Do You Believe in Fairies?

Sometimes even when you know there is a rational explanation for something, it can ruin the magic of the moment. This was not one of those times. This was perfectly magical. We were finishing up one of our surveys early Friday morning (last week). The night was especially humid so we had more luck finding salamander than the past few surveys. One person had gone over to the side and turned off their light for a moment. When they got back they enthusiastically encouraged us to do the same, emphatic that it would be worth it. At the end of the survey we turned off our headlamps and slowly we became surrounded by faint blue lights hovering near the surface of the ground. They floated around aimlessly, temporarily disappearing behind ferns but maintaining their etherial glow. It felt like we were standing in the stars. Incredible.

After such an experience I can absolutely understand beliefs in magic and fairies. We knew they were really some sort of bioluminescent insect and they reminded me of fireflies (though they held a more constant light). I managed to catch one and it glowed blue in my hand. They were really tiny and impossible to see with our headlamps. We were able to identify them as Blue ghost fireflies (Phausis reticulata). I didn't get a picture because they were extremely faint, but I found this extended exposure picture from National Geographic.

This knowledge did not in any way detract from the magic of the moment. It was the perfect way to end a particularly hard couple of weeks of fieldwork. A not so subtle reminder of what a beautiful and magical world we live in. =]

Going back to other fun encounters of the past week or so, We have seen a surprising number of snakes so far this season. Here is another Ringneck Snake (pictured below) and we have seen a few more Garter Snakes (including the cute juvenile below).

Diadophus punctatus

Thamnophis sirtalis

I have gone out to explore a couple of times when I had a night off (just goes to show how much I enjoy my job!) and found some really pretty salamanders.

Posed perfectly in situ, right where I found her! 

Amazing red legs on this guy!!

Random sunglasses by the road and 2 salamanders

Pretty white spots and pine needles!!

Pretty Spring salamander, with lots of tiny leeches!
We pulled them off, not sure how much that helped...

Tiny little guy, covered in white spots!!

I love the way the front foot of this two-lined salamander
 is hanging off of the leaf! What a goof. 

Huge, pretty Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber)!
These guys like mucky areas, so are not really on my study plots.
I knew they were here though; super exciting to find one!!

Saw this one chase a flying insect higher up the tree!
Unfortunately it flew away before the salamander could catch it.

 

Pink Lady Slipper orchids (Yes, again, because they are pretty.)

Jack in the Pulpit

Found these Pygmy Salamanders (Desmognathus wrighti) on one plot Wednesday night. I didn't realize these were found in the Coweeta basin. These guys can look similar to Seepage Salamanders (Desmognathus aeneus), which is what I perviously assumed some others were. These ones were particularly gold, which was unusual for seepage salamanders (alerting me to the idea they might be pygmies). Fun to know one more species is here!

Gold heart (near the throat)

Not sure exactly what this is, but I think it is some sort of fungus, possibly one of the insect dwelling ones (that take over their brain and make them climb to the edges of leaves). I've been told that some of those fungi can be found here and they are found on rhododendron leaves (like the one below, though this one seemed too large to be an ant). 

As some wildflowers finish their blooming season, others begin. These pretty little lilies are just starting to bloom. 

Speckled wood lily (Clintonia umbellulata)

As soon as I picked up the leaf this little inch worm pretended to be a stick!

The edges of some leaves on one of our study plot were covered with white crystals. I think they are minerals from the leaf itself, but I am not sure what caused it to happen. 

Whirlwind of the first couple of intensive weeks of fieldwork. Perfect ending with the blue ghost fireflies. This summer is going to be crazy, but incredible encounters like that will keep me grounded and appreciative of the magic of nature. 

Dictionary of Exhausted Minds on Fieldwork

As we set up sites (see On top of spaghetti) we started making up words or using them in an unusual way, likely as a s result of utter exhaustion. Here is a dictionary for translation (to be updated as needed).

In order of invention:
Popcorn  (n)
--tiny salamanders, because they jump around like little popcorn kernels
Breadcrumb (n)
--a trail of flagging to find the study plots
Breadcrumb (v)
--the activity of making breadcrumbs (see above definition) with flagging tape
Shiny stuff (n)
--reflective tape
-synonym: "sticky stuff"
Meatball (n)
--roll of flagging tape, specifically the tough flagging made for the Arctic
Meatball (v)
--the act of an object rolling down the hillside
Bright stick (n)
--PCV pipe with reflective tape already on it
Blackberry Marmalade (n)
--salamander larvae that are either black-belly salamanders or shovel-nose salamanders (Desmognathus marmoratus). They are almsot identical, especially when they are small. Black-bellies were called blackberries on accident and we were calling shovel-nose 'marmoratus' for short which became marmalade. *Later note, they may be dwarf blackbelly salamanders....*shrug* hard to say without genetics

Air potato (n)
--an empty gall, very light weight (courtesy of Sadie)
Abi-trail (n)
--trail created by Abigail around salamanders weighted repeatedly through the night (also courtesy of Sadie)
Sparkle post (n)
--A bright stick in the ground.
Noped (v)
--when you make eye contact with an organism you are trying to catch an they quickly disappear (EX: a salamander is in a burrow opening but when you see it, it says 'nope' but quickly withdrawing into the burrow)
Wisp (n)
--reflectors placed on trees on the path to study sites (as in Will-o'-the-wisps, because you end up following 'lights' into the woods)

On Top of Spaghetti

A few months ago I mentioned that we were figuring out where to set study sites for a new project; last week we started setting up the actual plots. This process includes measuring a 5 X 5 meter area, putting PCV stakes into the ground at the corners, and running string (or in this case very strong flagging tape) between the posts. Since we will be working at night, we also put reflective tape on each corner and took a GPS point to help us find it later.

We have 20 sites with 3 to 4 plots at each site. Needless to say this get tiring very quickly, even without considering the incredibly steep terrain.

By now I am sure you are really wondering about the title, when you are doing something this physically intense for several hours on end, things start to get a little strange. We were in the middle of stringing a plot and we were at opposite ends. It was very steep, so my field partner suggested I toss the roll of flagging rather than walk it over. Since we were both quite tired it seemed like a good idea...but I didn't throw it far enough and it proceeded to completely unroll all the way down the hill. We actually found the core at the car later. This (obviously) reminded us of the children's song "On top of spaghetti", which we proceeded to sing (both impressed with our ability to remember most of the song...up to mush under a bush). And now, we refer to flagging tape as 'meatballs' and any thing rolling down the hill as 'meatballing'. :) We have several other new meanings for words which you can look at here: Dictionary of Exhausted Minds on Fieldwork. I will continue to update as shenanigans continue throughout the summer.

We are just hoping this rock doesn't fall on us during a survey.
There are multiple huge tree roots in it, probably breaking it apart.
No big deal...we will be fine...probably.

One of the benefits of going out during the day is that we notice a lot more of the plants. This time of year, many are starting to bloom. Here is an abbreviated guide to some plants currently blooming in Southern Appalachia. As the season goes on I may start repeating fun flowers from last year; great news for new readers; for continued followers, I don't get tired of them and I hope you don't either. =]

Large white trillium (Trillium
grandiflorum)

Lousewort (Pedicularis
 canadensis)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria
canadensis)

Catesby's Trillium (Trillium catesbaei)

Pipevine (Aristolochia)
Looking forward to seeing this grow!

 Flame azalea (Rhododendron
calendulaceum)

Bluet (Houstonia caerulea)

Painted Trillium (Trillium
undulatum)

Turkey tails (Trametes versicolor)
Technically a fungi, but pretty!

Showy Orchid (Galearis spectabilis)

Early Meadow Rue (I think), these flowers looked like tassels!

Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus floridus)
These leaves smell awesome

Another Large White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) with dramatic lighting/perspective. I just really like this picture. :)

One of the more exciting finds of the past week were Pink lady slippers. I had heard of them, and new they grew in the mountains, but I had no idea they were so huge!!

To give some perspective on abundance and size

 

The leaf comes up first for Cranefly orchids, then dies back and the flower comes up later. I saw some blooming last year. Typically the leaves are green on the surface and purple underneath (pictured below), but we also found this unusually colorful one!

When walking to some of the study sites, we found a bunch of these slightly squishy, green balls on the ground and proceeded to pull them apart to see what was inside. The inside was sort of soft and looked fuzzy. All of them had a tiny worm in the middle! 

In a different area, we found this older gall, that was perfectly spherical. The outside was hard and smooth, inside it felt like stiff styrofoam. At the very center was this tiny wasp (?)!

Another mysterious discovery:

I don't know what this is exactly but I suspect it is a virus or fungal infection. Plants frequently have defense mechanisms to essentially quarantine off and infected area from the rest of the plant. I suspect that is what is occurring here, but why it is bright pink remains a mystery. 

Continuing with mysteries, we think these might be snail eggs. They seemed a little large but there are some very large snails here, so maybe...

We have two spider nests hatched on our plots. So many tiny spiders!!!

Another benefit of going out during the day is seeing some of the diurnal creatures. When exploring a little on Thursday, we startled a bird from its nest. I didn't get a good look at the bird, but the nest had 4 eggs and was in some moss on a rock right next to the road.

Speaking of eggs, Seepage salamanders (Desmognathus aneus), nest this time of year in thick moss near seeps (hence the name). They are one of the smaller species of salamander in Appalachia so their nests and eggs are equally tiny.

This small Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) made its head look wider, trying to fool us into thinking it was a viper. I had never seen a Garter Snake do that before, though I know rat and corn snakes are known for this behavior.

We came across this cute little Ocoee salamander (Desmognathus ocoee) that could not apparently close her mouth. Her tongue was sticking out! We wondered if she got stung trying to eat something.

You can see the eggs through her underside.

Even though we have seen some fun things by being out during the day, I still rather enjoy going out at night. There are so many things you miss if you only go out during the day. We started sampling our study sites this week and found some fun creatures. One of the more entertaining encounters included a very fluffy skunk. No, we did not get sprayed, but if you have never seen a skunk run, it is worth the risk. We were driving down one of the Forest Service roads (which are not really paved) and noticed something white and fluffy running down the road in front of us. We seriously thought it was a small dog the way it was bounding down the road with its hair flopping about. Then we managed to see the stripes and realized it was a skunk. It was incredibly cute and acted as an influx of energy for the night.

This past week, we came across several small snakes including the Ringneck snake below.

Ringneck snake (Diadophus punctatus)

And of course, we found some salamanders. We have seen relatively few this past week because it has not been raining, but it started raining in patches the past couple of days so we should see more activity moving forward. Salamander activity is limited by water loss, so they are less likely to be active on dry nights.

Red legged salamander (Plethodon shermani) with very pale cheeks

Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamander on a branch

Tiny Plethodon salamander 

Pretty orange cheeks on this Ocoee salamander

Very pale Red Legged Salamander 

Awesome gold flecks on this Plethodon hybrid! 

Especially during long, exhausting days, every now and again, I try to take a step back and enjoy the gorgeous view. I really do get to work in a gorgeous place (as if you were not already convinced of this from all of the flowers and salamanders...)!