing wildlife that you cannot see in your home area. Here are a few more critters that we saw in Washington that do not live in Missouri.
THE FIRST PHOTO is a BANANA SLUG. These slugs are variable in color, sometimes bright yellow, sometimes with black spots, and sometimes various shades of brown or gold. They get their name not only from sometimes being yellow, but also from their immense size, growing to almost ten inches long.
THE SECOND PHOTO shows that this banana slug is close to six inches long. Slugs are terrestrial air-breathing gastropods. Gastropods include snails and slugs (which are basically snails without a shell).
While banana slugs are native to the Pacific Northwest, THE THIRD PHOTO is a EUROPEAN SLUG, which is an invasive species. Something about the climate in the northwest must be perfect for slugs to grow to enormous sizes, because these European slugs are also big (this one was also about six inches).
THE FOURTH PHOTO is a YELLOW-FACED BUMBLEBEE. We have bumblebees in Missouri, of course, but I immediately saw this this species looks different—the only place it has yellow is right behind the head (and just a touch of yellow on the tip of the abdomen) . The yellow-faced bumblebee, which only lives on the west coast, is an extremely important pollinator for agriculture.
THE FIFTH PHOTO is a WESTERN LEAFCUTTER BEE. These are larger than a honeybee, almost as big as a bumblebee. They live in many of the western states, but not as far east as Missouri. These bees are usually solitary, but at breeding time, a small group of them will work together to dig a burrow in the ground, where they lay their eggs.
THE FIRST PHOTO is a BANANA SLUG. These slugs are variable in color, sometimes bright yellow, sometimes with black spots, and sometimes various shades of brown or gold. They get their name not only from sometimes being yellow, but also from their immense size, growing to almost ten inches long.
THE SECOND PHOTO shows that this banana slug is close to six inches long. Slugs are terrestrial air-breathing gastropods. Gastropods include snails and slugs (which are basically snails without a shell).
While banana slugs are native to the Pacific Northwest, THE THIRD PHOTO is a EUROPEAN SLUG, which is an invasive species. Something about the climate in the northwest must be perfect for slugs to grow to enormous sizes, because these European slugs are also big (this one was also about six inches).
THE FOURTH PHOTO is a YELLOW-FACED BUMBLEBEE. We have bumblebees in Missouri, of course, but I immediately saw this this species looks different—the only place it has yellow is right behind the head (and just a touch of yellow on the tip of the abdomen) . The yellow-faced bumblebee, which only lives on the west coast, is an extremely important pollinator for agriculture.
THE FIFTH PHOTO is a WESTERN LEAFCUTTER BEE. These are larger than a honeybee, almost as big as a bumblebee. They live in many of the western states, but not as far east as Missouri. These bees are usually solitary, but at breeding time, a small group of them will work together to dig a burrow in the ground, where they lay their eggs.
Photo Credits:
All photos by Stan C. Smith
All photos by Stan C. Smith
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