Spring 2021 Biology Scavenger Hunt! by Rachel McBride

A Fungus Among Us!!!

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

These shelf fungi were just hangin' out likes bumps on a log, lol! 🍄

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Gills (wide and thin sheet like plates that produce spores) are found under this shelf fungi's cap. That's the toe of my rain boot for perspective.

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

A week of rain meant a few fruiting bodies are emerging from the soil. I couldn't get under the cap and look at the shape of the spores of this guy.

Jelly Fungi

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Learn more about these squishy decomposers at https://herbarium.usu.edu/fun-with-fungi/jelly-fungi

Looks like a cauliflower

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

This bushy fungi was found at the base of a pine tree in Newport News Park. Clues like overall appearance and types of trees nearby can help narrow down your search when trying to identify fungi.

Red Mushroom - Bolete shape

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

There are so many factors when identifying mushrooms, including shape, size, color, texture and types of spores. Check out this website to get a sense of the complexity: http://www.mycokey.com/newMycoKeySite/MycoKeyIdentQuick.html

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

The humongous tree in my back yard is COVERED in lichen! 🌳

Foliose (flat and leaf like lichen)

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

A recent storm must have knocked this lichen covered tree bark to the ground. I learned more about the biology of lichen with this US Forest Service webpage:

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/lichens/biology.shtml

Crustose Lichen

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Crustose lichens are just that, crusts. They form a crust over a surface like the trunk of this American Holly tree.

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Check out these sporophytes!

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

I found this moss at the base of a pine tree trunk. The penny helps you see how small the gametophytes (green stem-like and leaf-like structures) and sporophytes (brown stalk and capsule) are.

Moss Sporphytes showing

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Who knew these reproductive parts could be so tall? Look at shorter green gametophytes for comparison along the soil surface.

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

A little conifer from my yard

Conifer

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Which type? I don't know.

Virginia Pine

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Immature and mature seed cones. The short needles grouped in 2s were a clue that this is Pinus virginiana.
https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=113

"Sedges have edges"

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

This sedge, a grass-like plant that has a triangular stalk (with 3 edges), was found near a creek that feeds the York River.

Grass Selfie

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Hi from Ms. White from 3B ☺
Narrow leaves with parallel veins is a common characteristic of monocots. Next time you see a blade of grass examine it closely.

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Loblolly Pine

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Found a wet seed cone still attached to the tree near a cluster of pollen cones. Loblollys have needles grouped in 3s.

Virginia Pine

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Seed AND Pollen cones on display. The needles are in pairs (2 per fascicle) on this species.

Indian Pipe/ Ghost Plant

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

(Monotropa uniflora)
The rain brought out this rarely seen plant. It is unique because it does not have chlorophyll. It is a parasite, getting its energy from trees through the mycelium of a fungi.

Umbrella magnolia

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Not your typical waxy magnolia leaf. Huge! They can be 12-24 inches long according to the Virginia Tech Dendrology (tree) website: http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=299

Yellow Woodsorrel

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

5 petals are a clue that it is a dicot

Hackberries

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Come from huge trees, but the berries are small.

Jack-in-the-pulpit

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

The fruit are the green berries which turn bright red in late summer. The berries hide under leaf which has 3 leaflets per stem.

Wild Comfrey Nutlets

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Those prickly burrs have one seed each in them. They formed from the pale blue flowers of this wild comfrey plant. My finger didn't want to get close, so I used a random highlighter found in my bag 😃

Mayapple

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

This tiny fruit hides under the umbrella-like leaf leaf. Learn more at https://wimastergardener.org/article/mayapple-podophyllum-peltatum/

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Ferns! These are sporophytes too!

2 Ferns

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

My rainboot and a penny for reference.

Christmas Fern spores

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

on the back of the fronds, with a penny for reference.

Bumblebee

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera

Bugs are hard to photograph 🙃. This guy found some azaleas that were still in bloom.

Not quite an invertebrate...

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

This is an oak gall, a growth on oak tree. It is caused by the immature offspring of a WASP.

Fly (on a fern )

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Wow! This little guy stayed still while I used my 40x magnification loupe with my phone camera to take the pic. I cropped the image so you can better see his body.

Phylum: Arthropod
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera

Millipede (on Holly tree trunk)

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

So many legs! This guy was 3 inches long and stayed very still. I was amazed I could get this pic just with my phone on zoom and a little LED light I had on my keys..
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Diplopoda

Daddy Long-legs (on fern frond)

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida

Marsh periwinkle (snail)

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

This little guy (<1inch long) was found at low tide grasping a piece of broken shell. Can you see his soft brown body/tentacles peaking out? His shell is in the shape of a spiral.

Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
https://www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/fieldguide/critter/marsh_periwinkle

Phylum Arthropoda, Class Diplopoda

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Millipede at Newport News Park -- look closely at how the legs move!

Class Reptilia, Order Squamata

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Broadhead skink, Eumeces laticeps
He likes to hang out on that big tree in my back yard 🦎

American Bullfrog?

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Stumbled upon this big guy (more than 4 inches long) near a creek. His coloring threw me off, but the dorsolateral fold helped me narrow it down.

Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura (without tail)

https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/american-bullfrog/american_bullfrog.php

Frog

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura

He was hiding in the water under a small bridge. Maybe 3 inches long.

Skink

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata

Squirrel! (Eastern gray)

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia

Apparently these guys can live for 12 years.
https://www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/fieldguide/critter/eastern_gray_squirrel

rmcbride19 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

I found LOTS of algae in the water at Newport News Park on Sunday! (and turtles, lots of turtles) 🐢🐢
Let's see what you can find!!!

Dog Vomit Slime Mold

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

That yellow stuff is a fungus-like protist, known by the scientific name Fuligo septica.
https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/tag/fuligo-septica/

Close-up of "dog vomit slime mold"

cwhite214 — 2021-04-19 01:48:29 UTC

I used my 40x magnification loupe with my phone's camera to capture this pic of the fungus-like protist whose scientific name is Fuligo septica.

Lichen

2021-05-04 19:15:35 UTC

This is in my front yard.

Diatom sighting at Lowe's!!

2021-05-04 21:54:06 UTC

Poor bugs don't stand a chance.

Lichen at Grafton

2342343 — 2021-05-05 14:53:10 UTC

Slime Mold on the ground

2342343 — 2021-05-05 14:55:25 UTC

Lichen at grafton

2190974 — 2021-05-05 14:58:04 UTC

Algae in the reservoir

2021-05-05 23:29:10 UTC

2021-05-06 12:40:42 UTC

I found this in my front yard
-Sierra Moberg

Turtle

2021-05-28 15:14:05 UTC

I found this in my backyard in a kind of a wooded area. Turtles are in vertebrates in reptiles.

Ants

2021-05-28 15:19:45 UTC

I found on the road walking from getting off the bus. Ants are invertebrates in Arthropoda phylum.

Bumblebee

2021-05-28 15:22:21 UTC

I found in this on a tree and I was walking. Bumblebees are in invertebrate in the Arthropoda phylum.

Blackberry tree

2021-05-28 15:26:10 UTC

This is in my backyard.