- Published on
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
- Published on
Trish and I just got back from a few weeks in Washington. We had a great time visiting our son Micheal and daughter-in-law Megan. Another thing I love about traveling is that I can see wildlife that doesn't live here is Missouri. I'd like to share a few examples (Part 1).
THE FIRST PHOTO is a NORTHERN ALLIGATOR LIZARD, which only lives in the Pacific Northwest. I had to search for a while to find a few of these cool lizards. They are quite secretive, and I spotted this one peeking out from under a piece of loose bark.
THE SECOND PHOTO is a bizarre kind of lichen called METHUSELAH'S BEARD. A lichen is actually two kinds of organisms living together in partnership: fungus and algae. The fungus provides a moist place for the algae to live, and the algae provide food by doing photosynthesis. This lichen hangs from trees, and it is the longest type of lichen in the world.
THE THIRD PHOTO is a CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE. We see a lot of black-capped chickadees in Missouri, but this species only lives in the Pacific Northwest.
THE FOURTH PHOTO is a PACIFIC WREN. This wren species lives—you guessed it—only in the Pacific Northwest. Missouri has house wrens, Carolina wrens, and winter wrens, but it's always fun to see a new species.
THE FIFTH PHOTO is a ROOSEVELT ELK. Wild elk used to roam throughout Missouri, but by the 1880s, they were completely extirpated by humans. They were reintroduced in 2011 to 2013, and now we have several breeding populations in Missouri. The Roosevelt elk, however, is a subspecies that lives—you guessed it again—only in the Pacific Northwest.
I'll share a few more Washington critters in another post soon.
THE FIRST PHOTO is a NORTHERN ALLIGATOR LIZARD, which only lives in the Pacific Northwest. I had to search for a while to find a few of these cool lizards. They are quite secretive, and I spotted this one peeking out from under a piece of loose bark.
THE SECOND PHOTO is a bizarre kind of lichen called METHUSELAH'S BEARD. A lichen is actually two kinds of organisms living together in partnership: fungus and algae. The fungus provides a moist place for the algae to live, and the algae provide food by doing photosynthesis. This lichen hangs from trees, and it is the longest type of lichen in the world.
THE THIRD PHOTO is a CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE. We see a lot of black-capped chickadees in Missouri, but this species only lives in the Pacific Northwest.
THE FOURTH PHOTO is a PACIFIC WREN. This wren species lives—you guessed it—only in the Pacific Northwest. Missouri has house wrens, Carolina wrens, and winter wrens, but it's always fun to see a new species.
THE FIFTH PHOTO is a ROOSEVELT ELK. Wild elk used to roam throughout Missouri, but by the 1880s, they were completely extirpated by humans. They were reintroduced in 2011 to 2013, and now we have several breeding populations in Missouri. The Roosevelt elk, however, is a subspecies that lives—you guessed it again—only in the Pacific Northwest.
I'll share a few more Washington critters in another post soon.
Photo Credits:
All photos by Stan C. Smith
All photos by Stan C. Smith
- Published on
Trish and I just spent some time in the Pacific Northwest. If you've ever been in a forest in that area, you probably noticed that many of the trees are covered in green stuff. PHOTO ONE is from Ike Kinswa State Park, near Mossyrock, Washington. All this green stuff makes me think of a magical forest, where you might see gnomes or fairies.
The plants covering those branches are mostly mosses. The Pacific Northwest is home to about 1,000 species of mosses, many of which grow on the branches of trees. Mosses are what we call nonvascular plants—they do not have veins to carry water and nutrients up the plant. Therefore, they cannot grow very tall because they have to soak up water from rain and from the surface they are growing on.
Many trees in the Pacific Northwest are also covered by lichens. Check out the PHOTO TWO. The bright green and brown plant in the center of this photo is an example of moss. Surrounding the moss are two types of lichens—one type that grows in flat lobes, and another type that grows as long, thin, branching filaments.
Lichens are nothing like mosses. Lichens are actually a bizarre partnership, in which a fungus lives together with a type of algae (or sometimes a cyanobacteria). The fungus provides a moist, safe place for the algae to live. The algae provides food for both the organisms by doing photosynthesis. Nature is so cool!
Well, as I was looking into the forest from the balcony of a cabin we stayed in for a few days, I saw this tree with something long and stringy growing on it. PHOTO THREE.
This stringy stuff is NOT Spanish moss (which grows on trees in the southeast USA and is actually a type of air plant called a bromeliad). This stuff is also not a type of moss (there are some long stringy mosses that hang from trees in the Pacific Northwest).
How do I know it's not a moss? Because when I zoomed in on it, what I saw is shown in PHOTO FOUR.
These long strands with little filaments sticking out in all directions indicate that this is a lichen called bearded lichen, or Methuselah's beard lichen. It is the longest lichen in the world, growing to twenty feet in length!
This is why I love being outdoors. Every living thing you see—if you pay attention and learn more about it—is unique and spectacular in its own way.
The plants covering those branches are mostly mosses. The Pacific Northwest is home to about 1,000 species of mosses, many of which grow on the branches of trees. Mosses are what we call nonvascular plants—they do not have veins to carry water and nutrients up the plant. Therefore, they cannot grow very tall because they have to soak up water from rain and from the surface they are growing on.
Many trees in the Pacific Northwest are also covered by lichens. Check out the PHOTO TWO. The bright green and brown plant in the center of this photo is an example of moss. Surrounding the moss are two types of lichens—one type that grows in flat lobes, and another type that grows as long, thin, branching filaments.
Lichens are nothing like mosses. Lichens are actually a bizarre partnership, in which a fungus lives together with a type of algae (or sometimes a cyanobacteria). The fungus provides a moist, safe place for the algae to live. The algae provides food for both the organisms by doing photosynthesis. Nature is so cool!
Well, as I was looking into the forest from the balcony of a cabin we stayed in for a few days, I saw this tree with something long and stringy growing on it. PHOTO THREE.
This stringy stuff is NOT Spanish moss (which grows on trees in the southeast USA and is actually a type of air plant called a bromeliad). This stuff is also not a type of moss (there are some long stringy mosses that hang from trees in the Pacific Northwest).
How do I know it's not a moss? Because when I zoomed in on it, what I saw is shown in PHOTO FOUR.
These long strands with little filaments sticking out in all directions indicate that this is a lichen called bearded lichen, or Methuselah's beard lichen. It is the longest lichen in the world, growing to twenty feet in length!
This is why I love being outdoors. Every living thing you see—if you pay attention and learn more about it—is unique and spectacular in its own way.
Photo Credits:
All photos by Stan C. Smith
All photos by Stan C. Smith