A specific harvestman that walked into the Netherlands in 1992
Hetty van Engelen sent me a photo of an insect and she wondered which spider this is? The animal in the photo is not a spider, but an arachnid. They call this arachnid harvestman and this one is the stretcher leg. Spiders have a cephalothorax, four pairs of legs and an abdomen. Arachnids such as the elongated leg have a head, a separate thorax and an abdomen. So everything has grown together. Males of the elongated leg are up to four millimeters long, the females grow up to six millimeters. Not counting the legs in both cases. So the body is small, but the legs are very long. They can grow up to five centimeters long. Stretcher legs were first discovered in Morocco in 1909. We saw them for the first time in the Netherlands in 1992. The name stretcher leg is given to this insect because this harvestman keeps its legs stretched sideways when it is in a resting position.
There was a nice caterpillar on the vistas
In the photo of Janet van er Hoff above you see a pale yellow caterpillar with a black under skin and a kind of red spike of hair at the end. We are dealing here with the merian brush. This caterpillar feeds on hawthorn, blackthorn, pedunculate oak, birch and cultivated fruit trees. You mainly encounter merian brushes from July to October. After this period, the merian brush overwinters as a pupa in a thin silky cocoon. This cocoon is formed on the host plant or in the litter layer. The name Merian brush refers to Maria Sibylla Merian, who lived from 1647 to 1717. In addition to being an entomologist, she was also an artist. With her brushes – like the brushes of the caterpillar – she recorded the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly.
A tree that supplies both castor oil and castor oil
In the photo above by Hendrik van Kan you see a shrub with large leaves and a brown stem. I think we are dealing here with the shrub ricinus communis, or the miracle tree. It is thought that this shrub originally came from Africa, but there are also people who believe that the castor tree originates from India. The most special thing about this miracle tree are actually the seeds. First of all, they resemble a tick, which is why the scientific name has become ricinus. This word means tick in Latin. In addition, the seeds are oily and contain a lot of carbohydrates. Finally, the seeds have outgrowths that we call ant rolls and are food for ants. Ant rolls mainly contain fats and sugar, sometimes with vitamin B, vitamin C, starch and protein. Ants take the seeds plus ant rolls with them. The seeds are released and the ants spread the seeds of this miracle tree. People squeeze the seeds and a kind of oil comes out. The funny thing is that people can use that oil as a castor oil, but also as castor oil for racing engines.
Jellyfish on the beach in Denmark
Jennifer sent me a photo of a jellyfish she found on the beach in Denmark. It immediately reminded me of a jellyfish I had once found. It turned out to be a red hair jellyfish. I think this is one too. It is, however, difficult to identify this species properly, because red hair jellyfish vary in color from yellow to red. In addition, you have blue hair jellyfish, which vary in color from blue to yellow and sometimes red. When they end up on the beach with us in the Netherlands, you can measure tentacles up to fifty centimeters. But in Scandinavia and Denmark those stinging tentacles can grow up to two meters in diameter. They are therefore fearful sea creatures there and a sting from such a red hair jellyfish is more painful than that of the blue one. Luckily for Jennifer, the jellyfish was on the beach.
Strange fungus in the forest
In the photo by Pieter Stokkermans you see a yellow, almost circular fungus on the ground. He would like to know which fungus this is. I think this is a fresh pine foot fungus. They always come out fresh yellow. You see that the fungus is not directly attached to the trunk of a tree, but make no mistake: this pine foot fungus is still on something of a tree. Probably an underground part of the stump of a pine tree. In the beginning, the hat of this fungus has a beautiful velvet yellow center piece. The pine foot fungus is in my opinion one of the most beautiful tree fungi. Pine foot fungi are real parasites. They live on or near living conifers. There they cause root rot. You may also encounter them on tree stumps, but never high up in a tree. After a few weeks, these fungi are fully grown and you will see a dark fungus whose cap is sticky. These fungi then secrete a resinous liquid, perhaps from the conifers. After a few more days you will only find a completely black and hard fruiting body where that beautiful fruiting body used to be.
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Mushroom time autumn 2020 – Vlogging John
Or it should be. October started on Saturday and on this day there were massive mushrooms and fungi everywhere. On October 3, 2020, Vlogging John made a partial overview of the many mushrooms that can be found in the various forests in the Netherlands. From the well-known fly agaric to sulfur heads. There are many more, so take a walk in the woods and who knows, you might see the most special specimens.
There was a very nice caterpillar on a plant in front of the window
Piet Heijmans saw something very special slide past on a plant against his window. I think Piet saw something very beautiful, because the caterpillar of the queen page was on his plant. In the photo you see a beautiful whitish caterpillar with orange and black dots. Queen’s page caterpillars mainly eat plants of the umbellifer family. For example, you often see these caterpillars on wild carrots. You will often see these caterpillars and butterflies in flowery grasslands and vegetable gardens. The butterflies and caterpillars find plenty to eat there. When attacked, the caterpillars assume a threatening posture and at the same time spread a pungent (pineapple) odor. The caterpillars pupate low in the herb layer on the stem of one of the umbellifers. From the end of April you can encounter the first queen pages.
I’ve never seen a spider like this
In the photo of Mariska Dielissen you can clearly see a dead spider with the colors yellow and black. We are dealing here with a dead female of the wasp spider. Originally, wasp spiders were found in areas around the Mediterranean Sea. These spiders have gradually moved north as a result of climate change. They were first discovered in the Netherlands in 1980, in the province of Limburg. From there, the wasp spiders moved north to even the Wadden Islands. Wasp spiders are mainly seen in sunny places, such as grasslands and heathlands. The female of this spider can be up to fifteen millimeters long, but the large thick legs make her appear much larger. Males are significantly smaller, they only grow to a maximum of five millimeters. This spider is completely harmless to humans. The name wasp spider is based on the colors of the body, which are reminiscent of the color of wasps.
Category beautiful photos
Heleen van Pareren heard me say on the radio that the kingfisher is my favorite animal. A few weeks ago this bird was sitting in the sun in our garden. See photo above. We live in a house in the north of Eindhoven and several residents of our neighborhood, near the Catharina Hospital, have seen this bird.
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Nature tip: go to Wolf this weekend
The documentary Wolf is now in cinemas and movie theaters across the country. Visit Wolf this weekend and bring your friends and family.
The film tells the story of a wolf pup who grows up in eastern Germany and leaves the pack as a young adult. The search for his own territory and a partner eventually brings him to the Veluwe. Wolf is viewed as a feature film, but depicts the true story of how the wolf returned to the Netherlands. As the story progresses, you learn more and more about how a wolf lives, how a wolf pack functions and why the arrival of the wolf is so important for nature.
More than 25,000 cinema-goers have already seen the film, which is perfectly suited as a family film. Children from about 10 years old were also present at the premiere. We think it is important that more attention is paid to nature and that many more people get the chance to see this nature film. So give the cinemas a signal by going to this film this weekend. Also bring your friends and family. But above all, go because you really have to see this movie for yourself!
Wolf, in cinemas and movie theaters since September 15, 2022.