Menippus cynicus, commonly known as Celtis Leaf Beetle, is a member of the leaf beetle family Chrysomelidae. It's a small beetle to about 10mm, has an oval shaped, convex brown body, orange-brown head, thorax and antennae, and a black underside. The wing cases (elytra) are covered in short, fuzzy hairs.
Thanks Brian...had I had time to wait a bit I wiuld definitely have seen it catch breakfast. Glad you like it.
Hi Mauna. Just doing some googling and came across this website. I imagine you already have it, but I was wondering if your spotting could be Beaded Tube lichen (Hypogymnia apinnata)? The site is specifically for the southern coast of Alaska.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5391725.pdf
Perhaps Caladium sp?? I find several that are close, but look like developed strains, not the native Ecuadorian plant pictured. The leaves of this plant are "elephant ear" shaped, basically green with red midrib and veins and white and/or pink spots inbetween the veins (lamina?). This plant was less than 30 cm tall. They get much taller, but possibly this bloomed quickly as a result of being cut off.
Red-Spotted Garter Snake spotted in the Fall Creek Recreation Area of the Willamette National Forest, OR.
Red-Spotted Garter Snake spotted in the Fall Creek Recreation Area of the Willamette National Forest, OR.
Mapping Nature on Your Smartphone
For the developers at New York start-up Networked Organisms, smartphones are the butterfly nets of the 21st Century. Their tool, Project Noah, lets people upload photos of plants and wildlife around them, creating a map of the natural world and contributing to scientific research in the process.
What kind of beetle? This app knows
Bespectacled scientists of yore would carry around hefty field guides, made up of hundreds of pages of text and photos. But these days, smartphone owners have a lighter option: an app called Project Noah, which aims to help people identify plants and animals as well as collect data from "citizen scientists" about where certain species are located.
Designing ecosystems for talent development
Project Noah enables us to be part of a more focused online community where we can learn more about wildlife around us and contribute to scientific research. It pulls participants into deeper, more meaningful engagement by enabling people to go on “missions” to collectively map changes based on sightings.
A smart way to save wildlife
A modern invention that may also hold the key to saving species in the future. Project Noah is a global study that encourages nature lovers to document the wildlife they encounter, using a purpose built phone app and web community. In addition to the virtual "collection" of species, Project Noah encourages citizen science by linking up with existing surveys including the International Spider Survey and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
Dial-a-Class
New mobile applications include a tool called NOAH that lets you take cellphone pictures of bugs and trees and then sends back an identification of the exact type in as little as 24 hours.
