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Author Topic:   Back Home from my 2021 Cross-country Road Trip
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(5)
Message 1 of 23 (888309)
09-11-2021 7:57 PM


My friend and I left on August 27 and used Interstate 90 as our main route, until we got to the Black Hills National Forest in NE Wyoming. We stopped and collected at a small lake we have visited whenever we are in the vicinity and this time we were later in the season than prior visits so maybe some different species are flying (there were, but nothing uncommon). On a small nearby stream we did find some specimens that have some morphological features that are different from western and eastern specimens. It may be a new subspecies or even a new species, that's new to science.
We then headed south to stop near Valentine, Nebraska on the Niobrara River. We camped all the way on this trip. my friend has a nifty fold out tent that fits right on top of his Toyota pickup. I can rearrange my gear so I can sleep in the back of my Toyota minivan.
We drove straight east from there to Chicago to pick up the 3rd member of our group and I delivered 96 new 16x24 inch prints for a proposed exhibition at a natural history museum (we narrowed that down to a portfolio of the 48 best).
She then followed us up to Northern Wisconsin to meet the 4th member of our group at a fantastic biological research station on a lake. In the early 20th century it was a high-end fishing lodge all constructed of logs, but now researchers in all sorts of fields can stay there for $22 a day! The 4 of us had the whole place to ourselves and we stayed for 4 nights. The weather was not very cooperative but we managed to get lots of nymphs and collected eggs from four species.
We have lots of observation material as well as subjects for a variety of experiments that will keep us busy through the fall and winter.
In all the states we traveled through except Illinois, the people we encountered in our brief trips into stores, acted like there is no such thing as Covid-19. Only about 10% of customers wore masks and none of the store employees did. I suspect none of them were vaccinated. We wore our masks, N95s, every single time we were near anyone and we were vaccinated.
Dragonfly numbers everywhere we sampled were about 25% of what we would normally expect. Weather this year is the suspected culprit, too hot and dry in some places and too wet and cold in others.
It was a much needed cathartic trip after 2 seasons of self imposed lock down. On the way back west we again sampled in the Black Hills and picked up some more specimens for analysis.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


Replies to this message:
 Message 5 by AZPaul3, posted 09-11-2021 10:03 PM Tanypteryx has replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(1)
Message 3 of 23 (888312)
09-11-2021 9:06 PM
Reply to: Message 2 by jar
09-11-2021 8:21 PM


Would a low country boil include crayfish? My friend in Chicago says dozens of her favorite dragonfly habitats around Illinois have been destroyed by invasive Rusty Crayfish. It is native to parts of the SE, but it is hammering aquatic habitats outside its native range.
Maybe she can get high-end Chicago restaurants to add it to the menu.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by jar, posted 09-11-2021 8:21 PM jar has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 7 by jar, posted 09-12-2021 6:36 AM Tanypteryx has not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(1)
Message 4 of 23 (888313)
09-11-2021 9:10 PM


I am shooting stacks of some of the Black Hills dragonflies we collected the day be fore yesterday.
I drove 800 miles yesterday, from Missoula, Montana, to get my specimens home alive.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(3)
Message 6 of 23 (888319)
09-12-2021 1:03 AM
Reply to: Message 5 by AZPaul3
09-11-2021 10:03 PM


This part bothered me, of course.
Dragonfly numbers everywhere we sampled were about 25% of what we would normally expect. Weather this year is the suspected culprit, too hot and dry in some places and too wet and cold in others.
Is this another strong data point in the evidence of an arthropod collapse on this continent?
Man, I hope not and we are trying to be optimistic. Maybe this is a screwy year. My local declines are all from human causes.
We have been making more and deadlier pesticides for more than 100 years, for all the things in nature that compete with us, but they are just as deadly for all the organisms that have no impact on us but that perform all sorts of important functions in their habitats. Millions of tons of this shit! Ecosystems and agriculture are about to collapse because of the insect apocalypses. The poison is out there and there's no way to undo this.
And Phat thinks gold is more valuable than food. When the food is gone 8 billion people are going to start eating each other.[end of rant]

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


This message is a reply to:
 Message 5 by AZPaul3, posted 09-11-2021 10:03 PM AZPaul3 has not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(3)
Message 8 of 23 (888337)
09-13-2021 10:46 PM


Nymphs and eggs
Today I started getting ready to extract eggs from a coffee filter and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the female had inserted many eggs all the way through my filter paper substrate and the were floating free and would not need to be gently teased out of the filter with dental probes. Perfect, they will be free from stuck on fibers and other un-photogenic debris.
Also, all of the nymphs arrived alive and sound so each into its own small habitat and they will be periodically photographed and measured. These 6 species are all stream inhabitants and we are studying how they detect and capture prey guided primarily by vibrations detected by specialized setae on their antennae. They can triangulate when their prey is exactly within striking distance of their prehensile labium or lower lip.
I have already generated 520 gigabytes of image files since I got home Friday night.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


Replies to this message:
 Message 10 by ringo, posted 09-14-2021 12:05 PM Tanypteryx has not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(1)
Message 9 of 23 (888339)
09-14-2021 11:56 AM


Cannabis is blooming
While I was gone my wife took care of my 4 cannabis plants. All she had to do was mix fertilizer into the water and water them each day. They had just started blooming when I left and now they are loaded with flowers that are very photogenic. Like I needed more photo subjects!
Harvest is still a month away...

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(3)
Message 12 of 23 (888342)
09-14-2021 8:25 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by dwise1
09-14-2021 7:26 PM


Re: Nymphs and eggs
dwise1 writes:
ringo writes:
I can see why you've developed such a fascination with dragonflies.
And here I always thought that he had been frightened as a child by an episode of Lexx (their spaceship or shuttlecraft looked like dragonflies).
Boy, I'd have had to be a time travlin' kid for that to happen. Lexx was pretty good though.
It was predators primarily that caught my attention. At around the same time Life Magazine published a dinosaur spread with foldouts of paintings. These were prints of large murals at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. I was captivated by these images and anything that has dragon right in its name must be pretty cool too.
Dragonfly nymphs are the ultimate predator and when I first read about them I was all in
My dad told me something at about this point in my life (8 years old). He said you can study subjects that lots of other people have already studied and therefore a lot is already known, or you can pursue subjects that only a few have studied and make discoveries. That was the year he got me a microscope.
My parents tolerated containers of all shapes and sizes of samples from every aquatic habitat I visited until I left home.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


This message is a reply to:
 Message 11 by dwise1, posted 09-14-2021 7:26 PM dwise1 has not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(4)
Message 13 of 23 (911033)
06-03-2023 12:11 PM


Getting ready for road trip 2023
I'm heading across the country to Wisconsin June 13 to meet some dragonfly hunting friends. Then on to Chicago to work on the planning stages of an exhibition of 100 prints of my dragonfly portraits at a natural history museum that will occur next year.

Stop Tzar Vladimir the Condemned!

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


Replies to this message:
 Message 14 by Theodoric, posted 06-03-2023 1:49 PM Tanypteryx has replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


Message 15 of 23 (911035)
06-03-2023 2:05 PM
Reply to: Message 14 by Theodoric
06-03-2023 1:49 PM


Re: Getting ready for road trip 2023
First at Ladysmith in Rusk County, then at Kemp Natural Resources Station in Oneida County and then Spur Lake also in Oneida County.

Stop Tzar Vladimir the Condemned!

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


This message is a reply to:
 Message 14 by Theodoric, posted 06-03-2023 1:49 PM Theodoric has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 16 by Theodoric, posted 06-03-2023 11:14 PM Tanypteryx has not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(3)
Message 17 of 23 (911343)
06-27-2023 1:18 PM


Home from my 2023 road trip
I got home yesterday afternoon. It was a fun trip, but I had to cancel the Chicago leg of the trip because my friend there became gravely ill. I saw and photographed more than a dozen species of dragonflies that I had not seen in the field before and I was able to collect eggs from 5 species that I have not reared out before. Photo-documenting the embryo development and after the eggs hatch the development of the nymphs will keep me busy this fall and winter.

Stop Tzar Vladimir the Condemned!
What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that it has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --Percy
The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq

Replies to this message:
 Message 18 by AZPaul3, posted 06-27-2023 2:22 PM Tanypteryx has replied
 Message 20 by Phat, posted 06-28-2023 9:30 AM Tanypteryx has replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(1)
Message 19 of 23 (911345)
06-27-2023 2:56 PM
Reply to: Message 18 by AZPaul3
06-27-2023 2:22 PM


Re: Home from my 2023 road trip
Living the life, Tany. Congrats.
Thanks, or die trying!
The trip 2 years ago was just as one of the Covid variants was really ramping up, so we masked in public and camped and avoided close contact with strangers. On this trip I stayed in motels, but made my own meals from groceries while on the road. We ate in restaurants once I got there (1st time for me since the pandemic began), but still kept our distance from other people.
One thing that was very noticeable 2 years ago were American flags hanging everywhere at the ends of people's driveways and on flagpoles mounted on the beds of pickups and many other places, along with Confederate and Trump flags. There were very few in comparison on this trip. Lots of "Don't Tread on Me" flags 2 years ago, but I didn't see any on this trip.
In most of Oregon the freeway speed limit is 65 mph and 55 for trucks. It is disconcerting to be cruising at 80 mph and having an eighteen wheeler pass you!

Stop Tzar Vladimir the Condemned!
What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that it has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --Percy
The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq

This message is a reply to:
 Message 18 by AZPaul3, posted 06-27-2023 2:22 PM AZPaul3 has not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(3)
Message 22 of 23 (911355)
06-28-2023 9:58 AM
Reply to: Message 20 by Phat
06-28-2023 9:30 AM


Re: Home from my 2023 road trip
Phat in Message 20 writes:
Is that a job or a hobby?
Well, I'm a retired entomologist and now I get to study and photograph the subjects I am interested in. I sell my photos and use them to illustrate my research papers and I also do illustration photos for other odonatists (entomologists who study dragonflies and damselflies) for pay. Most of the scientists I know were intensely interested in their subject before they got their formal education and a career and continued studying their subject on their own time and after they retire.
It's who we are. Our education only ends when we die. It's a life, rather than a job or hobby.

Stop Tzar Vladimir the Condemned!
What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that it has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --Percy
The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq

This message is a reply to:
 Message 20 by Phat, posted 06-28-2023 9:30 AM Phat has seen this message but not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(2)
Message 23 of 23 (911356)
06-28-2023 10:46 AM
Reply to: Message 21 by Phat
06-28-2023 9:56 AM


Re: Home from my 2023 road trip
Phat in Message 21 writes:
IUCN’s Dragonfly Specialist Group, a global network of scientists and conservationists.
My best friend, who I just visited in Wisconsin, is also a member IUCN’s Dragonfly Specialist Group. Habitat destruction in the tropics has been dramatic from year to year, in the places we have visited, and many species seem to have disappeared.
In North America, all the same threats are impacting our odonates. Over the last 50 years where I live, more than a dozen prime aquatic habitats have been completely destroyed, filled in and built upon. There are only 3 of the sites I have been studying all that time that are left and 2 of those have lost most species due to invasive aquatic plants that have covered most of the open water. The species count is about 15 percent of that at their peak.
Generalist species that can breed in many different aquatic habitats are still thriving but habitat specialists are disappearing. In Oregon, Washington, and California, east of the Cascades and Sierras, extended drought has dried up many habitats and exterpated many species. Recolonization would take many years without droughts.
Phat in Message 20 writes:
How does the population look this year?
That question is not answerable, we have to look at data from much longer periods, decades and centuries, and the picture is not good. I have talked about the insect apocalypse here before, but globally we are on the brink of the collapse of multiple ecosystems that humanity and our agriculture depends on. At the same time pest insects and invasive species are on the rise, directly threatening our agricultural systems that produce the food that 8 billion+ people depend on. This disaster is going to get us before global warming.
I just drove 5000 miles to Wisconsin and back and could have done it without cleaning my windshield...50 years ago I could not have driven 100 miles without cleaning it!

Stop Tzar Vladimir the Condemned!
What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that it has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --Percy
The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq

This message is a reply to:
 Message 21 by Phat, posted 06-28-2023 9:56 AM Phat has not replied

  
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