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Mealworm Life Cycle

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Our tree frog tends to be a little shy. Or maybe he just seems that way because tree frogs are mostly nocturnal. He spends most days resting at the top edge of his habitat and comes down at night to jump in his water bath or eat a meal.  We leave a few mealworms in a dish overnight for him to snack on. Sometimes he decides not to eat and I scoop the leftovers back up in the morning. One day this week, I was surprised to see that one of the mealworms had transformed.  The frog's leftovers: a mealworm (top) and a pupa (bottom). Mealworms are the larval phase of a Darkling Beetle. Just like butterflies, these beetles have a four-stage life cycle. Larvae (or caterpillars, in the case of butterflies) emerge from eggs. Next is the pupa, more commonly known as the chrysalis phase in butterflies. This is the cozy cocoon where the insect transforms their body and crawls out as an adult beetle or butterfly. Darkling beetle lifecycle (uen.org) The frog's leftover mealworm had become a pu...
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Mantling

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When I checked on Aldo to see if he was enjoying his meal, he hunched over and drooped his wings so I couldn't see the mouse clutched in his talons. This behavior, called mantling, is common in hungry raptors trying to hide their food from predators that might want to steal it. Aldo didn't realize that I was looking forward to my peanut butter sandwich for lunch and had no interest in snagging his mouse.  Once I stepped away, I could see his shadow proving that he went back to his meal: 
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Happy Snake

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This may look like a simple photo of a snake. But this scene means so much more to me. I don't just see a snake here; I see a happy snake.   I'm not an expert in snake body language or emotions. I can't claim to know what Emory is thinking or feeling here. But what I can see is a snake stretched out under her heat lamp, looking out into the world. This is a snake that is relaxed and observing the activity around her, not running away from it.  It seems so often that Emory spends most of her time curled up tightly under one of her caves. At the sight of any movement, she usually recoils back to her safe hide. The snake in this photo seems comparatively calm, feeling safe enough to spread out and watch me take the photo. She looks just about as happy as a snake can look, in my opinion!
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Frosty

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  One of my favorite things about sub-zero mornings is seeing Otto's frosted eyebrows. Moisture from his breath condenses on his brows and freezes. It had started to melt away by the time I took this photo, but you can still see some droplets frozen above his eyes.  Sometimes I feel bad for the birds sitting out in the cold all night. But Otto's many layers of feathers are so good at insulating that not enough heat can escape to melt the frozen droplets. Great Horned Owls really are built to live all seasons in the Northwoods! 
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Holiday Toys

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Christmas came early for the birds! We got crafty at our staff holiday party this week and made fun enrichment toys for our raptors. With just a stack of newspapers, cardboard tubes, and markers, Museum staff creatively concocted wreaths, a snowman, a gingerbread man, a Christmas tree, and a red-nosed reindeer. Carson the Red-tailed Hawk showed lots of interest in her festive Rudolph!
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Bath Time

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Aldo the American Kestrel made the most of his time inside this week by splashing in his water pan and drying off in the sun! 
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Three-pound Girls

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On my first day back to work after maternity leave, I wondered how the birds would respond to me after an 11-week hiatus. It turned out to be business as usual. Aldo the kestrel trilled and eagerly took mouse tidbits; Otto the owl leapt to the scale; and Carson the hawk didn't hesitate to step on my glove. As I felt Carson's weight on my hand, I thought back to July (29 weeks into my pregnancy) when baby presumably weighed the same as this Red-tailed Hawk. I snapped a picture of me with my 3-pound girls: Now my 3-month old daughter Lucy weighs significantly more than Carson and I can't wait for them to meet face-to-face!
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