📜 EwA Week Highlights: Luna Moth Caterpillar, Chicken Fat Mushroom, and the Decline of a Formerly Common Snake
Mike McGlathery
Hello everyone!
Here’s the August 27th edition of EwA’s weekly highlights, coming to you a day late because I was moving yesterday! Apologies for any disruptions to your weekend routine.
📸 Let’s take a look at this observation of a Dekay’s brownsnake (Storeria dekayi) from Matt on Tuesday. This snake used to be a more commonly observed urban species than it is today. The Dekay's brownsnake's diet consists largely of slugs, earthworms and insects, and it's theorized that increased pesticide use was a major factor in its decline.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Matt Gage · Somerville, MA · Aug. 23, 2022)
Ale observed this big Luna Moth (Actias luna) caterpillar in Martha’s Vineyard’s Manuel F. Correllus State Forest. Seeing such a big caterpillar always gives me a thrill, and it’s even more exciting when you know it’s destined to become such a beautiful moth as an adult.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Ale E. · West Tisbury, MA · Aug. 24, 2022)
And finally, we’ve got this chicken fat mushroom (Suillus americanus) from Heather. Despite the potentially appetizing name, this mushroom is widely agreed upon to be inedible. It’s known to fruit in large, dense colonies, so it’s not surprising to see multiple fruiting bodies in this one observation.
EwA iNaturalist Record (iNat user aussies2 · Maine, US · August 2022)
That’s all for this week—hope you have a good one!
-Mike
📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this past week, totaling 881 observations of 461 distinct species. If you’re curious about the records from this week that have been validated by the iNat community so far, you can find them » here.
🏆 Running tally: To date, we have recorded 122,623 observations of 8,562 distinct species! Check out our EwA umbrella project, see the details per site/observer, and more » here.
📅 EwA Upcoming Public Events
Ewa Field Events » Check the EwA Summer Program [ Event details and registration » ] Don’t miss some great opportunities to follow the rhythm of the season in our local habitats and in the local wildlife! Space is limited for all our field events. Wildlife ethics is important to us and we seek to avoid putting the pressure on natural habitats which large gatherings unavoidably do. We are asking our audience to register-and-commit (or cancel when you know you can’t come) to avoid no-shows.
EwA Fieldwork (and Resources)
Peak schedule: Our monitoring programs are in full swing, and are occurring every week this time of year. Check EwA’s Volunteer Program Calendar 📅 to know when things happen. And if a session is of interest to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to get the rendezvous location.
📅 EwA Sites Map | 🌱 Site Protocols and Guides · Field Rosters · Field Notes » All here! | ℹ️ More about EwA’s Citizen Science Program » Here
❓ Do you have any questions? Don’t be shy. Just email me or reply to this thread.