The Top of the Gob Pile

I was inspecting an area with an acid mine drainage problem last Wednesday for work and we found the source pretty easily: a massive gob pile. What's a gob pile? It's the pile of stuff left over from coal mining. There's a lot of different materials in it, including a lot of shale, giving it a black color. It's an ugly thing that causes lots of problems, but regulation in the US has stopped companies from abandoning them since 1977.

Interestingly enough, there were a few plants growing on the top of the pile, and a few old stumps, which held some biology after all.

This tiny grasshopper blended in with the fall colors, until it jumped onto a patch of moss.

Pixie Cup Lichen, Cladonia pyxidata, grew in a couple patches.

British Soldier Lichen, Cladonia cristatella, made itself known with its bright red caps. Those red caps on the stalks hold its spores.

And since I can never resist turning over a decaying log, I was rewarded with this scarab beetle grub. Not sure what it is, but it's kind of pretty. If you squint a lot, it almost resembles a delicious dumpling.

"Life will find a way."

"It looks like an uncooked sausage"

One of my mantras when I go out to look for bugs and other critters is "Turn over that decaying log." You always have a great chance of finding neat stuff when you look through decaying wood, including creatures such as centipedes, millipedes, spiders, slugs, and of course, insects.

Today was no exception.

"O hai!"

After rolling over a particularly good log, I looked into a hole bored into the wood and found what one girl described as "an uncooked sausage" before she backed away to find some prettier biology. Despite its leathery appearance a bird or small mammal would look upon this beetle grub with much more glee. Then it would gobble this sucker down in a heartbeat.

A grub in the hand is worth...two in the log?

Judging by the size of this grub, I'm guessing that it's a grub of the Eastern Hercules Beetle (Dynastes tityus), though I'm not completely sure. I've uploaded it to BugGuide and hope to hear back about it soon. 

While decaying logs may not be the prettiest addition to wooded areas, they're still quite useful to the ecology of the forest. Without them, beetle grubs like this one would lose their only habitat, thus denying us their impressive beauty as adult beetles.

Shiny Green Beetles Galore!

Ohio got pounded by the derecho two Fridays ago. I myself lost power, and the heat was terrible. But there was something good that came out of it!

June Beetles. June Beetles EVERYWHERE.

As I learned the next morning, Green June Beetles (Cotinis nitida) apparently like to emerge from the ground after a sustained rain, and boy did they come out! I saw at least a dozen in a small area, flying around a patch of clover and a fallen pine tree branch. 

"I'M GONNA GET YA!"

The females that were around had to deal with many males vying for some action. For the good of the species, of course.

With all these beetles flying around, it was a miniature treasure hunt for me. I caught a few to keep under observation, and one to pin for my collection. It had been a few years since I had found any living June beetles, and they're so pretty, so I was fascinated. These guys are like tiny helicopters whizzing around in the air when they take flight. When I first saw them, I was a few meters away and thought they were bumblebees...until I figured out that those would have to be terrifyingly massive bumblebees. After I saw the first, I saw another, and another, and another! It's always neat to see so many insects together like that; it helps you remember how they outnumber us.

Now it's about a week later. I went out into my yard tonight to check on a pitfall trap I had set, then strolled around with my beating sheet checking trees and shrubs for other insects. I stumbled upon some poop (we have so many furry critters running around the backyard--this is a very common occurrence), crouched down to look for dung beetles, and heard a loud buzz next to me. To my delight, I was staring at another green June beetle!

Isn't that the most beautiful June beetle you've ever seen? It looks like a tiger with all those stripes! Just, wow! I haven't seen this color variation before, super neat. I tried to catch it, but it flew off right after I snapped this photo. My legs are no match for those tiny wings. 

If I'm lucky, it will be back and I'll have another chance. In the meantime, I'll be on the lookout for more June beetles, and hopefully I'll get more variety than the Phyllophaga species that keep flying to my light at night!