A strange creature indeed.

One of the benefits of doing this quest for 1,000 species has been my discovery of many creatures that I have never noticed before.   A classic example of this was a Pseudoscorpion.  A co-worker captured this member of Arachnida in his house and delivered it to me alive.  The largest of these tiny creatures only reach about one-quarter of an inch in length and have a flattened pear-shaped body.  They lack a stinger like that of a true scorpion and have 8 walking legs, plus 2 very long arms ending in pincers, much like the pincers of true scorpion.  Some species even lack eyes.  They are usually found in leaf litter, behind bark or under rocks, and occasionally within houses where they sometimes arrive having hitched rides on houseflies and other flying insects.  Some species live with mammals and birds, feeding on their lice and other parasites, and are often found in chicken houses where they feed on the lice.  They prey on a number of small insects, mites and larvae, which is why they sometimes survive in human homes where they eat booklice, clothes moths, dust mites and ants.  There is a tiny venom gland in their pincers that is used to subdue their tiny prey, but they are harmless to humans as they are simply too small to bite us. 

Depending on species, Pseudoscorpions can live for several years.  Because they are harmless to humans and eat many small pests, they are considered beneficial to humans.

Large and in Charge

Autumn is a great time for insects and spiders.  The nights and days are still warm enough to find new species, which most of which are mature and large.

A Giant Walkingstick that was captured by Brad and Kendra Ikenberry in Lawrence, Kansas.

This very large Golden Garden Spider is a common sight this time of year in Kansas.

This Obscure Bird Grasshopper was almost 3 inches long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellowstone and the Tetons

I just returned from a trip to the Tetons and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  The waterfalls, geysers and mountains were beyond belief.  The mammals and birds were diverse and amazing.  The trip also included drives through rural Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  Grizzly bears and river otters eluded me, but most other expected mountain mammal species were observed.  New bird species included most of the usual western mountain species, with the biggest surprise being a pair of Harlequin Ducks.  

An American Black Bear being too busy ripping grubs from a rotting log to look up for the picture.

This is an American Dipper standing on a rock in the middle of a Yellowstone stream.

Luck was on our side as we arrived at this location just in time to see Bison crossing a river in Yellowstone.

Here is a young Common Raven standing along a road in the park.

This is a view of the Grand Teton Mountains on one foggy morning.