Archivos de diario de septiembre 2019

03 de septiembre de 2019

August 2019 Photo-observation of the Month

Congratulations to JoAnne Russo for winning the August 2019 Vermont Atlas of Life iNaturalist photo-observation of the month. JoAnne captured this Scudder's Bush Katydid (Genus Scudderia) in the act of molting under a milkweed leaf. JoAnne is one of the top naturalists at the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist too. She has over 8,000 observations and identified over 54,500 records. If you've submitted a moth record, JoAnn has likely studied it and if possible, identified it for you.

There are 80 grasshopper, cricket and katydid (Orthoptera) species known in Vermont. Six of those are Scudder's Bush Katydids. The nymph that hatches from an egg looks a lot like an adult without wings. They shed their exoskeletons (called molting) as they grow larger and larger. During their last molt they become winged adults. JoAnne captured this moment. The katydid is sliding out of its old exoskeleton leaving behind the brown, empty legs,the casing for its new wings and body.

Visit the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist where you can vote for the winner this month by clicking the  ‘fav’ star on your favorite photo-observation. Make sure you get outdoors and record the biodiversity around you, then submit your discoveries and you could be a winner!

Publicado el septiembre 3, 2019 02:02 TARDE por kpmcfarland kpmcfarland | 1 comentario | Deja un comentario

17 de septiembre de 2019

Introduced Jumping Spider Spotted in Vermont for First Time

On June 10th Jasper Barnes, a wildlife biology student at the University of Vermont, snapped a photo of a tiny jumping spider near campus and shared it to the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist. He knew it was a jumping spider, but he wasn't quite sure what species it was. It wasn't long before a few experts saw his record and identified it as a Black-palped Jumping Spider (Pseudeuophrys erratica), an introduced species native to Europe and Asia. This is the first record for Vermont and the northernmost in the United States.

It was first reported in North America in in New Jersey in 1982, but recent records, including this one, suggest that this species may now be established on both coasts of the United States, according to a recent publication detailing this sighting, as well as others.

Add your discoveries to the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist to help us record and learn about Vermont's natural heritage.

Publicado el septiembre 17, 2019 08:05 TARDE por kpmcfarland kpmcfarland | 1 comentario | Deja un comentario

18 de septiembre de 2019

Tallying Vermont Moths One Image at a Time

The Vermont Atlas of Life, with the aid of many volunteers across Vermont, has been mapping moth distribution and phenology one photo-observation at a time. Since 2013, biologists and naturalists have contributed moth observations to the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist. Many of us turn on special lights in our backyards on summer nights to find hundreds of moths and other insects gathering on white sheets, hunt fields and forest for day-flying moths, and place rotten fruit bait out to attract other moths. Many of these moths can be identified from good photographs (although some are impossible without dissection and examination under a microscope). With today’s amazing digital photography technology, coupled with the newer Peterson’s Field Guide to Northeastern Moths and web sites like iNaturalistBugGuideMoth Photographers Group, or Moths of Eastern North America Facebook Group, moth watching (aka mothing) has become increasingly popular.

Two amazing naturalists, Laura Gaudette and JoAnne Russo, have become moth fanatics and experts over the years and have been leading the charge here in Vermont in documenting moths and encouraging others. Earlier this year, they created a collection project that automatically gathers and presents all Vermont moth data from iNaturalist in one easy place - Vermont Moths on iNaturalist. If you put a moth record in the Vermont Atlas of Life project on iNaturalist, or anywhere in iNaturalist - Vermont Moths will tally it.

Over the past few years, 1,365 moth watchers here in Vermont have added over 100 new species to the Vermont checklist via iNaturalist and have documented 1,556 species across the state so far. What’s even more amazing is that we’ve recorded over 50,000 observations (and quickly growing), which helps us understand their phenology, habitat use, and range in Vermont like never before.

Since the 1995 landmark publication Moths and Butterflies of Vermont: A Faunal Checklist, nearly 400 new moth species have been found in Vermont thanks to the tireless efforts of both professional and amateur lepidopterists (we're updating the faunal checklist of moths now). Preliminary results show that there are now over 2,200 species of moths known in Vermont. And, there are likely many more awaiting our discovery.

We encourage you to add your photographs of moths, too. Finding moths can be as simple as looking for them flying about during the day, or leaving a porch light on and checking it after dark. Serious moth aficionados use special lights and baits to attract them. Check out this short introduction on how to start mothing. It’s easy and fun!

We invite you to join the Vermont Atlas of Life and the Vermont Moth collection project on iNaturalist and contribute your observations too. Or just visit to see what are the top observed species, who has the most observations or the most species. Also check out the map to find areas that are under-reported. Vermont has an incredible diversity of moths and an incredible group of iNaturalist citizen scientists!

Publicado el septiembre 18, 2019 02:11 TARDE por kpmcfarland kpmcfarland | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

30 de septiembre de 2019

Meet our new ECO AmeriCorps Outreach Naturalist!

The VCE team is pleased to welcome Emily Anderson, our new ECO AmeriCorps citizen science outreach naturalist. She is filling Nathaniel’s shoes as he steps into his new data analyst role at VCE. Over this next year, Emily will be giving workshops and lectures all across Vermont about natural history and our citizen science projects, as well as launching some exciting new initiatives to get more people involved. Keep a look out for the first workshop announcement in the coming weeks! In the meantime, she is available by email and happy to answer your questions about the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist, Vermont eBird, e-Butterfly, or other VCE citizen science projects. Have your outdoor adventures sparked a question about Vermont nature? Emily can help you find the answer to that too! Check out the VCE staff page to learn more about Emily and reach out with questions or help anytime!

Publicado el septiembre 30, 2019 07:38 TARDE por emilyanderson2 emilyanderson2 | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

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