Field Guide – Linda & Robert Scarth

A message from a limnologist helped us identify the leech. It is a Placobdella parasitica. We are always grateful for the assistance we get from knowledgeable people.

This image shows it as it extended to move across the bottom of the bowl. It moved so quickly that we did not get an image of it fully extended. The little ruffle at its rear appears to be a suction cup. A baby is seen on the lower right extending from the place it was riding.

Beauty is found in the most unusual places. Today we found it in a leech – one of the annelids along with earth worms. Annelids are segmented invertebrates.

Two friends were with us enjoying a sand prairie when one of them spotted a painted turtle on a ridge headed away from the ponds. She must have been on her way to dig a nest to lay her eggs. On her shell were several leeches. We photographed the turtle and the leeches. Then detached a leech to bring home in a small plastic jar with a little water in hopes of some tabletop images.

To photograph it (leeches are hermaphrodites) we used a flat bottomed glass bowl sitting on a small light box. The light box is from the time when we used slide film. The light box and bowl were placed on a small stand next to the open front door so angled afternoon natural light could be used. The camera, with a 100mm macro lens, was on a tripod and pointed straight down at the leech in the bowl.

It was quite active – stretching and retracting as it moved about in the shallow water. Several tiny baby leeches came out of the folds along the edges.  After hatching, the larvae are carried about by the adult for several weeks. After a few minutes they reattached to the adult.

The leech could stretch to about 7 cm (2 3/4 inches) in length with a long slender neck and tiny head. This image is when it was retracted to 3 cm (1 1/4 inches). A tiny larva is on the lower right.

The patterns and colors (shades and tints of brown, tan, rust, dark green) altered as it changed shape and size. The kaleidascopic and fractal-like patterns are fascinating to watch. As well a still images, we did a short video in hopes of showing how it moves.

We had hoped to find information to determine the species but have not. Any advice will be most welcome. In the mean time we can enjoy the beauty we found.

There was an open house and tour at the new Hamilton and Tapken Prairie Preserve yesterday. We attended to learn more about the special niches on this ancient sand hill prairie in northeast Iowa near Onslow. Also to see old friends – both human and flora.

Ray Hamilton of Maquoketa and Phyllis Tapken of Monticello bought the 80 acres several years ago and decided the best way to preserve it was for it to become a formal preserve. As is usual in such ventures, several groups and individuals came together to make that possible. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Pheasants Forever, Jones County Conservation Board, state REAP funds and others were able to do so in less than two years.

Members of the Iowa Native Plant Society and Iowa Prairie Network from across the state, as well as the property’s neighbors, were there to walk the prairie. The early Spring flowers were mostly finished and the early summer ones still are coming up.

We did see Violet Wood-sorrel (Oxalis violacea) like this one with a nectaring hoverfly. It likes open woods and was found near a patch of tree along a ridge. The clover-like leaves often fold at the center vein to reveal the reddish cast underneath.

Among the other blooms were Small White Lady’s-slipper orchids, Fringed, Hoary and Carolina (Hairy) Puccoons, Harebells, Prairie Violets, Shooting Stars, Yellow Star Grass, Blue-eyed Grass and more.  There were some small white flowers on long stems that were recently identified as Drummond’s Rockcress – a plant that is considered threatened or endangered in some of its original range.

There will be a trip report on the Iowa Native Plant Society web site with more images. Watch for it. In the mean time, find a prairie to explore and photograph.

This spring we were pleased to see thousands of Cleft or Sand Phlox (Phlox bifida) at two lovely preserves. The variety of colors that we saw inspired this columnar image were a gift to the eye. Most were shades of lavender but the clumps of white and pink blossoms made interesting accents.

The white ones did not have the starry centers seen on the pink and lavendar ones. There are several sub-species with the ones occasionally found in sand prairies here in Eastern Iowa, called Phlox bifida bifida. One of the other subspecies is found on rocky slopes in the Mid-South.

A wonderful new book, Phlox (Timber Press, 2011) by James Locklear, Director of Conservation, Lauritzen Gardens (the Omaha Botanical Garden) has a section on this lovely native. It is full of information on many of the native phlox found throughout the U.S. We hope to encounter some of the other rare ones.

Like many of the native phlox species, there are horticultural versions developed and sold to delight gardeners, especially those with rock gardens.

The image files were made in even filtered light using white umbrellas. That allows the flowers to be rotated either singly or in this composite image to suit the photographer. The top of the photo is the choice of whoever processes the file. There are soft modeling shadows but light direction is not definitely apparent. Here is a case for looking straight down on the subject.

Next Spring we will head to the sand praires to search for more colors to extend the image.

Virginia Opossums (Didelphis virginiana) are not usually regarded as pretty. However the one we met this morning comes close. We had set the humane trap in hopes of catching the groundhog who moved under the porch last week. One had been evicted earlier this spring and this one was smaller and more hoary in color, so we knew it was a newcomer. Yesterday afternoon we found a very angry squirrel in the trap. This morning this rather large Opossum was in residence.

A stick was needed to gently push it out of the trap to release it. It did not play dead but just stared at us. After being released, it stayed crouched watching us so a few full frame head shots were possible. We had never thought of possums (except some Australian ones) as bright eyed and bushy tailed. Well, not bushy tailed in this case, but definitely bright-eyed.

Possums are omnivorous and eat almost anything.  The trap had been baited with carrots frosted with peanut butter. The first groundhog had been lured in with that combination after several other recommended offerings were unsuccessful. 

The possum was in the shade near a north wall with an open sky above. We bumped the ISO up a bit to get a faster shutter speed at f/8. If there was a bit more noise, that probably helped the fur look furrier and more grizzled. The sky light made nice catch lights while the surroundings were shaded. We did not brush the dirt off its nose nor remove it digitally thinking this told a bit about its time in the trap.