Explore Outdoors ~ Going on a Flea hunt ...

 ... snow fleas, that is. Monday it was so warm (40oF) that I decided to check out the old oak log behind my garden. It’s covered with moss and lichens, and on Monday the snow below it was covered with snow fleas!

Seen from a couple feet away, snow fleas look like specks of pepper. 

Up close, they look like bigger specks of pepper! Unless you have a hand lens, and then you can see their legs. They have six, but they aren’t insects. And they aren’t even fleas. They’re teensy arthropods called Collembola, or springtails. They’re a whopping 1/8 inch long and have two tail-like structures that are tucked under their belly – until they release and catapult the snow flea into the air, flinging them up to 100 body lengths away. It’s a great ride with one problem – the snow fleas have no control over where they land. 

Turns out snow fleas have been around a long time, at least 400 million years. By comparison, the first dinosaur didn’t show up until 240 million years ago, writes Judy Rosovsky. Check out her article at VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.

Snow fleas have been found on Mt. Everest, so finding them in my backyard isn’t unusual. They’ve got a protein that acts as an anti-freeze to keep their cells from freezing, says Judy. And they don’t bite people – or pets. Instead, these tiny-but-mighty jumpers subsist on leaf litter, decaying plants, and fungi. 

This week, if you’ve got snow and a warm day, go on a snow flea hunt!

Explore Outdoors ~ one last look at garden spiders

 My garden is a great habitat for spiders. I pile dried grass and straw on the beds to help keep them from drying out - and spiders love to hide in the mulch. I grow flowers between the tomatoes and peppers, and spiders love the web-building opportunities tall stems provide. And some plants have big leaves that create a shade for spiders looking for hiding spots. Here are a couple end-of-season spider pictures.

 

 

A Last Hurrah for Bugs

Summer is definitely over, but fortunately* there’s still plenty of bugs all around us. Here are three books for bug-watchers who don't mind pulling on a sweatshirt. 

*my point of view. I realize other folks may have different feelings….

Themes: insects, evolution, nature

Bugs: A Skittery, Jittery History 

by Miriam Forster; illus. by Gordy Wright 

80 pages; ages 6-9+

‎Harry N. Abrams, 2024

“Bugs are everywhere,” writes Miriam Forster, noting they live in Antarctica, on the desert sands of the Sahara, and in the highest mountains on Earth. And they’ve been here forever – or at least for the past 520 million years or so. This oversize, beautifully illustrated book begins with an introduction to what makes a “bug” and a review of the classification system scientists use. Two-page sections show the evolutionary history and biology of arthropods, from trilobites to termites. 

What I like about this book: At the top of the first page of every section there’s a geologic timeline that runs from Cambrian to Quaternary. An icon of the bug sits above the appropriate period, with a note below about when it first showed up in the fossil record. There’s a “Did You Know” fact, a Toolbox, and a sidebar. The Toolbox is where you’ll find out more about how bugs breathe, segmentation, eyes, legs and other body parts, and behavioral adaptations. Sidebars focus on cool things such as modern-day relatives of the prehistoric critters, biomimicry, and how to distinguish a millipede from a centipede.

Back matter – yes, even with all that info there IS back matter – includes how to make a bug-catching kit, how to handle insects, and how to help bugs. The only thing that might make this book even better would be a table of contents. 

Bella Loves Bugs: A Fact-filled Nature Adventure Bursting with Bugs! (Nature Heroes, 2) 

by Jess French; illus. by Duncan Beedie 

48 pages; ages 4-7

Happy Yak/ Quarto, 2022

Hello, I’m Bella. I love bugs. When I grow up, I want to be an entomologist – that’s someone who studies insects.

Spend a day with Bella and her spider side-kick, and get to know the insects that live in her neighborhood. You’ll probably find many of them around your own yard! She finds ants, bees, and butterflies. She hops with crickets and checks the beetles in her tumble trap. At the end of the day she sets up a sheet and a light for an evening of moth-watching.

What I like about this book: I like how illustrator, Duncan Beedie incorporates graphic novel-type panels and speech bubbles. I like the sidebar pages that highlight such things as aquatic insects, metamorphosis, and twelve sparkly beetles. And I like the back matter that shows kids how they can be a nature hero for bugs.

One Day a Mayfly 

by Shirley Marr; illus by Michael Speechley

40 pages; ages 4-8

Candlewick, 2025

One bright morning, Mayfly emerges. 

Nobody notices except a little girl. And the frog who warns the mayfly that the world out there will eat her up. "Not that it matters. You'll only live for one day, anyway." But one day can be an astonishing amount of time for a tiny insect. Mayfly takes flight and leads readers - and the girl - on a tour around the park.

What I like about this book: What an imaginative way to introduce a short-lived creature! Mayflies are in the insect order, Ephemeroptera, as the adults live only a day or so. [The juveniles (larvae) are aquatic and, depending on species, may live up to a year before emerging as adults.] 

I like that there's a lot of "one day" word play in the illustrations: Day in Units; Day out Apartments, Daydream travel agency... I like that Mayfly could go on unknown adventures, but discovers that there are so many surprises nearby. I love that Mayfly wears a party hat but has no mouth. And I love that the adventures of Mayfly and the girl come back full circle to where they started, connecting with family - old and newly acquired.

One thing that is interesting about this book is that you have to turn it to read it. Like a calendar. Indeed, both front and back end pages are calendars that add context to the story. While a fun way to present a story, I found it awkward to flip pages up instead of right to left. At the end of the book, I found myself wanting to know more about mayflies: why didn't the mayfly have a mouth? Why do they live only one day? Do they really hatch in May?

Beyond the Books:

Go on a bug hike. Look for bugs that are on the ground, in a pond, on a tree, on flowers, or flying through the air. Set a timer. How many bugs do you see in five minutes?

Draw pictures of bugs you see outside your house, or that you saw on your bug walk. Or visit an insect house at a zoo or museum and draw your favorite bugs that you see there.

Be a bug! Even if for only a day! Make yourself a pair of antennae. You’ll need: a paper bag, pipe cleaners, tape, scissors. Here’s how. Mine are straight because I was being a fly that day – and also, I had to substitute a couple straws instead of pipe cleaners. I also made designs on my headband. Be creative! Extra points if you can make yourself a pair of wings!

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. And on Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy of  One Day a Mayfly from publisher. Other books  from the library.

Explore Outdoors ~ Spiders in my Garden

 I have so many different kinds of spiders that hang out in my garden. Crab spiders, often matching the colors of the flowers, wait to ambush a fly or bee that drops by to sip nectar or collect pollen. Jumping spiders scurry across leaves, on the hunt. Others spin sticky nets between flowers to capture bees and flies who aren't paying attention to where they're going. Last month I counted five silk-wrapped, bee-shaped burrititos dangling from a garden spider's web. She'd won the real-estate lottery, setting up shop between two tall coneflower stems.

 

This week, check out the spiders

living in your neighborhood!

 

 

Explore Outdoors ~ Ants on Plants!

 

 I headed out for a walk the other day, thinking I might find bees on some of the wildflowers. I stopped and looked, closer and closer....

 

 

 

... and found an ant meandering up the raceme of almost-open blossoms. Looks like it barely escaped the fangs of a camouflaged flower spider! In all honesty, I didn't even see the spider until I looked at the photo later, on my computer.

 

So why did the ant climb up the cherry tree? Maybe it has a sweet tooth - er, mandible. Leaves of some species of wild cherry have extrafloral nectaries. Perhaps this ant is part of a pest-patrol? 

 

Peonies provide nectar for ants that keep pesky plant-chewing bugs off their flowers and stems - you can find out more here.

 

Look closely this week. 

Do you have ants on your plants? 

 

 

Explore Outdoors ~ garden denizen

 Of all the spiders hanging out in my garden, I think this one (Argiope aurantia) is the prettiest. Look at the color and design! And look at those sharp claws! These spiders are great garden residents - they eat flies and mosquitoes and bothersome gnats. I admit I feel sad when I see a bee tangled in their web, but everyone's gotta eat...

 iNaturalist calls this spider a yellow garden spider. They also go by other names:  the black and yellow garden spider, golden garden spider, writing spider, zigzag spider, and zipper spider.

What name would you give this spider?

Arthropods and the People who Love Them!

 It’s Groundhog Day – and that means that we are Halfway To Spring! Soon there will be snowfleas hopping about, and sap moths – I can’t wait. But for now, while snow and ice make bug life hard, I’m sharing a couple of fun books. You get a two-fer today because my book basket is filling up faster than I can post reviews…

themes: nature, insects, arthropods

Is this a House for a Hermit Crab?

By Megan McDonald; illus. by Katherine Tillotson

40 pages; ages 4-8

‎ Neal Porter Books, 2024 (originally published 1990)

I became acquainted with hermit crabs while doing field research on Cocos Island, Costa Rica. I loved watching them toddle across the beach, carrying snail shells on their back. So when I had kids, of course I read them this book. Now, re-visioned with new artwork, it is just as fun to read as it was more than 30 years ago.

Hermit Crab was growing too big for the house on his back.

So up, onto the shore he climbs as he sets out to find a new house. Something that will give him room to grow and keep him safe from his enemies – especially the porcupine fish. Hermit Crab tries one improbable thing after another – a rock, a tin can… but before he can complete his quest, a wave washes him back into the sea where a hungry porcupine fish lurks!

What I like about this book: The language! Megan McDonald indulges our senses with words that evoke the sounds of the crab scuttling along the beach. Scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch. Then there’s the repetition of this line every time Crab sets off to find a new home: he stepped along the shore, by the sea, in the sand. And there is back matter. Megan explains more about hermit crabs and includes fun facts, such as how many legs they have and how they are best friends with sea anemones. And – whew! Hermit Crab manages to find a home in the nick of time so he doesn’t become a fish meal.

If you read my blog much, you know I am passionate about bugs! So I was eager to get my tarsi on this new-to-the-States book!

The Girl who Loves Bugs

By Lily Murray; illus. by Jenny Løvlie

32 pages; ages 4-8

‎Peachtree, 2024  

 Evie loves bugs! Fat bug and thin bugs and bugs that can fly, beautiful butterflies filling the sky.

She loves bugs SO much that she brings them inside. And then they … escape! On the day Great Gran and the family are coming to visit. What happens when they sit down for a big meal and find bugs on the plates and chairs? But ... instead of being sent to her room, Evie learns that Great Gran loves bugs, too. Together they come up with a marvelous solution for Evie’s desire to care for her mini-beasts.

What I like about this book: What a fun story for kids – and inspired by a real entomologist: Evelyn Cheesman. I like the way we discover that "loving bugs" is fine, as long as they are loved and admired in their own habitat (which is where they feel safest). I love the endpages filled with fanciful insects. And there is back matter! Lilly Murray tells us a bit more about Evelyn Cheesman and shares two fun buggy activities

Beyond the Books:

Some hermit crabs line up to trade shells with their friends. Here’s a video showing how hermit crabs switch shells. And some hermit crabs don’t even bother with shells. They use plastic bottle caps and other trash. You can find out more here.

Pretend you are a hermit crab seeking a safe place to snuggle. What sorts of things might you choose for your home? A sleeping bag roll? A large pillow? A cardboard box? Try it on for size…

Make a Bug Hotel for the beetles and other insects hanging out in your yard. Bug hotels can be pretty simple. Begin with a wooden frame (a CD crate works well) and fill with bundles of sticks, pine cones, leaves, moss, and lichens. This article from University of Vermont can help you get started.

Want to read more about Evelyn? Check out this review of Evelyn The Adventurous Entomologist  I wrote just a few years ago.

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Spider in the Garden

 I see lots of crab spiders in the flowers, and wolf spiders running through the mulch. But the other day I found this Nursery Web spider hanging out on top of a lupine leaf. I couldn't quite look it eye-to-eye, but I got close... so close that I could see the silk coming out of its body.

This week pay attention to the spiders hanging around on the plants nearby. They might be hunting, waiting in ambush, or spinning a web. What do you discover by looking close?

The book review is still on vacation, but drop by next Wednesday for some more backyard science.

Explore Outdoors ~ Millipedes!

 

The millipedes living in my neck of the woods are about three inches long and round, with pretty stripes marking the edge of each segment. They have dainty antennae and feet that will tickle if you let them crawl up your arm. Some folks think millipedes have 1,000 legs, but they don't. What they do have is 2 pair of legs per segment. Centipedes have one pair of legs per segment, and tend to be flatter - and faster. 

Millipedes tend to spiral when they die, and their colors fade. But, even dead, they are cool to observe. For one thing, their faces look like they have smiles. And for another, you can see how the legs attach.

This week ~ look for bugs with lots of legs. Maybe you'll find roly-polies (pill bugs) or centipedes or millipedes, or daddy longlegs. 

Give it a name. Mine is named Millie.

Spend some time watching your critter. How do the legs attach to the body? How fast does it move? What does it look like when you put your eyes at ground level?

Ask questions.

Draw a picture or take a photo so you can continue to study your leggy critter.