Heeeelllllllllooooooo everyone! Alex here, checking in from EarthLab!
Not many interesting things happened at EarthLab this month but still managed to find a few things to share with you all. So, let’s jump right into it………….
I can’t quite recollect if I have shared any pictures of the many fungi that appear throughout EarthLab. But, just in case I haven’t, here are a few.
This one, I found growing on a tree trunk of a cut down tree. It had a very foamy appearance to it with a white and yellow gradient on it. I kept coming back to check on the evolution of this fungus and everyday the yellow on its edge became darker and more pronounced. After a few days the smooth transition of its gradient from white to yellow had changed. It had become a darker tone of yellow with more defined edges. It almost looked like it had a ring similar to the rings of Saturn! Unfortunately, I did not get to capture this amazing transformation of its later stage but I do have a picture of its initial look.
When the plants we have on pots at EarthLab don’t make it, we empty the soil onto a pile for later use. There has been quite a few times when we start to see plants grow from this mount of soil. Here we have some buckwheat and a few mushrooms. Check out the pretty cool looking texture on its surface!!
Moving on to some critter images. Ever heard of Peritoma arborea? What about its most common name, bladderpod? Well then, let me inform you a bit! Bladderpod is a perennial shrub. Perennial meaning that it grows and blooms over the spring and summer, and dies back every autumn and winter. This plant has a foul smelling odor from chemicals it produces to discourage insects from eating it. However, that doesn’t stop these critters from hanging around! These are known as Harlequin bugs. Not to confuse them for the Batman character Harley Quinn! Not sure what the reason is but these harmless bugs LOVE these shrubs! I guarantee you that you will find more than 30 at any given moment!
Moving on to our next critter, we have this finger nail size grasshopper. Such a cute little critter. Can’t say the same for the bigger ones. I’m just not too fond of their bigger counterpart.
Well, that’s it for today! Come check in next month for more EarthLab fun!
