Third Visit to Foxcroft Farm

Our third visit to Foxcroft Farm was, unfortunately, going to be our last, and we would go back to working in the lab setting next week once again. This week, we had a box to fill with samples we collected to analyze later. It had rained again the night prior and the stream was even more flooded, so once again we could not reach our BioCube, so we took samples from around the rest of the ecosystem. We took samples of the water and the soil, along with plants and bugs we found.

This week, I was finally able to see the robins that have been calling these past weeks. Unfortunately, the bird was too far away to get a clear photograph to upload. However, it was still nice to get confirmation that these birds were in fact present. We found some interesting plants for the box of samples, like Queen Anne's lace. I thought that plant, in particular, looked very interesting, due to the little dried flowers it appeared to have. I was excited to see what it would be identified as once I uploaded its picture because I wanted to see one fully in bloom. I also photographed a plant with clumps of leaves that I was interested in identifying, but am not satisfied with the ID iNaturalist suggested so I am hoping another person corrects the identification.
This week, we caught many interesting insects and spiders! Tom was very good at catching them, and the rain had made them come out from their various burrows. We caught 4 spiders, two large and two small. They all had the same back markings, so I only uploaded a photo of one of them. Our group hypothesized that all four spiders were the same species. We also decided that the difference in size could be explained in two ways. The first is that the smaller spiders were male spiders and the larger were females, and this was sexual selection. The second was that the smaller spiders were simply younger, and less developed. We also caught a grasshopper, which was very exciting because they are quick!
The most exciting catch of this week was the Fringed Diving Beetle. We saw a group of about 4 of them skimming the surface of the water, and in the water, they look like nondescript ovals. We were immediately curious and had to catch one. Our net was not long enough, and the beetles were extremely swift, so they dodged our attempts easily. To make the task harder, there was a bush full of thorns hiding part of the bank of the stream the beetles would hide under. However, after about 30 minutes, the beetles finally came close enough that the net reached, and we struck! We were so excited about the catch. The beetle has what looks like a shell or armor over its body, and two of its legs are longer than the others. It looked like it used those legs were used to change direction in the water quickly.
This was a great end to the three weeks spent at Foxcroft Farms. I know my whole group will miss coming to the farm and getting to collect samples in the stream.

Posted on 30 de abril de 2019, 03:43 AM by arshiak arshiak

Observações

Fotos / Sons

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arshiak

Data

Abril 23, 2019 08:53 AM EDT

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Fotos / Sons

Observador

arshiak

Data

Abril 23, 2019 09:02 AM EDT

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Fotos / Sons

What

Dicotiledóneas (Classe Magnoliopsida)

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arshiak

Data

Abril 23, 2019 09:10 AM EDT

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Fotos / Sons

What

Cenoura-Brava (Daucus carota)

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arshiak

Data

Abril 23, 2019 09:28 AM EDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

arshiak

Data

Abril 23, 2019 11:17 PM EDT

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