Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: parasite

(+5 insets) Eel Lake Hikes: The Short and the Long There were two trails walkable from the William Tugman State Park campground: the short 1.1 mile one I walked every morning went around part of the west edge of Eel Lake. The other one was a proper hike of 6.6 miles out and back along the eastern side. We only managed to walk to the very end once due to injuries and timing, but it was a fantastic trail that we look forward to enjoying again on our next visit. The experience was equally spectacular to the shorter daily walk but six times longer! :D (If you'd like to read about this awesome hike, I found a page that has pictures and lots of information: Oregon Hikers: Eel Lake Hike Our first trip on the longer trail took us only about half way before Steve's sore knee had us turning around but we did get far enough that I found these incredible Indian Pipe Fungus plants! We stared in amazement as I took a few pictures of this strange and beautiful fungus...or...plant? WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?! This is Not a Fungus...it's a Flower! Growing out of the ground very much like a fungus, I stared in confusion at these growths, wondering what they were. Honestly, their ghostly color made them look like some sort of strange mushroom, but…they didn't have gills or the spongy quality of a fungus. I couldn't help but scratch my head about this odd find. Hopping onto the internet, I soon learned discovered that these things are flowering plants, not fungus! They grow only in deep forest, erupting from the ground on a single spike, producing one bell-shaped flower which is pollinated by small bumblebee and fly species. They have no chlorophyll and thus, don't depend on photosynthesis for energy. Instead, Indian Pipe Fungus get their energy from fungus! Now there's a switch--they are parasites! Also known as Ghost Plants (Monotropa uniflora) , these extremely delicate plants take about three days to erupt from the ground, flower and die, succumbing quickly to the damaging effects of sunlight. In fact, it was difficult to find any that weren't dried up or in the process of turning black. These odd plants can be found in North, Central and northern South America, and also Asia. They have been used as an herbalist remedy with calming effects and are said to taste a bit like asparagus for those who can't resist eating one. If you'd like more information about these mycoheterotrophs , there's a page on Wiki but also this nice page on a gardening website. Gardening Know How: Indian Pipe Fungus Wikipedia: Indian Pipe Fungus I hope you are all having a very nice week! It's been amazingly beautiful for us and sunny outside--yay for getting exercise and vitamin D! Explored on 2/25/21; highest placement #1.

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful rest of your weekend! I haven't been able to get to my trip notes yet, so I'm posting another picture from our property. :) Fall is Here! As October marches towards November, the leaves are turning every shade of the rainbow and falling from the trees in ever-greater numbers. Steve and I have been oohing and ahhing over the amazing show whenever we're out and are hoping for a fall photography adventure in if we can fit it in between his projects. Behold the Colorful, Odd Cynipid Wasp Gall One might notice that a few leaves--especially from Oaks--have something strange attached to them. These 1/4"-1"globes are perfectly round in shape, hollow and semi-translucent when held up to the sun . Upon closer examination, there will be a small hole somewhere around the lightly fuzzy ball. What a curious thing! Whatever could it be? This is a wasp gall! There are several species of wasps which lay their eggs in specific trees or other plants. When the larvae hatch and begin eating the plant's leaves, stems or branches, they also exude specialized growth hormones. These hormones cause rapid growth in the shape of a ball or lump of some sort depending on the species of gall wasp. The larvae sit inside this gall, which grows around them and provides protection and nutrients while they mature over the next few months. Eventually they will nibble their way out of the gall as fully-grown adults and fly away! Although they are technically parasites, they rarely do any harm to the host plant and leave only the empty galls as their calling cards. Our property is the home to many types of wasp galls and I think this type- Cynips mirabilis ---is my favorite, though the other species are very interesting and photogenic too! If you would like to know more about some of the different types of wasp galls, here's an informative web page for you: Wasp Galls For more pictures that include images of the various wasps and a lot more information, take a peek at this: In-Depth Article About Gall Wasps of Southern Oregon Explored on 10/26/20; highest placement #1.

These interesting things are actually the home of a wasp larva, where it is protected from the elements while it grows large enough to eat through the shell and emerge as an adult. If you would like to know more about these odd, yet interesting things, here's a Wiki page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gall_wasp Here's another source of information: www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/oak_apple_gall_wasp.htm I have two more images suploaded today, I hope you will take a look at them too! :) Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) This image was taken in December, 2011.

This interesting thing is actually the home of wasp larva, where it is protected from the elements while it grows large enough to eat through the shell and emerge as an adult. This particular gall is interesting to me because it has many holes in it and doesn't appear to be the same kind as the usual Oak Gall we have around our property. If you would like to know more about these odd, yet interesting things, here's a Wiki page: Wiki: Gall Wasp