Friday, September 15, 2006

Camouflage


Yesterday afternoon I found something exciting in the Japanese snowbell tree (Styrax japonica), and it wasn't just a katydid! More to follow...

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Posted by Jade L Blackwater at 4:04 AM

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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2006 6:28 AM

    Aaaahhh...a mystery tree post, gotta love that, will tune in for the next episode, soon.

    Huggs, G

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  2. ivanSeptember 15, 2006 6:40 AM

    Your Japanese snowbell tree reminded me of how hard it is identifying trees and shrubs if you just go by Google. Seems you get everything but what you are looking for.
    I had a devil of a time identifying some pointed silvery- leaved shrubs that were almost thorns;they had black shaggy bark, were thorned, but not quite thorns, not in that family.
    Why I found these shrubs interesting was that they seemed to grow around construction sites in Ontario, where hardly anything else woould grow; they grew about three feet over summer.
    I googled and googled and finally came across "Russian Olive", but I'm still not sure.
    The shrub grows into a black-barked, gnarled tree. They are all over fennceposts, utility poles and such.
    Damn hardy shrub.
    Russian? Well...

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  3. Jade L BlackwaterSeptember 15, 2006 6:49 AM

    Geraldine, good morning! I have so many things that I want to post, it's hard to decide where to start! Since this tree is just outside of my front door, I figured it'd be a good choice (plus the katydid looks so cool).

    Ivan, I can definitely relate to the challenges of tree and plant identification. Even with books on hand, illustrations, photographs, and the mighty Google, some plants still take me a few months to pin down.

    That's part of the fun I've had at Arboreality, is teaching myself tree and plant identification. It's easy to ask an expert, but so much more fun to investigate the tree, and learn its secrets!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2006 8:50 AM

    WOW! what a cool bug. Do you know what kind of bug it is?(if that info is already listed below my apologies) It kind of looks like a giant aphid with the legs of a grasshopper/cricket.

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  5. Jade L BlackwaterSeptember 20, 2006 6:49 AM

    Ducklover, this bug IS really cool! It's called a katydid, and it's basically a big, huge, honking grasshopper. You can see another image at my Brainripples blog here:

    Monday Morning Muse - Katydid

    They are very loud, and "kat-y-did" all night long in the tree tops. They are totally cool bugs, full of personality, and HUGE to boot. I do miss the big, blue dragonflies of Washington, but the katydids keep me company. :)

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