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mister-toad.com is the personal website and blog of Mike Benard, a biologist who studies the ecology, evolution and conservation of amphibians and other organisms. Mike can be contacted at: mfbenard -at- gmail . com.Copyright Information
Unless otherwise noted, all text and images are © Mike Benard. If you would like to use any of the material in this blog, please send me an email.Mister-toad.com
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Tag Archives: Natural History
Fuzzy white Beech Blight Aphids doing their waggling dance
Beech Blight Aphids (Grylloprociphilus imbricator) will gather in large groups to feed on the sap of beech trees. They have a distinctive “dance” to deter predators. When disturbed, they wave their abdomens and waxy white filaments. These photos and videos … Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography, Video
Tagged beech blight aphid, Invertebrate, Natural History, Ohio
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Rain Posture in Yellow Garden Spider
Photos and video show how a yellow garden spider changes its behavior in a heavy rain. The spider hangs from its web using its back legs, so it is perpendicular to the ground. This might make the body less of a “target” for raindrops. Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography, Video
Tagged behavior, Invertebrate, Natural History, Predation, spider, video
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Shed Snake Skin Identification
I was recently given some shed snake skins that were found at the CWRU Farm in northeast Ohio. These sheds will provide a fun way to teach CWRU herpetology students snake identification skills. Shed snake skins have a number of … Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography
Tagged milksnake, Natural History, shed skin, Snake
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Difference a day makes: Bullfrog Egg Development
Adult Bullfrogs are the largest North American frog, and even their tadpoles can be a handful. But they start their lives at a much smaller size. Here are two photos showing one day’s development of a bullfrog egg. The first … Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography
Tagged Bullfrog, egg, Frog, Natural History
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Photos: Northern Pacific Rattler & Ribbon Snake
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus): This snake was seen one April 2008 afternoon cruising through an open field in Yolo County, California. Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus): This snake was seen slithering near a pond in southeastern Michigan in October … Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography
Tagged Natural History, rattlesnake, ribbon snake, Snake
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