Verge

"Any foolish boy can stamp on a beetle, but all the professors in the world cannot make a beetle." - Arthur Schopenhaue

I am a big believer in learning about myself by watching nature. I admit I am a little obsessed about an activity that most people consider, at best an indulgence. Probably, I am even a little preachy about the virtues of watching nature. Still, there is pure magic that should be shared when seeing how linked everything is to everything else by invisible threads of the toughest consequence.

People are always affected by the insects they see every day. In the city that is more likely to be cockroaches, ants, wasps, and bed bugs. None of these attract much positive interest and removing them seems to the the only topic worthy of discussion. In the countryside, where diversity is much higher, the destructive pests are also noted the most, with everything else relegated to mild interest. This is a darkling beetle that is alert and poised to release a chemical stink to ward off predators. It is far from the only beetle labelled as a "stink bug", which can get confusing.

This similar looking beetle is one of the Prionus species. Most of these large beetles inhabit a world just under our feet which we are, for the most part, completely ignorant of. As their grubs slowly munch though tough roots using powerful jaws.

This little beetle is a carrion beetle often found out in the desert. I can't find out much about it but I know they are present in great numbers during the summer.

Wasps can be hard to photograph and there are even more species of wasps than there are beetles, which is a lot. They also have incredible life cycles, with most species parasitizing caterpillars, or sometimes oak trees.

This photo shows not only the ubiquitous aphids, who breed clonally, but a single lacewing egg on an invisible stalk. These are laid by the adults near where aphids were detected. While the lacewings eat the soft bodied, defenseless aphids in large numbers, they have to leave a few to repopulate so that the next generation of their broods can continue to munch.

A sulphur butterfly. These insects are studied endlessly by biologists to try and understand why they are so exquisitely sensitive to visual and chemical cues. They live in a world of visual UV and odor chemicals related to flowers and each other. Humans are quite unable to perceive, or even imagine yet how they see their world.

 

 Bagworms are an impressive force of nature, resistant to many types of human killing because of the tough silk bag they grow inside and their amazing reproductive ability. farmers and gardeners have done a great job of eliminating their predators and competitors. The study of their silk is a good example of academic interest actually being more useful than practical applications. No one is going to be walking around in bagworm clothing anytime soon, even though the silks show potential properties useful to the garment industry.Bagworm silks are a good way to learn about how proteins fold and perform under high stresses.

The simple size of many insects is a barrier for many people to learn about insects. Ironically, once an insect is dead, people are usually interested to learn more. This centipede was crushed by a car and is a rare visitor in the Corrales bosque, only coming out from underground once the is sufficient moisture in the air.

The large sphinx moths are difficult to photograph and hard to study. They are also very tough and surprisingly strong, a true survivor. Moths this size are often as big as the bats they share the night sky with, so moths do not worry as much with being fast or stealthy. They do have to spend a lot more time keeping those large flight muscles warm and functional so it takes a while for them to get going.

 The idea that caterpillars turn into moths would be crazy if you tried to explain it to a visitor from a different planet. Ontogenetic niche shift is the term for caterpillars and butterflies living in the same ecosystem yet not competing with each other. Biologists who study this competition say that in general, if adults and their progeny did compete directly, then the trend is towards bigger children...and cannibalism. Something to think about next time you are watching your nephew grow taller than you are while at a family get together over turkey.

One of the universal uses of stiff hairs is to ward off ant bites, this was illustrated while I watched a bumblebee and an ant argue over who was pollinating this flower. The bumblebee won, mostly because of the stiff hairs that kept the jaws of the defensive ant at bay long enough to move on to another flower.

Cocoons and chrysalis come in many shapes and sizes and I have no idea what insect created this house on cattails using a thick, white silk case, I suspect a spider of some kind.

This is one of the many species of thread-waisted wasp found in New Mexico, which has a impressive variety. Many are found in marshy areas is is not a common resource in this state. However, while only .6% of the land is wetland, 85% of New Mexico species depend on wetland ecology at some point in their life cycle.

Mayflies are a necessary food source for trout, and knowledge of this species is essential if you want to be any good at all at catching that fish. The mayflies only live long enough to breed, and some species no longer have actual adult stages. We know A LOT about mayfly reproduction, simply because of trout fisherman and the associated interest in raising trout for the industry.

Cicadas are quite impressive, not only for their noise, but also their life cycle and their effect on ecosystems. These large insects are caught in large numbers by many birds, including raptors.

These large feathers come from the local feral turkey population, whose numbers fluctuate quite wildly. Birds molt is distinct ways as they prepare of fall and the associated migrations (which are already underway). While turkey do not migrate, they do change their plumage and behaviors in response to the same environmental cues.

 

Birds and lizards do not poop the same as mammals. Mammal precursors, called monotremes do have a similar system of cloaca, which is also found in sharks. This is this one of the ways comparative biology is used to try and tease out the evolution of traits and species, because it is so confusing. The modern trend is towards genetic sequencing, which is even more murky, but has the advantage of at least being easier to agreeing on what is being looked at. This picture is turkey poop, showing the solid white of the uric acid that is produced by birds instead of the liquid urea we make.

 Parasitism is seriously undervalued by the general human population. More than any other group, parasites such as this dodder, help improve connections between the flow of energy at different levels of use that is vital to any healthy ecosystem.

 

 Here you can see all the different types of plants that can colonize a river bank. Each plant has a different niche it can use and each had other species that rely on their own niche to prevent too much competition that can prevent reproductive success, or fitness. The wet grass contains thousands of small toads, while the tall willows support many sap sucking insects and also the next generation of cottonwood trees that will develop over the next forty years.

Mud is a critical resource to many animals. The dry patch in the middle of this ditch bank shows where the burrowing animals like gophers have ejected dry tunnel spoil as they explore and prepare their tunnels for fall. Many other animals use the abandoned tunnels for shelter or to lay eggs.

The muddy pool and numerous holes in the bank show where the young crayfish are active in the pools seeking detritus to feed on. The many raccoon paw prints also show where those large mammals travel each evening to investigate each pool for these tasty crustaceans.

Most people know about the silvery minnow, they are used by biologists to try and explain why a bosque is so important and need to be allowed to flood. These discussions usually turn political and acrimonious quickly. While important, all that hot air fades away when one finds a tiny slippery silver flash in a horse's footprint miles from the nearest source of permanent water. The story of how this fish got there sounds like total fiction, but is all true.

The first of the turkey vultures have returned on their way south to South America for the winter. The large gap in the tail is because these birds shed their plumage is short bursts, allowing them to continue flying. This usually happens in September, but is quite a complex process.

This year Corrales was lucky to have quite a few Mississippi kites coming through and catching June bugs, cicadas, and other large beetles. They often swoop low over large grassy lawns and snatch them as they emerge from underground. It is usually obvious when the bird has caught a cicadas, like in this picture, as the insects protest fiercely while they are carried away and consumed.

    In the recent past, unknown people where shooting at these raptors, probably in a misguided attempt to protect their chickens or small dogs. While that very human behavior may never fully be stamped out, it does help to know a little about these amazing creatures and to watch their behaviors a least a little. The importance of insects is subtle, but their influence is completed woven into the fabric of our entire existence. Insects connect us to these feathered travelers, as they stop in Corrales briefly. Then  they continue about their business of giving purpose to those lush garden lawns people covet so much.