About Mister Toad
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: Invertebrate
Midges swarm out of Lake Erie to take over Cleveland in June 2018
Photographs of the tiny midges that swarmed out of Lake Erie in June 2018. Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged Invertebrate, midge
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Zombie Cicadas and the end of Brood V
A look back on the 2016 Brood V Cicada emergence in northeast Ohio. Includes photos and video of “zombie cicadas”! Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Video
Tagged cicada, Invertebrate, video
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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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Brood V Cicada from Warrensville Heights, Ohio
Here is one of two Brood V Cicadas that I spotted in a parking lot in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, on 19 June 2016. I’ve also recorded this observation in inaturalist. This is the first time I’ve seen these cicadas in … Continue reading
Posted in Citizen Science, Natural History, Photography
Tagged cicada, Invertebrate
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sucking the blood of frogs
A couple years ago I posted about leeches eating frog eggs. This year I spotted a struggling juvenile green frog floating near the surface of a pond. It was partway through metamorphosis, with all four legs, but also a long … Continue reading
Posted in Natural History, Photography
Tagged Frog, green frog, Invertebrate, Leech, Predation
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