Mystery Insect

This insect was first spotted on our window screen. It was captured for about 10 minutes to examine and attempt to identify. It has characteristics like those of a damselfly, a long body and wings that fold back but much different mandible from what we have seen in the past.

After it was released it flew erratically until finding a spot in the woodpile.

If you have any information to help us with an identification it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

Along the Lakeshore in Northern New Mexico

We recently explored along the shores of a local lake. We spotted lots of wildlife including gulls, cottontail rabbits, lizards, raccoon tracks, and many birds on the lake we have yet to identify. There are also many plants we need help to identify. We are slowly looking them up in our guidebooks but this time of year can be a difficult time to identify plant life as they are bare of leaves, flowers, and other markers which make ID easier. 

Below we have numbered photographs of some of the things we saw. Please feel free to correct our identification or help us ID those things yet known.

 1. Juniper

 2. Cedar

 3. Raccoon Tracks

 4. Cottonwood leaves in the water

 5. Evidence of Gull. We were a bit surprised to see a flock along the shoreline of the lake.

We found other groups of feathers about and wondered what could have eaten it and if it died of natural causes or was caught. 

 6. Cottonwood leaves from last season

 7. Tree lined paths along the lake

 8. Shrub areas are common. We want to identify these tall red stemmed shrubs.

 9. Seed pods

 10. Unidentified dried flower head on long green stem

 11. Unidentified pineapple shaped seed head on bush

 12. Galls on unidentified bush

 13. Pinon Pine cones

 14. Pinon Pine open to reveal seeds

 15. Tiny unidentified cacti under pine

 16. Thorny bush

 17. Spiky seed heads

 18. Dried seed heads on low bush

19. Lesser Earless Lizard or Side-bloched Lizard who had lost its tail and grown it back

As we ID things we will comeback and add what we have learned.

Thanks for any help you can give!

Noticing: Beginnings and Endings

This weekend on our hike we found both...

The beginnings of what is to come after the long winter...

And the ending of a long sleep left behind after emergence of new life...

I will continue to be fascinated with the growing buds of fall.
How they preserver through the frigid chill of winter.
To spring to life when the weather warms.

That same fascination is extended to the moth that huddles wrapped inside a cocoon all winter.
Waiting for the day of warmth to emerge for the short life it will lead.
To mate and die.

We have noticed many new buds on the cottonwoods, horse chestnut, lilac, and alder. And this is the second empty cocoon we have spotted in alder bushes along the shore.

So much to discover even as we head into the deep freeze of winter.

Jaw Bone Mystery

We were hiking at our favorite beach spot when we found this set of upper and lower jaw bones. There was nothing else left of the skeleton.
In the bottom picture the black part there seemed to be a nose.

Just before we found this in the seaweed and grasses near the high tide line we spotted a mink bounding over the rocks. This is the second time we have seen a mink in this area.

Wondering about the identity of the jaw and if the mink was involved in the owners demise.

Any ideas?

Microscopes: Stereo vs. Compound

Many people have asked about the type of microscopes we use and which one we like best. While it is easy to talk about the microscopes themselves it is hard to choose a favorite. The both have strengths that we enjoy and that is why we are happy to have both. 

When looking at microscopes we knew we wanted a stereo microscope first. Since The Naturalist's first love is insects we could imagine she would want to examine her insect collection and any other new specimen that came along under the microscope. A stereo microscope is a lower powered microscope that is designed to look at whole objects such as insects, flowers, wasp nests, or even whole spiders (you find dead on the porch) and their very cool spinnerets... 

Our stereo microscope is very basic and easy to use. It does not even have a light. I like this feature because that makes it lightweight and easy to transport outdoors. The drawback is that we either have to use it on sunny days by the window or supply some supplemental light. 

Ours is not digital so it does not take pictures but I have figured out how to take pictures with my camera looking down the microscope lens. 

Here is a photo of a wasp egg in the nest above:

 

Both kids find it easy to use. The Artist needs help getting things in focus to start out but that is becoming easier with time and use.

 

The online store we ordered our stereo microscope from has since gone out of the business of selling microscopes so I can't give you a link to purchase. 

Going from big to tiny...

Compound microscopes are designed to look at very tiny details in things such as animal or plant cells, or single-celled organisms. 

Our digital microscope is a Celestron and I love the screen because more than one person can view the object at one time.  This is great for families with lots of curious kiddos... or even just two curious kiddos. 

It is very basic and easy to use. 

Here are some photos taken by the digital microscope: 

pond water samples... 

apple pollen...

onion skin..

While compound microscopes are designed to be used with slides and make observations of the very tiny cells that make up our world there has been much experimentation around here with viewing objects without slides... things that really would be a better fit for the stereo microscope... but that is all about learning... and wanting to take cool pictures with your digital microscope!

dragonfly wing detail...

sticky insides of a Chinese Lantern plant...

feather...

and a borax crystal...

When choosing a microscope the most important thing to consider the main use. The types of observations that are going to be made dictate the microscope that would be best for your family. For a family looking to purchase their first microscope I would recommend a stereo microscope. Kids love to be able to put all kinds of things under the microscope, from a penny to the hair of a poodle, they want to check it out. The fast and easy way to do that is with a stereo microscope.

I am not a scientist I just play one with my kiddos... So if you have more to add to the conversation here please feel free to do so in the comments. We would love to learn more.

Do you have a microscope? What do you like about it? What would you recommend to a family looking to purchase their first microscope?

Garden Spider

This summer in the meadow we discovered black and yellow garden spiders (Argiope aurantia) all around. We had read that they lived here but had not seen one in our five summers of running hill and dale around Nova Scotia, and now here we had many... many times over. As it was nearing the end of summer they started creating egg sacs and standing guard...

unless by walking by we happen to stir up the grass hoppers and one found itself in the amazingly strong web. Spider wasted no time wrapping up its future meal before heading back up to stand guard at the egg sac or station herself in the middle of her web.

See her amazing spinnerets at work.

On a fall hike this week we spotted those same egg sacs left unattended for the winters duration. Mother spider dies not long after creating the egg sac with eggs left safely encapsulated.
From what we have read the spiderlings will hatch before winter (maybe already?) and overwinter inside the sac.

Amazing nature.