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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: Ohio
An introduced planarian in Ohio
In late May 2018, I came across this planarian among the leaves on the forest floor in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Planarians are part of the group of animals known as Platyhelmintes. Although planarians look a bit like earthworms, they are … Continue reading
Posted in Citizen Science, Natural History, Uncategorized
Tagged Invertebrate, Ohio, planarian
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A buck jogs past me in my neighborhood.
A male whitetail deer jogged right by me while I was standing in my driveway in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Apparently, two does ran by just a minute or two earlier, but I didn’t see them. This buck was in hot … Continue reading
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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Recognizing individual salamanders by their belly spots
One of the questions we are investigating in my herpetology lab is whether we can recognize individual salamanders based on the pattern of spots on their bellies. We have been studying a population of smallmouth salamanders (Ambystoma texanum) and unisexual … Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography, Science
Tagged Ohio, Salamander
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Cuban Treefrog comes to Cleveland
A Caribbean frog showed up in Cleveland, Ohio, last week. It was a young Cuban TreeFrog that hitched a ride from Florida in some plant material being shipped to a Cleveland floral shop. Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography, Science
Tagged Cuban Tree Frog, Florida, Frog, invasive, Ohio
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