Minibeasts in Your Garden
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Oak Woodland Litter Spiders James Steffen Chicago Botanic Garden
Oak Woodland Litter Spiders James Steffen Chicago Botanic Garden George Retseck Objectives • Learn about Spiders as Animals • Learn to recognize common spiders to family • Learn about spider ecology • Learn to Collect and Preserve Spiders Kingdom - Animalia Phylum - Arthropoda Subphyla - Mandibulata Chelicerata Class - Arachnida Orders - Acari Opiliones Pseudoscorpiones Araneae Spiders Arachnids of Illinois • Order Acari: Mites and Ticks • Order Opiliones: Harvestmen • Order Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudoscorpions • Order Araneae: Spiders! Acari - Soil Mites Characteriscs of Spiders • Usually four pairs of simple eyes although some species may have less • Six pair of appendages: one pair of fangs (instead of mandibles), one pair of pedipalps, and four pair of walking legs • Spinnerets at the end of the abdomen, which are used for spinning silk threads for a variety of purposes, such as the construction of webs, snares, and retreats in which to live or to wrap prey • 1 pair of sensory palps (often much larger in males) between the first pair of legs and the chelicerae used for sperm transfer, prey manipulation, and detection of smells and vibrations • 1 to 2 pairs of book-lungs on the underside of abdomen • Primitively, 2 body regions: Cephalothorax, Abdomen Spider Life Cycle • Eggs in batches (egg sacs) • Hatch inside the egg sac • molt to spiderlings which leave from the egg sac • grows during several more molts (instars) • at final molt, becomes adult – Some long-lived mygalomorphs (tarantulas) molt after adulthood Phenology • Most temperate -
The Common Spiders of Antelope Island State Park
THE COMMON SPIDERS OF ANTELOPE ISLAND STATE PARK by Stephanie M Cobbold Web-building Spiders ______________________________________________________________________________ Family Araneidae (orb web spiders) Build a circular spiral web on support lines that radiate out from the center The spider is often found waiting for prey in the center of its web Typical eye pattern: 4 median eyes clustered in a square shape Eye pattern Orb web SMC SMC Neoscona (back and front views) Banded Garden Spider (Argiope) 1 ______________________________________________________________________________ Family Theridiidae (cob web spiders) Abdomen usually ball or globe-shaped Have bristles on legs called combs. These combs are used to fling silk strands over captive prey. Web is loose, irregular and 3-dimensional commons.wikimedia.org Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) Theridion ________________________________________________________________________ Family Linyphiidae (sheet web spiders) Build flat, sheet-like or dome-shaped webs under which the spider hangs upside- down. Abdomen is usually longer than wide SMC Sheet web spider hanging under its web 2 ________________________________________________________________________ Family Dictynidae (mesh web spiders) Make small, irregular webs of hackled threads Often found near the tips of plants SMC ________________________________________________________________________ Family Agelenidae (funnel web spiders) Web is a silk mat with a funnel-shaped retreat at one end in which the spider waits in ambush -
The Minibeast Pack – RBKC
The Ecology Service 2010 Date published 26/04/10 Title option here dependent on image 30 - 42pt Sub-title, if required, goes here 18 - 26pt The Minibeast Pack Background information and resources for teachers For further information contact: Holland Park Ecology Centre The Stable Yard Ilchester Place London W8 6LU Tel: 020 7938 8186 Email: [email protected] Contents Page Title Page number Introduction and aims 3 Holland Park Ecology Centre and 4 Wildlife Area How to conduct a minibeast hunt 5 Health and safety and risk assessment 7 Pre-visit ideas 8 Post visit ideas 9 Minibeast or invertebrate groups 10 Food chains and food webs 12 Invertebrate identification sheets and 14 key Worksheets 19 Glossary 29 Letter to class about their forthcoming 30 visit To book a self led session or one led by a member of the Ecology staff or for further information contact: Holland Park Ecology Centre Stableyard Ilchester Place London W8 6LU Tel: 020 7938 8186 Email: [email protected] Website: www.rbkc.gov.uk/ecology. 2 Introduction This pack contains useful resources and ideas about minibeast hunting at Holland Park for KS1 and KS2 teachers. The content and activities can be adapted to suit the different needs of classes and age groups. It aims to give teachers a better understanding of invertebrates and habitats and provides suggestions for pre and post visit activities. The pack contains photocopiable worksheets and identification sheets that may be used on the visit or could form the basis for follow up work. Key vocabulary is written in bold in the text and a short definition of each term can be found in the glossary. -
Naturalist April 2013 1082
April 2013 Volume 138 Number 1082 Yorkshire Union The Naturalist Vol. 138 No. 1082 April 2013 Contents Page Editorial 1 John Newbould: President of the YNU 2012-2013 2 Aqua�c plants in Yorkshire canals R. Goulder 4 An interes�ng plant gall on Gorse Derek Parkinson 16 Andricus gemmeus – a new gall for Yorkshire Tom Higginbo�om 17 A provisional Vascular Plant Red Data List for VC63 ‐ an evalua�on of current status 18 G.T.D. Wilmore The Gledhow Valley Woods Nest Box Scheme Mar�n Calvert 31 Onset of Summer Plumage in Black‐headed Gulls at Doncaster Lakeside, based on 35 field observa�ons January to March 2012* Colin A. Howes and John A. Porter Notes on Sowerby’s Beaked Whale strandings on the Yorkshire coast* 38 D.E. Whi�aker Seals at Teesmouth: a historical review Colin A. Howes and Robert Woods 42 Rosemary Beetle Chrysolina americana ‐ a new beetle record for Mid‐west Yorkshire 49 G. Boyd Field Note ‐ Rhododendron lea�opper in VC64 Mark Darwell and John Bowers 50 Recording in VC65 July 2012 John Newbould, Adrian Norris and Bill Ely 52 Botanical Report for 2012 Phyl Abbo� 62 YNU Excursions 2013 70 Project: The Yorkshire Flat Hedgehog Survey Colin A. Howes 78 Project: Parasi�sm of Coleophora serratella Derek Parkinson 79 YNU Calendar April ‐ August 2013 80 Book review: p77 YNU No�ce: p79 An asterix* indicates a peer‐reviewed paper Front cover: Hound’s‐tongue Cynoglossum officinale, one of the rare na�ve plants proposed for VC63’s Red Data List of plants (see p21). -
Common Kansas Spiders
A Pocket Guide to Common Kansas Spiders By Hank Guarisco Photos by Hank Guarisco Funded by Westar Energy Green Team, American Arachnological Society and the Chickadee Checkoff Published by the Friends of the Great Plains Nature Center i Table of Contents Introduction • 2 Arachnophobia • 3 Spider Anatomy • 4 House Spiders • 5 Hunting Spiders • 5 Venomous Spiders • 6-7 Spider Webs • 8-9 Other Arachnids • 9-12 Species accounts • 13 Texas Brown Tarantula • 14 Brown Recluse • 15 Northern Black Widow • 16 Southern & Western Black Widows • 17-18 Woodlouse Spider • 19 Truncated Cellar Spider • 20 Elongated Cellar Spider • 21 Common Cellar Spider • 22 Checkered Cobweb Weaver • 23 Quasi-social Cobweb Spider • 24 Carolina Wolf Spider • 25 Striped Wolf Spider • 26 Dotted Wolf Spider • 27 Western Lance Spider • 28 Common Nurseryweb Spider • 29 Tufted Nurseryweb Spider • 30 Giant Fishing Spider • 31 Six-spotted Fishing Spider • 32 Garden Ghost Spider Cover Photo: Cherokee Star-bellied Orbweaver ii Eastern Funnelweb Spider • 33 Eastern and Western Parson Spiders • 34 Garden Ghost Spider • 35 Bark Crab Spider • 36 Prairie Crab Spider • 37 Texas Crab Spider • 38 Black-banded Crab Spider • 39 Ridge-faced Flower Spider • 40 Striped Lynx Spider • 41 Black-banded Common and Convict Zebra Spiders • 42 Crab Spider Dimorphic Jumping Spider • 43 Bold Jumping Spider • 44 Apache Jumping Spider • 45 Prairie Jumping Spider • 46 Emerald Jumping Spider • 47 Bark Jumping Spider • 48 Puritan Pirate Spider • 49 Eastern and Four-lined Pirate Spiders • 50 Orchard Spider • 51 Castleback Orbweaver • 52 Triangulate Orbweaver • 53 Common & Cherokee Star-bellied Orbweavers • 54 Black & Yellow Garden Spider • 55 Banded Garden Spider • 56 Marbled Orbweaver • 57 Eastern Arboreal Orbweaver • 58 Western Arboreal Orbweaver • 59 Furrow Orbweaver • 60 Eastern Labyrinth Orbweaver • 61 Giant Long-jawed Orbweaver • 62 Silver Long-jawed Orbweaver • 63 Bowl and Doily Spider • 64 Filmy Dome Spider • 66 References • 67 Pocket Guides • 68-69 1 Introduction This is a guide to the most common spiders found in Kansas. -
Creature Feature Leaflet
1 Top Recycler! Weight Hard Cases Flexible Common lifting champs! Ant Beetles 1 Friends Rough s Millipede e Woodlouse My Family name is Formicidae. 4 Creature Features Fact File Have two stomachs-one I can squirt formic Beetle Line Up I speed up leaf Has many feet They have decomposition, for them and the other acid when threatened We have I like to Welcome to our creature feature gallery, full of fascinating features I am related 7 pairs which returns to share with colony by predators but doesn’t trip and facts about minibeasts. compound eyes. eat plants to Lobsters of legs nutrients to the What does this over because legs and rotting Weevil Leaf • If you go searching for bugs and beasts you are quite likely to find and Crabs soil Stag Chafers Beetle scale to Not are different material mean? Beetle /Dung some of these creatures. Some might also commonly be known as Beetle lengths insects, or invertebrates, which means without a backbone. 5 • There are many, many more creatures to be found out and about. 3 We couldn’t fit them all on here so have picked out a few to tell Millipede means 2 you about. Look at the amazing features these creatures have and Spider Click 1000 feet but they Ladybird Cardinal Beetle Beetle I can stop try and find out even more about them. Some belong to the same Beetle don’t have 1000! scientific group of creatures, some belong to different groups. How strong others eating Do you know which are which? How can you tell which are related do you think me by secreting and which are not? I am? We have fluid that tastes Body made up 3 body parts, 6 legs Carrion horrid • Start thinking about the other minibeasts you find and spend some of 13 segmented head, thorax and abdomen Soldier Ground Rove Beetle Beetle Beetle time investigating them too. -
Bug Hunt Education Pack
How to hunt... Equipment needed • Plastic beakers two pots per pair of children one labeled dry, one labeled wet • Paint brushes • Two small litter trays or Tupperware boxes, one marked wet, one marked dry • Magnifying glass • Identification keys • Pens and pencils • Insect tweezers • Drawing paper • Labels Step 1 The first thing to do is to set boundaries. Kids can get carried away and wander off on the hunt for bugs. Step 2 Group together the kids and talk about what a mini beast is. Try to get the information from them. Inform the children not to put their hands into holes or places where they can’t see. You never know what might be hiding! Step 3 Working in pairs and ensuring each pair has a two pots (one for dry insects and one for wet insects), brush, insect tweezers and a magnify glass. Pairs are to look for insects within the boundary and GENTLY brush dry bugs into the dry pot and wet bugs into the wet pot. Teachers should go round and ask children where they think they will find bugs e.g. under logs, stones, wet leaves etc. Note: There should be no more than three bugs per pot. Step 4 After 10 to 15 minutes gather the children around the two trays and get them to put their bugs in the correct wet or dry tray i.e. worms are a wet bug and spiders are dry bugs. Once there are a selection of bugs ask the children to use the identification keys to see if they can name them. -
Scottish Spiders - Oonopspulcher 15Mm
Scottish Spiders BeesIntroduction and wasps to spider families There are approximately 670 species of spider in 38 different families in the UK. This guide introduces 17 families of spiders, providing an example of a species or genus to look for in each. Please Note: The vast majority of spiders in the UK need examination under a microscope of mature adults to confirm species. Immature specimens may be identified to family or to genus level and often only by an expert. This guide has been designed to introduce several families with information on key features in each and is not an identification guide. Woodlouse spiders (Family Dysderidae) 4 species in 2 genera Rather elongate looking spiders with no clear markings or Woodlouse spider (female) pattern on their cylindrical abdomen. They have six eyes that are clustered together in a circular formation. Often found under stones, logs, tree bark and other debris. Typical body length in family ranges from 6-15mm. Species to look out for - Woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata) A distinctive species with a red cephalothorax and legs and forward projecting chelicerae. This species feeds on woodlice and can be found under stones and debris in warm (and sometimes) slightly damp situations. Generally nocturnal - look for them in gardens and on walls where they may be found sheltering in silken retreats. This species is common in England but less so in Scotland, being absent from the very north. Look out for Harpactea hombergi which although similar in Male: 9—10mm Female: 11—15mm appearance has a narrower cephalothorax and with less Falk © Steven prominent chelicerae. -
Behavioral Responses to Mechano-Sensory Information in A
BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO MECHANO-SENSORY INFORMATION IN A SOFT-BODIED TERRESTRIAL ANIMAL A dissertation submitted by Linnea Ingeborg Natasja Nathalie van Griethuijsen In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biology TUFTS UNIVERSITY May 2012 © 2012 Linnea I.N.N van Griethuijsen Advisor: Dr. Barry A. Trimmer Certificate of fitness II Abstract Caterpillars are the larval stage of Lepidoptera, which consists of butterflies and moths. Caterpillars were often seen as hydrostats, but recently researchers have realized that caterpillars do not function as such. Reasons are their body plan, lack of a fixed volume and the use of their substrate to transmit forces. These new insights have changed how we think about movement in caterpillars and are discussed in the first chapter of this dissertation, which aims to give an overview of the current state of knowledge on caterpillar locomotion. Chapter two discusses climbing. The movements of the caterpillar when climbing and during horizontal locomotion are indistinguishable. The similarities can be explained by 1) the caterpillar’s strong grip to the substrate, which it uses regardless of orientation, 2) the fact that it is a relatively small animal and smaller animals tend to be less influenced by gravity due to their high locomotion costs and 3) the caterpillar’s slow movement. Chapter three also looks at locomotion, but focuses on the use of sensory information to alter the normal stepping pattern. When stepping on a small obstacle, information used to adjust the movement of the leg originates from body segments anterior to that leg. In addition, information collected by the sensory hairs on the proleg is used to fine-tune the movement mid swing. -
Common Mullein
abinvasives.ca [email protected] Last Updated January 2014 Provincial Designation: VerbascumCommon thapsus (Aka Flannel Mullein Plant, Velvet Plant, Lungwort, Feltwort, Jacob’s Staff, Torchplant) Noxious Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Mary Ellen (Mel) Harte, Bugwood.org A colonizing species, common mullein will Seeds: Brown, irregular, oblong seeds (0.5- Overview: readily establish in disturbed areas with 0.7 mm long) are located in two compartment Common mullein, a biennial in the figwort well-drained, sandy or gravelly soils.3 It is capsules. The surface of each seed has lon- family, is native to Asia. It was deliberately intolerant of shade and is frequently found gitudinal grooves and ribs.2 introduced to the United States in the 1600s along roadsides, rights-of-way and waste as both a medicinal herb and a fish poison. areas. Common mullein also grows in mead- Historically it has been used to treat a vari- ows, pastures and forestry cut blocks. It is Prevention: ety of ailments ranging from coughs to ear- one of the first species to appear on recently The key to prevention is to avoid disturbance 1 5 aches. burned sites.2 from machinery, vehicles and overgrazing. Common mullein is highly unpalatable to Common mullein naturalized and rapidly cattle and sheep so maintenance of proper spread west after introduction. Currently it Identification: stocking rates will help curtail spread in pas- is not a weed of cultivated crops.2 However, Stems: Erect, 0.3-0.2 m in height with few to tures or rangeland.6 Sources for soil used in it can overtake and displace native species no branches.1 Stems appear ridged and are construction should be checked to ensure in disturbed areas.3 It is also thought to serve densely wooly-hairy.4 Mature stems from the they are mullein-free. -
Species List for Garey Park-Inverts
Species List for Garey Park-Inverts Category Order Family Scientific Name Common Name Abundance Category Order Family Scientific Name Common Name Abundance Arachnid Araneae Agelenidae Funnel Weaver Common Arachnid Araneae Thomisidae Misumena vatia Goldenrod Crab Spider Common Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Araneus miniatus Black-Spotted Orbweaver Rare Arachnid Araneae Thomisidae Misumessus oblongus American Green Crab Spider Common Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Argiope aurantia Yellow Garden Spider Common Arachnid Araneae Uloboridae Uloborus glomosus Featherlegged Orbweaver Uncommon Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Argiope trifasciata Banded Garden Spider Uncommon Arachnid Endeostigmata Eriophyidae Aceria theospyri Persimmon Leaf Blister Gall Rare Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Gasteracantha cancriformis Spinybacked Orbweaver Common Arachnid Endeostigmata Eriophyidae Aculops rhois Poison Ivy Leaf Mite Common Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Gea heptagon Heptagonal Orbweaver Rare Arachnid Ixodida Ixodidae Amblyomma americanum Lone Star Tick Rare Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Larinioides cornutus Furrow Orbweaver Common Arachnid Ixodida Ixodidae Dermacentor variabilis American Dog Tick Common Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Mangora gibberosa Lined Orbweaver Uncommon Arachnid Opiliones Sclerosomatidae Leiobunum vittatum Eastern Harvestman Uncommon Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Mangora placida Tuft-legged Orbweaver Uncommon Arachnid Trombidiformes Anystidae Whirligig Mite Rare Arachnid Araneae Araneidae Mecynogea lemniscata Basilica Orbweaver Rare Arachnid Eumesosoma roeweri -
WLGF Pollinator Planting List
Suggested Plant List for Pollinators, September 2014 This list has been produced by Jan Miller on behalf of the North Wales Wildlife Trust and Marc Carlton on behalf of the Wildlife Gardening Forum, at the request of the Welsh Government’s Pollinator Task Force. The authors recognise that producing planting lists for pollinators is not a straightforward exercise. There are still many areas where further research is required in order to improve our understanding of the needs of pollinating insects and the best planting schemes to cater for them. One of the Wildlife Gardening Forum’s aims is to promote more evidence-based research to increase our knowledge and understanding of this subject. This list is based on the compilers’ personal experience over many years as gardeners and naturalists, and incorporates Jan’s work investigating plants for butterflies on behalf of Butterfly Conservation and uses their data sent in by members over twenty years. The list includes a selection of forage plants useful for adult butterflies, moths, hoverflies, bumblebees and solitary bees, which together make up the vast majority of pollinators in Wales. Plants recommended as larval food plants for butterflies and some moths have also been included. Specialised lists of flowers that are recommended as forage for honeybees have been published for many years within the beekeeping community and so we have not specifically covered honeybees in our list, although many of the flowers on our list will be used by honeybees. The list is in two parts. The first part is a list of suggested garden plants. We have only selected flowers which are garden-worthy, easily obtainable, well-known, and widely acknowledged as being attractive to pollinating insects.