A horned katydid
Tag Archives: NAPIRE
Hiking with other mentors at Las Alturas
A climbing fern
The ends of these ferns have a small hairy, root-like structure that may be used to attach to nearby growing plants.
Moss forest
Cecropia and Ants
Upon disturbing the leaves, Azteca ants rush out to protect their host plant, which provide food and shelter for them. I’ve posted a little about Cecropia before here and here.
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Stonefly exuvia
The molt or exoskeleton left over after an aquatic stonefly emerged as an adult from a river in Las Alturas.
Brown, leaf-mimicking, katydid
Edit: Tip of the hat to Pat Lorch for communicating a likely sub-family (Phaneropterinae) and genus (Orophus) of this katydid. The white, flattened structures on the forelegs are tympana (eardrums).
Collecting Miconia appendiculata
Mel and José collected several similar looking, native species for their decomposition experiments. We chose leaves of Miconia appendiculata and an invasive bamboo (collecting leaves here) to compare in their experiments. Here, they collect the M. appendiculata leaves from trees lining the Río Java.
Liverwort gametangia and sporophytes
Liverworts are common around stream banks and trail edges at Las Cruces. They form large, mats along steep banks. Some, including the one below, have gamete-producing structures projecting from their flat “leaves”. From these dome-like gametangia, hair like projections (sporophytes) hang and release spores to begin the next generation.
Tree Fern Sori
