100 Species #43: Little house fly

A group of little house flies (Fannia canicularis) converged on a dog ball in the side yard.


The little house fly was 365 Urban Species #054, and on that entry there's some good natural history information, such as the fact that fly's larva is studded with spikes for swimming through semiliquid chicken manure (and I think may have been the inspiration for the monsters from Tremors). What's more interesting, and I only know a little about so far, is this insect's unique behavior. They circle and swarm in a distinctive way, sometimes indoors, males engaged in some kind of territorial display. In the above picture, a group of males are altogether on a light blue ball. An identical red ball next to the blue one had only one fly on it. When I disturbed them from there, they re-converged on a white plastic bag of topsoil. Something about the light colored surfaces seemed to be attracting them.

3:00 snapshot #743

Alexis tests if she's allergic to poison ivy by pulling it up WITH HER BARE HANDS.

100 Species #44: Poison Ivy

One of the first of many Poison ivy(Toxicodendron radicans) plants to appear in the yard.

Today I rode a bike along 25 miles of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and my constant companion was poison ivy. Just past the road shoulder new spring growth of red and green leaflets on wiry vines rolled by me. On my leg a blister itched insistently enough that I scratched it open, causing a small drop of blood to weep out.

The neighborhood legend is that one of the previous owners of our house was not fond of children, and so to make his land less inviting--or perhaps to torment small trespassers--he deliberately planted poison ivy. We have found it in four main locations in the yard, and I first encountered it before it leafed out, and came into contact with the oil that causes the allergic reaction. I've been taking Claritin every day to control the reactions, and I continue my policy of avoiding the plant at all costs. Alexis appears not to be allergic, and pulled out a large bagful of the vines this morning.

Poison ivy is one of my favorite plants in fall, rivaled only by sumac and sugar maple.

Poison ivy was 365 urban species #281, and is a frequently recurring character in this journal.

3:00 snapshot #735

The snapshots are about a week behind, just fyi. Ideally I would post them the day I took them--or even exactly at 3:00, with my iPhone or iPad or whatever other tech I have in my fantasies. I'd love to be a full time blogger, doing whatever I wanted with my life, but just constantly reporting on it. Unfortunately, it might be hard to come up with material, given carte blanche like that. Or maybe I just don't work as hard as the more interesting bloggers. Food for thought.

The pen in this picture is one that I bought in bulk. Pens are valuable in the zoo hospital, and certain areas (surgery, the pharmacy, the lab) are places where pens constantly disappear. Official requisitioning of new pens is an annoying process, so I bought something like 2 pounds of purple pens on eBay. These are mis-printed promo pens, the whole batch cost 10 bucks or so. I carry around fistfuls of purple pens just so no one can whine about not having a pen. I'm amazed with how often I have to replace them in the pharmacy--I guess people just automatically walk off with them rather than setting them back on the counter. (Our pharmacy is just where we keep our drugs and the paperwork associated with them--it's not like a CVS inside the zoo.)