Cypripedium montanum, the Mountain Lady's Slipper is well named, usually growing at higher elevations. Its range is limited to the northwest, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, California, British Columbia and Alberta. It usually grows under light canopy or at the edges of the canopy, though we have seen it growing in full sun.

The color of its sepals and petals varies from dark mahogany to greenish with mahogany markings. The pouch is always white but often has a red-purple blush around the opening and deep reddish-purple veins inside the pouch that show through to the outside (forma welchii) and occasionally one finds an albino form that is pure green and white (fma. praetertinctum).

There is one natural hybrid of Cypripediium montanum with Cypripedium parviflorum, the Columbia Hybrid Lady's Slipper, Cyp. x columbianum. The color of the pouch ranges from off white to a pale yellow, neither the white pouch of Cyp.montanum nor the bright yellow pouch of Cyp. parviflorum. It is fairly common and often mistaken for a pale Cyp. parviflorum.

Hola! Hoy tenemos este nuevo proyecto en iNaturalist. Bienvenido a este proyecto para reportes de arañas y otros arácnidos en el país de Honduras, Centroamérica. Será interesante ver cuanta información podemos generar sobre este grupo diverso y poco conocido.

It's that time of year again! We're going to have a great weekend with friends new and old. Please make sure to record each reptile and amphibian that you see. If you don't know what it is, that's ok, just take a picture and coordinates and we'll be happy to help you with identification. See you there!

The COPARC Field Trip Team

Alrighty, this month we're grabbing beers at Ghost Town Brewing in Oakland, Friday June 28th at 6pm. I can guarantee that @tiwane and I will be there. Probably also @dgreenberger. And maybe you?

Let's see, some other folks who may be down: @moonlittrails, @morgancantrell, @screws, @radrat, @ang, @anna-towers, @ericsimons, @sennesand, @leftcoastnaturalist, @joeysantore, @zygy, @eddiebug, @marisa, @ouzel, @catchang, @damontighe, @clem, @jennitaur, @sea-kangaroo, @loloscheiner, @adrained, @rademacherdan, @hfabian, @marmot-mot

4 Observers. MA/MB/AP/JV
Inverts.

For the first time since the late 1980s, a pair of golden eagle chicks have been spotted in a nest in the Santa Monica Mountains, officials announced Wednesday.

https://ktla.com/2019/06/26/golden-eagle-chicks-found-in-santa-monica-mountains-for-1st-time-in-30-years/amp/

3 Observers. MA/JV/AP
Revisit to Mountain Lake

3 Observers. Mollusks Revisit. Shoulderband had been previously found on 1/23/2019

MB/AP/JV

Here is a list of the leaf miner species I have observed so far in NYC. The identifications are almost entirely due to the generosity and brilliant ID-ing work of leafminer expert Charley Eiseman, @ceiseman.

Orache Leafminer (on Lambs Quarters) -- Chrysoesthis sexgutella
no common name (on Asteraceae) -- Liriomyza eupatorii
Cabbage Leafminer (on Garlic Mustard) -- Liriomyza brassiere
no common name (on Elm leaves) -- Agromyza aristata
no common name (on White Snakeroot) -- Calycomyza eupatoriphaga
Poison Ivy Leaf-miner (on Poison Ivy) -- Cameraria guttifinitella
Burdock Leaf Miner (on burdocks) -- Liriomyza arctii
Mallow Leafminer (on mallow family) -- Calycomyza malvae
Milkweed Leafminer (on Common Milkweed) -- Liriomyza asclepiadis
no common name (on White Clover) -- Liriomyza fricki
no common name (on Seaside Goldenrod) -- Nemorimyza posticata
Columbine Leafminer (on garden columbines) -- Phytomyza aquilegivora
no common name (on Asteraceae) -- Calycomyza promissa
no common name (on White Snakeroot) -- Liriomyza eupatoriella
no common name (on Asteraceae) -- Ophiomyia parda
Elm Leafminer (on elms) -- Fenusa ulmi
Leaf Miner on Tulip Tree (on tulip Tree) -- Phyllocnistis liriodendronella
no common name (on goldenrods) -- Calycomyza solidaginis
Goldenrod Leaf Miner (on Seaside Goldenrod) -- Microrhpala vittata
no common name (on elm) -- Stigmella apicialbella
Morning-glory Leafminer (on Convolulaceae) -- Bedellia somnulentella
no common name (on Chenopodiaceae) -- Chrysoesthia lingulacella
no common name (on buttercup) -- Phytomyza ranunculi
no common name (on Bull Thistle ) -- Scrobipalpa acuminatella
Chrysanthemum Leafminer (on Asteraceae) -- Phytomyza syngenesiae
Grass Sheathminer (on a weed grass) -- Cerodontha dorsalis
no common name (on Asteraceae) -- Ophiomyia carolinensis
Daylily Leafminer (on daylily) -- Ophiomyia kwansonis

I may have missed a few. And will be adding more as time goes by.

Canada is the third stop on the iNaturalist World Tour with over 1 Million observations. Through the efforts of Canadian Wildlife Federation and Royal Ontario Museum, iNaturalist.ca became part of the iNaturalist Network in 2015. Like the United States, most of the top observers in Canada are based on the east or west coasts.

Canada is even more seasonal than the United States with observations peaking in July each year.

The distribution of observations across species groups is similar to the the United States with slightly more mammals than herps which also makes sense given the higher latitudes.

We’ll be back tomorrow with Australia!
@owenclarkin @jem9redwood @nanorca13 @johndreynolds @swampy @xyz @wdvanhem @gwynethgovers @alwoodhouse @danavan

This year the spring and early summer in New York City has been very wet -- we have had a great deal of rain, and this seems to have favored the growth of fungi.

Here is a list of taxa of fungal plant pathogen species which I *believe* I have observed in NYC. This is very much a work in progress, so please forgive errors of various kinds as well as mistakes and incompleteness. I hope to add to this post and refine the text over time.

NOTE: Apologies to any real plant pathologists reading this: I am not doing any microscope work or culturing, so all of my IDs are *guesses* based only on the appearance and symptoms of the affected leaves. Because of this, some (or perhaps many) of my IDs will turn out to be unreliable or just plain incorrect. As a result, in some cases the icon images for the species will have to be changed.

Some of these fungi were observed living in/on wild species of plant, and some were observed on cultivated plants. So far I have searched parks, gardens, street trees and a small farm.

This first version is gleaned from the list of species currently in the project New York Mycological Society -- Fungi of NYC.

Mulberry leaf spot (on mulberries) -- Cercospora moricola
Pear Rust (on Callery Pear) -- Gymnosporangium sabinae
Black Rot (on Boston Ivy) -- Phyllosticta amplicida
Black Tar Spot (on maples) -- Rhytisma acerinum
Cercospora Leaf Spot on Hydrangea (on hydrangeas) -- Cercospora hydrangea
Red Dock Spot (on docks) -- Ramularia rubella
Quince Rust (on Serviceberries and others) -- Gymnosporangium clavipes
Hollyhock Rust (on garden hollyhocks) -- Puccinia malvacearum
Black Spot (on garden roses) -- Diplocarpon rosae
no common name (on Virginia Creeper) -- Phyllosticta quinquifolia
Spindletree Powdery Mildew (on Japanese Euonymus) -- Erysiphe euonymicola
no common name (on Wild Vetch and on Board Beans) -- Didymella fabae
no common name (on Common Mugwort) -- Puccinia tanaceti
Black Spot of Elm (on Elms) -- Stegophora ulmea
no common name (on Eastern Cottonwood) -- Drepanopezia brunnea
Lettuce Anthracnose (on Prickly Lettuce) -- Microdochium panattonianum
Dogwood Anthracnose (on Dogwood) -- Discula destructiva
Sycamore Anthracnose (on Plane trees) -- Apiognomonia veneta
no common name (on Heavenly Bamboo) -- Pseudocercospora nandinae
Cherry Leaf-Blight (on wild cherry) -- Blumeriella jaapii
Juniper-apple Rust (on Eastern Juniper) -- Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae
Bullseye Leaf Spot (on Japanese Maples) -- Phyllosticta minima
Powdery Mildew on Clover (on Red Clover) -- Erysiphe polygoni
Violet Rust (on wild violets Viola sororia) -- Puccinia violae
Oak Anthracnose (on white oak group) -- Apiognomonia errabunda
Cercospora Leaf Spot of Swiss Chard, Beets, and Spinach (on Beets) -- Cercospora beticola
Cercospora leaf Spot on Clover (on red clover) -- Cercospora zebrina
Hellebore Leaf Spot (on garden hellebore) -- Coniothyrium hellebori
Hypericum Rust (on garden St. John's Wort) -- Melampsora hypercorum
Ash Anthracnose Fungus (on Ash street trees) -- Gleosporium aridum
Peony Red Spot (on garden peony) -- Graphiopsis chlorocephala
no common name (on gardened Trilium) -- Urocystis trillii
Coryneum Blight (on Purple-leaved Plum) -- Wilsonomyces carpophilus

These species are only the ones where I think I could come up with an ID. I have many more about which am currently clueless, and which will probably have to remain so indefinitely for lack of lab work.

Note that the sex brand is only a feature in males of certain species.


Click on the following to enlarge.





Helpful scientific resources:

• Liseki, Steven D. & Richard I. Vane-Wright. 2013. Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of Mount Kilimanjaro: family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae. Journal of Natural History. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2012.752542)


• Gardiner, Alan J. 2015. The presence of Eurema floricola (Boisduval, 1833) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in South Africa. Metamorphosis. (https://www.metamorphosis.org.za/?p=articles&s=Details&i=1330)


• Yata, Osamu. 1994. A Revision of the Old World Species of the Genus Eurema Hubner (Lepidoptera, Pieridae) Part IV. Description of the hecabe group. Bull. Kitakyusku Mus. Nat. Hist. (http://bionames.org/references/f4156280e79035abf3c57324800e0f0d)


• Yata, Osamu. 1995. A Revision of the Old World Species of the Genus Eurema Hubner (Lepidoptera, Pieridae) Part V. Description of the hecabe group. Bull. Kitakyusku Mus. Nat. Hist. (http://www.kmnh.jp/wp-content/themes/kmnh_jp/images/pdf/14-1-E-Yata.pdf)

Note that the specimens chosen to illustrate these species in Williams 2019 (" Afrotropical Butterflies and Skippers - A Digital Encyclopaedia") are not always accurate.

100 000 наблюдений наш проект достиг 26 июня 2019 г. в 14:41 MSK.

The project reached 100,000 observations in 26 Jun 2019, at 14:41 MSK.

99,999 Observations - 4,631 Species - 1,276 Identifiers - 2,320 Observers

Немного официоза: https://www.msu.ru/science/main_themes/onlayn-proekt-mgu-flora-rossii-sobral-100-000-nablyudeniy-polzovateley-so-vsey-strany.html

Существующий бэклог неопределнных фотографий составляет около 15 тыс. наблюдений. Он постепенно увеличивается (на 2 тыс. наблюдений в неделю) из-за невероятной активности пользователей. Вся надежда на зиму, когда объемы новых загрузок пойдут на убыль, а у участников прибавится опыта.

1. Самые активные участники (число наблюдений):

1 @snv2 8,953 730
2 @velibortravoved 6,758 614
3 @apseregin 4,942 995
4 @vvolkotrub 2,672 1,232
5 @panasenkonn 2,454 644
6 @phlomis_2019 2,285 971
7 @eduard_garin 2,062 586
8 @npz 1,946 341
9 @julia_shner 1,698 417
10 @pavel_golyakov 1,624 510
11 @melodi_96 1,502 576
12 @evgenyboginsky 1,498 318
13 @vadim_prokhorov 1,365 673
14 @convallaria1128 1,302 800
15 @borisbolshakov 1,279 431
16 @aleksandrebel 1,170 550
17 @murtazaliev 1,118 828
18 @katerina_kashirina 1,102 352
19 @alzov 1,030 345
20 @svetlanakutueva 1,021 341
21 @sokolkov2002 973 420
22 @ggularijants 963 606
23 @birdchuvashia 822 377
24 @dryomys 794 398
25 @antennaria 791 403
26 @kuzmenckin 787 336
27 @svdudov 765 588
28 @lola73 701 299
29 @alexeiebel 699 278
30 @beerolha 669 281
31 @vladimirtravkin 633 215
32 @viktoriaz 613 295
33 @rsn_max 596 292
34 @denis_tishin 579 229
35 @vladimir_teplouhov 562 240
36 @naturalist8307 547 233
37 @tomegatherion 498 298
38 @yuriydanilevsky 492 341
39 @krivosheev 475 224
40 @max_carabus 462 210

2. Самые активные участники (число видов):

1 @vvolkotrub 2,672 1,232
2 @apseregin 4,942 995
3 @phlomis_2019 2,285 971
4 @murtazaliev 1,118 828
5 @convallaria1128 1,302 800
6 @snv2 8,953 730
7 @vadim_prokhorov 1,365 673
8 @panasenkonn 2,454 644
9 @velibortravoved 6,758 614
10 @ggularijants 963 606
11 @svdudov 765 588
12 @eduard_garin 2,062 586
13 @melodi_96 1,502 576
14 @aleksandrebel 1,170 550
15 @pavel_golyakov 1,624 510
16 @borisbolshakov 1,279 431
17 @sokolkov2002 973 420
18 @julia_shner 1,698 417
19 @antennaria 791 403
20 @dryomys 794 398
21 @birdchuvashia 822 377
22 @katerina_kashirina 1,102 352
23 @alzov 1,030 345
24 @olga_chernyagina 440 341
25 @svetlanakutueva 1,021 341
26 @npz 1,946 341
27 @yuriydanilevsky 492 341
28 @kuzmenckin 787 336
29 @alex_pol_64 419 318
30 @evgenyboginsky 1,498 318
31 @radik_kutushev 414 318
32 @lola73 701 299
33 @tomegatherion 498 298
34 @viktoriaz 613 295
35 @rsn_max 596 292
36 @denis_m 356 289
37 @lenatara 328 288
38 @beerolha 669 281
39 @alexeiebel 699 278
40 @olga2019kuryakova 418 247

3. Зачет региональных проектов:

13,018
Флора Приморского края | Primorsky Krai Flora

7,969
Флора Москвы | Flora of Moscow

7,699
Флора Подмосковья | Moscow Oblast Flora

7,548
Флора Алтайского края | Altai Krai Flora

7,267
Флора Чувашии | Chuvash Republic Flora

4,855
Флора Нижегородской области | Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Flora

4,165
Флора Брянской области | Bryansk Oblast Flora

3,164
Флора Ярославской области | Yaroslavl Oblast Flora

2,744
Флора Калининградской области | Kaliningrad Oblast Flora

2,654
Флора Татарстана | Tatarstan Flora

2,581
Флора Камчатки | Kamchatka Flora

2,215
Флора Краснодарского края | Krasnodar Krai Flora

2,052
Флора Владимирской области | Vladimir Oblast Flora

1,841
Флора Крыма | Flora of the Crimea

1,821
Флора Новосибирской области | Novosibirsk Oblast Flora

1,697
Флора Ростовской области | Rostov Oblast Flora

1,422
Флора Башкирии | Bashkortostan Flora

1,406
Флора Самарской области | Samara Oblast Flora

1,287
Флора Воронежской области | Voronezh Oblast Flora

1,265
Флора Дагестана | Dagestan Flora

1,230
Флора Иркутской области | Irkutsk Oblast Flora

1,211
Флора Санкт-Петербурга | St Petersburg Flora

1,152
Флора Томской области | Tomsk Oblast Flora

1,094
Флора Омской области | Omsk Oblast Flora

1,065
Флора Курской области | Kursk Oblast Flora

1,054
Флора Севастополя | Sevastopol Flora

834
Флора Республики Алтай | Altai Republic Flora

827
Флора Белгородской области | Belgorod Oblast Flora

817
Флора Тульской области | Tula Oblast Flora

770
Флора Ленинградской области | Leningrad Oblast Flora

739
Флора Свердловской области | Sverdlovsk Oblast Flora

664
Флора Калужской области | Kaluga Oblast Flora

631
Флора Тверской области | Tver Oblast Flora

585
Флора Кемеровской области | Kemerovo Oblast Flora

513
Флора Липецкой области | Lipetsk Oblast Flora

464
Флора Югры | Flora of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug

433
Флора Карачаево-Черкесии | Flora of Karachay-Cherkessia

424
Флора Волгоградской области | Volgograd Oblast Flora

398
Флора Костромской области | Kostroma Oblast Flora

393
Флора Адыгеи | Flora of Adygea

369
Флора Рязанской области | Ryazan Oblast Flora

348
Флора Тюменской области | Tyumen Oblast Flora

345
Флора Красноярского края | Krasnoyarsk Krai Flora

317
Флора Карелии | Flora of Karelia

298
Флора Ульяновской области | Ulyanovsk Oblast Flora

233
Флора Псковской области | Pskov Oblast Flora

233
Флора Ставрополья | Stavropol Krai Flora

220
Флора Мурманской области | Murmansk Oblast Flora

213
Флора Новгородской области | Novgorod Oblast Flora

210
Флора Забайкальского края | Zabaykalsky Krai Flora

207
Флора Кировской области | Kirov Oblast Flora

199
Флора Вологодской области | Vologda Oblast Flora

199
Флора Тамбовской области | Tambov Oblast Flora

199
Флора Ямало-Ненецкого АО | Flora of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug

190
Флора Бурятии | Buryat Republic Flora

186
Флора Пензенской области | Penza Oblast Flora

182
Флора Коми | Komi Republic Flora

177
Флора Хакасии | Flora of Khakassia

169
Флора Сахалинской области | Sakhalin Oblast Flora

153
Флора Смоленской области | Smolensk Oblast Flora

143
Флора Амурской области | Amur Oblast Flora

141
Флора Челябинской области | Chelyabinsk Oblast Flora

128
Флора Оренбургской области | Orenburg Oblast Flora

127
Флора Архангельской области | Arkhangelsk Oblast Flora

108
Флора Саратовской области | Saratov Oblast Flora

99
Флора Пермского края | Perm Krai Flora

93
Флора Марий Эл | Mari El Flora

83
Флора Якутии | Flora of Yakutia

62
Флора Астраханской области | Astrakhan Oblast Flora

53
Флора Чукотки | Flora of Chukotka

50
Флора Кабардино-Балкарии | Flora of Kabardino-Balkaria

42
Флора Мордовии | Flora of Mordovia

40
Флора Ненецкого АО | Flora of Nenets Autonomous Okrug

37
Флора Курганской области | Kurgan Oblast Flora

35
Флора Удмуртии | Udmurt Republic Flora

34
Флора Хабаровского края | Khabarovsk Krai Flora

32
Флора Орловской области | Oryol Oblast Flora

28
Флора Магаданской области | Magadan Oblast Flora

28
Флора Тувы | Tyva Republic Flora

26
Флора Северной Осетии | Flora of North Ossetia

16
Флора Калмыкии | Flora of Kalmykia

6
Флора Ивановской области | Ivanovo Oblast Flora

2
Флора Еврейской АО | Flora of Jewish Autonomous Oblast

2
Флора Чечни | Chechen Republic Flora

1
Флора Ингушетии | Flora of Ingushetia

4. Самые активные эксперты:

1 @phlomis_2019 29,691
2 @convallaria1128 17,743
3 @kastani 17,615
4 @julia_shner 17,170
5 @apseregin 12,303
6 @pavel_golyakov 7,412
7 @sergeyprokopenko 6,599
8 @laukines_pievos 3,581
9 @borisbolshakov 3,470
10 @vadim_prokhorov 3,227
11 @beerolha 2,671
12 @eduard_garin 2,571
13 @svg52 2,531
14 @aleksandrebel 2,215
15 @vvolkotrub 1,918
16 @vlbury 1,876
17 @panasenkonn 1,522
18 @mercantour 1,449
19 @alchemillist 1,434
20 @mallaliev 1,242
21 @vladimirtravkin 1,182
22 @olga_chernyagina 890
23 @krivosheev 825
24 @epopov 714
25 @veronika_johansson 712
26 @allaverkhozina 642
27 @tiggrx 600
28 @sergeygerasimov 554
29 @hln_m_t 551
30 @kuzmenckin 530
31 @dryomys 514
32 @bobwardell 485
33 @epikhin 483
34 @smsergey 483
35 @afid 471
36 @albach 456
37 @katerina_kashirina 443
38 @juhakinnunen 421
39 @alexeiebel 415
40 @leoporyadin 406

5. GBIF-зачет по странам (все живые организмы):

United States of America 5,355,467
Canada 602,046
Mexico 565,029
New Zealand 317,160
Australia 281,924
South Africa 236,196
Italy 130,876
Russian Federation 130,572
Germany 125,804
United Kingdom 117,817
Taiwan 70,022
Hong Kong 57,187
France 53,563
Spain 45,247
Colombia 43,964
Costa Rica 40,656
Argentina 38,229
India 33,141
Brazil 31,738
Ecuador 31,435

6. GBIF-зачет по странам (только сосудистые растения):

United States of America 2,015,155
Canada 218,212
New Zealand 174,887
Mexico 137,565
South Africa 124,400
Russian Federation 70,043
United Kingdom 47,356
Italy 39,619
Taiwan 38,037
Germany 37,319
Australia 29,436
France 15,855
Spain 12,340
Switzerland 11,733
Portugal 10,343
Colombia 9,979
Israel 9,465
Czechia 9,375
Madagascar 9,202
Hong Kong 6,316

О том, что такое GBIF и как сделать так, чтобы ваши наблюдения шли в зачет нашей страны на международном уровне можно (и нужно) прочитать тут: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/flora-of-russia/journal/25122-gbif

Nu het volop zomer is valt er nog heel wat te genieten van de pracht van bloeiende wilde bloemen. Opvallend is dat je in de zomerperiode steeds meer kleur ziet komen. Zie je in de lente vooral gele, witte en geelwitte bloemen in het wild, nu zie je ook meer kleuren blauw, rood en roze en paars in de bloemenpracht. Het is goed om daar eens op te letten.

Hangt dit samen met de andere insectensamenstelling in de zomer in vergelijking tot de lente? Immers naast de geur is de kleur van bloemen minstens zo belangrijk om bezoekers aan te trekken. Die bezoekers dienen voor de wilde planten immers als werkpaarden om te zorgen voor de bestuiving en dus bevruchting van die wilde bloemen.

Opvallende bloeiende soorten in deze periode van het jaar zijn de Kaasjeskruiden. Vooral Groot kaasjeskruid kun je nu op diverse plekken bewonderen, zoals in bermen van wegen, dijkhellingen en langs spoorwegen. Ook Bont kroonkruid past met zijn roze kleur in dit palet. Als je je richt op blauw als kleur valt vooral Slangenkruid al snel op. De grote bloemen worden bezocht door onder meer hommels. Maar ook diverse soorten uit het Klokjesgeslacht tonen hun blauwe kleur. Ruig klokje vind je vooral in zomen en bosranden, terwijl Grasklokje en Rapunzelklokje zich meer thuis voelen in graslanden. Ook de Korenbloem lijkt bezig zich uit te breiden, nu er veel meer aandacht komt voor het in stand houden van onze insectenpopulaties. En wat dacht je van de paarse bloeiwijzen van het nauw verwante Knoopkruid ? Is deze tijd niet een geweldig mooie tijd om wilde bloemen te bekijken? Trek erop uit, kom in de wandelbenen en geniet van wat de natuur ons biedt aan wilde bloemen.

We hebben voor jullie een aantal zomerbloeiers in het zonnetje gezet met 91 filmpjes met uitleg hoe je deze planten kunt determineren. Je kunt ze hier vinden: http://www.floravannederland.nl/home/plantensoorten/maanden/juli/

This project was created in June 2019 and is intended to draw attention and exploration effort to this strip of Onkaparinga coast in South Australia. The strip features numerous patches of inshore and nearshore rocky reef, and we look forward to seeing your discoveries... beachcast and live sightings alike. The Marine Life Society of South Australia ( http://mlssa.org.au ) has members active in this area... feel free to contact them if you'd like to join them on one of their future photo surveys or bio blitzes.

Hi again Australasian Fishes members,

I'll be away from my computer for the next 3 weeks. Feel free to message me as normal but I won't be able to reply for some time. I'm sure the Australasian Fishes community will carry on just fine in my absence, but if something earthshattering should occur, please contact @amandahay.

I'm already looking forward to catching up after I return.

Happy fishes,
Mark

not sure why this scales on mobile

and this doesn't

Despite the stifling heat, Kartchner Caverns State Park is still bustling with life! Agave stalks are reaching towards the sky, lizards and snakes are soaking up the sun’s rays, and birds are flitting about in the early mornings. Even the nighttime critters are out and about, enjoying the fleeting reprieve from the heat. iNaturalist observations can be made any time of day!

If you decide to explore during the heat of the day, make sure to take the necessary precautions before going outside. We recommend sunscreen, breathable clothing, a hat, and sunglasses. And don’t forget to bring plenty of water!

As we continue into the summer, we look forward to the exciting observations that will be made—all of which help us better understand the diversity of species in Kartchner Caverns State Park. Thank you for your help and time, and stay cool out there!

*We would also like to give a shoutout to two projects that need your help: Southwest Monarch Study Sightings and Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper. Both iNaturalist projects are interested in monarch and milkweed observations, which will allow scientists to better understand monarchs in conjunction with ongoing conservation efforts. Please visit the following links for more information:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/southwest-monarch-study-sightings
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/western-monarch-milkweed-mapper

This fungus project is being expanded to include multiple sites throughout Montgomery County, Maryland

looking for damselflies at mountain lake's north arm

search for zygoptera at mountain lake's east arm

This is an old news article that comes from the other side of the pond. I actually remember hearing this story in 2009, long before I took any particular interest in moths. It was really interesting to me because I am interested in evolution through natural selection and the time periods over which it can be observed. This story is a case where an environmental factor (industrial air pollution) favored darker coloration for a particular species of moth, and then over time that trend reversed as the air became cleaner.

The moth in question is apparently a relatively common moth in the United Kingdom known as Peppered Moth (Biston betularia). It is from the Geometridae family, which generally have wide wings and lay relatively flat. See the iNaturalist species page here.

Read the Telegraph article here.

I love observing nature and learning more about plants and animals. I recently observed the Common Green Bottle Fly in the weeds near our house and learned that it is also known as a blow fly. It has a very bad affect on the sheep in the British Isles feeding directly on the skin surface of sheep. The larvae feed on flesh including dead flesh. They are used medicinally to clean open flesh wounds. They are used in forensics to help determine time of death and whether a body has been disturbed. Their life cycle is only about two to three weeks. They will complete three to four generations in our area of eastern Kentucky.

The second most active country on iNaturalist is Mexico. This is due to the efforts of CONABIO who were the founding members of the iNaturalist Network with Naturalista.mx.

While growth has been steady since 2013, Mexico saw a huge bump April 2019 from the Mexico Reto Naturalista Urbano organized in conjunction with the 2019 City Nature Challenge.

Compared to the United States, there's a slightly larger proportion of bird and herp observations and slightly fewer insects and fungi.

We’ll be back tomorrow with Canada!
@momoto-erick @francisco3_tutor @juancarlosgarciamorales1 @blakesito @najera_tutor @ivanresendizcruz @alexiz @poncho @aztekium_tutor @pioleon

A recent publication that incorporates iNaturalist data. Read it here:
https://biotaxa.org/hn/article/view/46230/47319

Our Observation of the Week is this Cynomorium coccineum plant, seen in Jordan by @fragmansapir!

Currently the scientific director of the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir works “on endangered plants, flower bulbs, doing ecological and taxonomic research.” He also leads tours in Israel, the Mediterranean, and the Caucasus. While on an excursion to the southern part of Jordan (for his birthday!) this past April when Dr. Fragman-Sapir came across the small plant seen above. “It was amazing to see this parasite coming out of the dry sands, as if it was a miracle,” he recalls.

Those red stalks are pretty much the only parts of the plant one can see above ground, and they’re source of this species’ myriad common names, such as red thumb, desert thumb, and the bizarre (and misleading) Maltese fungus. A completely parasitic plant, Cynomorium coccineum contains no chlorophyll and spends most of its existence as a rhizome (an underground stem - think ginger or lotus “roots”), leaching nutrients and water its host plant, or plants. In spring the plant will send up its inflorescence, which is covered in tiny flowers. Flies are attracted to the cabbage-like smell of these flowers, and serve as the plant’s main pollinators.

Dr. Fragman-Sapir (above) has recently started posting his photos to iNaturalist, and hope it becomes a place where can have all of his “observations in one convenient place where others could enjoy and learn as well.”

- by Tony Iwane

- Dr. Fragman-Sapir has authored or coauthored several books, some in Hebrew and some in English, including Flowers of the Eastern Mediterranean.

- Many cultures have believed Cynomorium coccineum can cure multiple ailments, such as ulcers, anemia, hypertension, and impotence. It’s flesh is also edible as a food source.

- Check out this video about dodder, another type of parasitic plant, and watch it “choose” a host.

Here is something stunning to keep an eye out for. Spotted at goat Island by @ellalis and is only about 10-15mm long.


More pics at this obs

We’re launching a new series today where each week we’ll focus on seven countries and feature one of them each day. We tried this a year and a half ago, but it was heavy on writing which made it a bit too staff intensive for us to maintain. We’re giving it another shot, but this time are going to let the figures speak for themselves.

As we’ve done before, we’ve sorted countries based on the number of observations and will proceed in descending order. This week we’ll start with the most active countries on iNaturalist. iNaturalist is still heavily biased towards the United States, its North American neighbors (Mexico and Canada), the United Kingdom, and her southern hemisphere Commonwealth sisters (Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand).

So without further ado, let’s kick things off with the United States. This figure shows the top 50 observers located near the median of their observations made within the country. Each user is scaled by the number of observations they’ve made. You can see the bias towards California, Texas, and New England where most of the top observers are based. These figures are static snapshots of iNaturalist from today (6/24/19).

Growth in number of observations per month looks a lot like growth on the site overall. Observations have been doubling annually and there’s a clear summer bias.

The figure below shows the most "observose" groups of organisms and the top identifier in each group. Also like the site as a whole, Plants, Insects and Birds are the three biggest groups.

We’ll be back tomorrow with Mexico!