# Today in nature I saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854 "2020-07-20T18:22:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 215
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4284 "2026-07-14T16:03:26Z")
Correction, his grandson. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4285 "2026-07-14T16:06:56Z")
I’m suprised your dog wasn’t foaming at the mouth. I’ve seen that happen when a dog tastes a toad. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4286 "2026-07-14T19:30:32Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > (longer video) Oh, ugh. A lot of Chronos’ bovine warning signs on display. That was an animal hopped up on hormones and ready to cut loose on anything in the vicinity. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4287 "2026-07-15T15:19:02Z")
Nope, he seemed fine, thank goodness. I thought of that though! ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4288 "2026-07-15T20:54:15Z")
This has been a truly remarkable year for butterflies - I’ve commented about numbers before - but they’re not easy to photograph. Here’s a couple of Hedge Brown on my allotment, one in sun and one not. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNyOPfF3X8PqdTiY7Fq3xMVi8xj_7e-Dg3yI-xTAwFYq7RfHoNFwDKOdTDNZHGSXExZXEFIjqg6QShxelDxRS9aAKSkPuR55D_59fvXMNdPHv-hwP8=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Tuesday, Jul 14 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMf7Er9iSnxrCfItXjR4-JfHIDyIr-F8i-d-bWCL64k4X4Dhri0pQP0CMFODRMoow?key=V1ptRl82NWhyQU1zT3Bjanc2S0xydlpOci1uTFln) It’s also been a pretty good year for bees. Buff tailed bumblebees just love my elephant garlic. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPLCDC8HSBV5AOcTPPYc84w_fyRP4Z6nO-LOIptffG6dFFdEOr6Kv-ZgxEofvRB0FUIcP1ajYKhBiewQ9YBpR0vczrdSaJq_lgMtuDXlIAUVrmuG0A=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Monday, Jul 13 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMCKhFFBCWhhT39RVhRQ0riqwJ0TBgpO6kRsPb5Lg_KvPh5OPyf82C_o6gJmeZMDg?key=VHhSbW04ZDZ3YkV4QkhsLS1aNHU1c0xHQVh0dEl3) j ETA: as ever, click through for the full image ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4289 "2026-07-15T20:58:08Z")
Meanwhile, in the stream that runs alongside the allotments…. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMNc-sF7xs__TToOippBUY2VBEDpc4EectBUgNTcA7qKQ3pD4g1qdIN4i39f_y-Y04RDKhqRF2BErtH1qrWbU4k94y5yPphBMqPgWdkQLAbkYi2hBU=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Tuesday, Jul 14 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMhCgmVyCqSghTUdAQeE-kRxGgptb7IxXNod66srhs0jzluDHtsYJYuE3Hp81KqIQ?key=dUZJdTVCdFlGTlFEMTg2VFBPQkZIQmpKcnk2SHNB) j ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4290 "2026-07-15T21:27:48Z")
I haven’t seen any butterflies in my mom’s milkweed patch, but I’ve seen tons of bees there. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4291 "2026-07-15T22:49:55Z")
Whoa, nice catch! A heron? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4292 "2026-07-15T23:26:05Z")
Yeah. A neighbor (allotmentwise) spotted it so we took a few snaps. There are a lot of trees overhanging the stream and it’s surprisingly dark down there. I have no idea how phone cameras work, but that photo has a slightly ghostly appearance to it which I assume has something to do with light levels. j ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4293 "2026-07-17T20:47:00Z")
Today this big fly came in a window and landed on my biggest horse conch. By the time I got my camera it was flying around again. So I followed it around for a while hoping it would land on something photogenic again, but unfortunately it didn’t cooperate. It is a [tiger bee fly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenox_tigrinus). [![](https://i.ibb.co/0vf3Rnc/IMG-20260717-134452853.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/0vf3Rnc/IMG-20260717-134452853.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4294 "2026-07-18T04:38:01Z")
Mothra. [![](https://i.ibb.co/HwYndHr/IMG-20260717-230547498.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/HwYndHr/IMG-20260717-230547498.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/M5ny9qmN/IMG-20260717-230522661.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/M5ny9qmN/IMG-20260717-230522661.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4295 "2026-07-19T02:15:19Z")
Elephant ears (_Colocasia esculenta_) grow each new leaf inside the previous leaf, building up pressure until the rolled leaf tears through the “skin” of the back of the petiole. I’ve noticed that on the very small leaves when backlit you can see the growing leaf inside the petiole. This is what the latest one looks like today. [![](https://i.ibb.co/5XbygH3g/Elephant-ears-20260718-bud05c.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/5XbygH3g/Elephant-ears-20260718-bud05c.jpg) They grow fast; this is what the same plant looked like 7 days ago. [![](https://i.ibb.co/SwLKYSc3/Elephant-ears-20260711-bud05.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/SwLKYSc3/Elephant-ears-20260711-bud05.jpg) And 31 days ago it was cells on a hard, dry lump that I broke off a larger elephant ear corm. Within a week it was covered in small growths. After those grew for a while I chopped that into 4 smaller pieces containing the 4 largest growths. The one in the above photos is the smallest and last growing of them. [![](https://i.ibb.co/6Rsj1V3t/Elephant-ears-bud5-sequence.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/6Rsj1V3t/Elephant-ears-bud5-sequence.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4296 "2026-07-19T17:50:09Z")
So I was outside spreading some mulch in the back yard when I heard this huge racket - it was a cicada, I was sure, but louder than I’d ever heard one before. Then I noticed the grass under one of the trees shaking wildly and went to check. The cicada was being attacked by a[cicada-killer wasp](https://soil.evs.buffalo.edu/images/4/4f/Cicada-killer-with-insect.jpg?20250331064103). Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4297 "2026-07-19T18:29:42Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > The cicada was being attacked by a[cicada-killer wasp](https://soil.evs.buffalo.edu/images/4/4f/Cicada-killer-with-insect.jpg?20250331064103). Ugh. That reminds me of that big fly I posted recently. For those who didn’t read the Wikipedia article > Female tiger bee flies deposit fertilized eggs in [carpenter bee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee "Carpenter bee") nests. Rather than entering the nest itself, female tiger flies lay eggs near the nest entrance.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenox_tigrinus#cite_note-:0-2) When the larvae hatch, they consume the carpenter bee larvae.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenox_tigrinus#cite_note-:1-3) The fly larvae may also wait for the bees to enter the vulnerable pupal state before eating them. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4298 "2026-07-24T03:20:54Z")
Thunderstorm over the Cottage: [![](https://i.postimg.cc/j5sZHj3t/DSC-5138.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/j5sZHj3t/DSC-5138.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4299 "2026-07-24T12:41:40Z")
Nice! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4300 "2026-07-24T13:05:19Z")
Not to worry you or anything, but I think you’ve got a gate to the Upside-Down forming, there. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4301 "2026-07-24T14:03:26Z")
I was out looking for Dart… ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4302 "2026-07-24T14:08:22Z")
I happened to look out the window onto my deck yesterday and there was a hummingbird fluttering around. First one I’ve seen in a while; he hovered for a while about a foot or two from the glass and then darted off. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4303 "2026-07-25T20:42:27Z")
Lizard knocking at our door: [![](https://i.postimg.cc/W3NWV1Py/IMG-4803.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/W3NWV1Py/IMG-4803.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=214) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=216)