Saturday: 9 February 2008
Piggybacking a bit on the post of a couple of days ago, here are a couple of possible examples of phytotelmata. They’re both tiny cups formed at the base of young sweetgums. I say “possible examples” because these particular ones don’t hold permanent water bodies unless we are experiencing actively moist conditions. However they’re clearly microenvironments that probably do maintain a much higher moisture and humidity level most of the time.
The first one has some problems with rot. Maybe it’s not fully formed, and the decay has not reached the barrier tissue yet. Still, it contains a thin layer of compost that supports various mosses and emerging seedlings, probably of ephemeral spring annuals.
This one is much more nicely formed. The emerging seedling seems to be well protected here.
As have these much older and larger vines.
I’ve looked for examples to support several hypotheses. Smilax, for instance, climbs mostly by producing overarching branches that encounter a supporting structure. Fresh shoots can support themselves for several feet before falling over, hopefully onto something. That doesn’t seem to be the case here - I don’t see any muscadine vines groping in the air.
Another possibility is that they grow up the trunk of the supporting tree and then at some point after attaching high in the air release their hold on the tree. There are grasping branchlets up the length of the vine in the first photo, but that doesn’t necessarily address the issue. And I don’t find intermediate examples of vines in the process of release.
Still, I think it’s the most likely explanation. And what would prompt a release? From the lower photo, I’d think that as the lower portion of the vine grows and puts on weight, it eventually drags the upper portions from a weakly held position against the trunk, eventually freeing the vine. Whatever the case, an empty space in the canopy becomes occupied dramatically.
I was hoping to find another of these, photographed a little better, but this one will have to suffice for now. I observed this insect on Feb 4. I tentatively identified it as a leafhopper.
And it is, it’s Speckled Sharpshooter, Paraulacizes irrorata, or a very close relative, and there are some nice photos at Bugguide.
University of Florida’s IFAS Extension page has a fine article on Sharpshooters, aptly named from their hiding behavior. And they streak off like bullets when alarmed.
Like all leafhoppers, sharpshooters feed with piercing mouthparts and so are at least potentially destructive of the plants they feed on. The above article has some fascinating things to say about xylem-water feeding, transmission of plant disease, and the parasitism of sharpshooter eggs and later stages by tiny wasps, twisted-wings (Strepsiptera), and fungus.
The first one has some problems with rot. Maybe it’s not fully formed, and the decay has not reached the barrier tissue yet. Still, it contains a thin layer of compost that supports various mosses and emerging seedlings, probably of ephemeral spring annuals.
This one is much more nicely formed. The emerging seedling seems to be well protected here.
| This has been on my mind for some time now. How do muscadine vines (Vitis rotundifolia) manage to get way up there? This younger vine has clambered up and established itself at a point 25 feet off the ground. |  |
As have these much older and larger vines.
I’ve looked for examples to support several hypotheses. Smilax, for instance, climbs mostly by producing overarching branches that encounter a supporting structure. Fresh shoots can support themselves for several feet before falling over, hopefully onto something. That doesn’t seem to be the case here - I don’t see any muscadine vines groping in the air.
Another possibility is that they grow up the trunk of the supporting tree and then at some point after attaching high in the air release their hold on the tree. There are grasping branchlets up the length of the vine in the first photo, but that doesn’t necessarily address the issue. And I don’t find intermediate examples of vines in the process of release.
Still, I think it’s the most likely explanation. And what would prompt a release? From the lower photo, I’d think that as the lower portion of the vine grows and puts on weight, it eventually drags the upper portions from a weakly held position against the trunk, eventually freeing the vine. Whatever the case, an empty space in the canopy becomes occupied dramatically.
I was hoping to find another of these, photographed a little better, but this one will have to suffice for now. I observed this insect on Feb 4. I tentatively identified it as a leafhopper.
And it is, it’s Speckled Sharpshooter, Paraulacizes irrorata, or a very close relative, and there are some nice photos at Bugguide.
University of Florida’s IFAS Extension page has a fine article on Sharpshooters, aptly named from their hiding behavior. And they streak off like bullets when alarmed.
Like all leafhoppers, sharpshooters feed with piercing mouthparts and so are at least potentially destructive of the plants they feed on. The above article has some fascinating things to say about xylem-water feeding, transmission of plant disease, and the parasitism of sharpshooter eggs and later stages by tiny wasps, twisted-wings (Strepsiptera), and fungus.
