#temperate forests

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Horsing Around with Horse Flies

Though horse flies are regarded worldwide as pests, members of the family Tabanidae are an important part of their natural environments. Adults feed on nectar, and some are specialized pollinators that have evolved to only collect from a few select flowers. Just like mosquitoes, only female horse flies feed on blood. Reproduction requires moisture; typically clean, stagnant or slow-moving water. Because of this, some species of horse fly are excellent indicators of an ecosystem’s health. Their role as disease carriers is also a valuable part of any functioning ecosystem; diseases can keep animal populations in check, and sick animals are often easier targets for predators. Horse flies themselves are also a juicy treat for amphibians, reptiles, and birds, as well as insects like wasps and spiders.

There are about 4,455 species of Tabanidae flies, the majority of which reside in the genus Tabanus. Most species share the same general body shape: a large head, a fat body supported by six legs, and one pair of wings. However, there are many variations on this pattern in terms of size, color, and specialized appendages. The smallest horse flies are only 5 mm (0.19 in) long, while the largest is over 30 mm (1.18 in). Like other flies, horse flies have a set of compound eyes made up of thousands of ommatidia: specialised units which allow them to combine input from multiple angles. The resulting image has a poor resolution, but it’s useful for detecting rapid movement-- an important tool when trying to avoid predators. The eyes of male horse flies are holoptic, meaning they meet in the middle to give the appearence of one continuous eye.

Horse flies go through a complete metamorphosis, also known as holometabolism, over the course of their lives. Eggs are laid of clusters of anywhere from 100 to 1000, typically on plants near a source of fresh water. After about six days, the larvae hatch and drop down into the water or burrow into the moist ground, and use a respiratory siphon to pull air from the surface. In temperate regions the grubs enter a stage of dormancy, while tropical horse flies develop year-round. While in this stage individuals consume a number of other insect larvae, worms, and aquatic insects. Once fully developed the horse fly larva pupates for one to three weeks, after which it emerges as a fully-grown adult. Mating can occur as soon as the wings have fully expanded, although female horse flies need to feed on large quantities of blood before depositing the egg mass, in order to provide her young with the nutrients they need to develop.

Conservation status: No horse fly species has been evaluated by the IUCN, and due to their large numbers  populations are considered stable. However, some species only live in certain habitats, particularly wetlands, which are threatened by pollution or destruction.

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Photos

Large marsh horse fly (Tabanus autumnalis) by AJ Cann

Greenhead horse fly (Tabanus nigrovittatus) by Claudia Husseneder

American horse fly (Tabanus americanus) by Sturgis McKeever

[abscondminded]

Silly little comic, close-ups of panels below the cut

[alexmurison]

In the deep, dark plantation large carpets of moss decorated with Russula Brittlegill mushrooms bringing some colour to this dark landscape.

[itsrainingpumpkins]

Beaver Creek Falls Waterfalls, Oregon Bonnie Moreland

[crevicedwelling]

Cyrtoxipha columbiana, one of my favorite local crickets

[inspirehorizon]

Reflections of serenity

[vandaliatraveler]

Part 2: After the Rain - Life in an Appalachian Temperate Forest.

From top: Wild ginger (Asarum canadense), also known as Canadian snakeroot; Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus), a lovely spring aster deserving of a more dignified name; white wood violet (Viola sororia albiflora), a white variation of the common blue violet; woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata), also called wild blue phlox; creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera), a mountain native and the most delicate and beautiful of Appalachia’s many wonderful phlox species; and Allegheny blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis).

[reasonsforhope]

"Two so-called “Celtic rainforests” in the UK are to be restored with a mixture of native planting and natural reforestation.

The hope is that they will provide rich habitats for dozens of species, improve groundwater quality and flood prevention, and allow residents and tourists to experience an exceptionally rare forest biome called temperate rainforest.

The most famous and largest temperate rainforests on Earth are found in the US states of Oregon and Washington, along Brazil’s Atlantic coast (known as the Atlantic Forest), and on New Zealand.

Pictured: Map of the global distribution of temperate rainforests. Source: Wikipedia

Britain, especially Wales, would have featured a certain amount of these Celtic rainforests in areas that experience high moisture content coming off the ocean, and low variations in annual temperatures.

One such place is Creg y Cowin on the Isle of Man, where 28 hectares (70 acres) of native Celtic rainforest will be planted by hand, and another 8 hectares (20 acres) left to regenerate naturally.

The Manx Wildlife Trust will be responsible for the project, and it anticipates “the return of oakwood dwellers such as wood warbler, pied flycatcher, and redstart, as well as raptors, owls, and woodland invertebrates.”

Historic agricultural dwellings called “tholtans” will be left on the landscape for their historical and cultural significance.

Elsewhere, in Gwynedd, North Wales, another 40 hectares (112 acres) of Celtic rainforest will be raised via a mixture of native planting and regeneration. The selected site is the peak and slopes of Bwlch Mawr, near the university town of Byrn Mawr.

“There’s real momentum now to restore and expand our amazing temperate rainforests, and it’s brilliant to see the Wildlife Trusts advancing their plans,” Guy Shrubsole, environmental campaigner and author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain, told the Guardian in the wake of the announcements."

-via Good News Network, 4/7/23

[overnitereligion]

forest park, pdx december 2014

[wildnorthphoto]

Nimpkish River, BC

[evil-jennifer-hamilton-wb]

In the northern US, the trees are pretty. I don't see trees like this often.

(picture by me)

[vvrong]

6 AM

[mothmiso]

Hoh Rainforest - Olympic National Park (2) (3) (4) by Duy Pham

[willowcrowned]

do the academics who put all their paywalled papers up on their personal websites for free know what they’ve done for me. for all of us

[briwhosaysni]

I do not regret going to grad school, and I do not regret moving for my program, but I am absolutely sick and tired of living in the fucking desert

It should not be 97° F in fucking May

I wish we still had our chest freezer so I could curl up inside it and take a nap

[inspirehorizon]

Melancholic winter