INTRODUCTION:
The quietness and calmness on the
trail will renew your mind, body and soul.
The choir of nature’s rhythm is as refreshing as silence. Most of my life I have been an over
communicator and sure at times annoying for my listener. As life rolls on and from my infinite wisdom,
I get a nudge from experience and past failures to switch on my brain to mouth
filter more often than I have in the past, which in the past was a delayed
after thought. I attempt to stay away
from negative talk and focus on uplifting things to talk about on the trail.
“Before you speak, ask yourself
these four questions: Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it true? Does it improve
on the silence?” –
Bernard Meltzer
I love to tell a story and usually
include more detail than necessary. I
also love to hear a good story. On my
hikes with friends, there are times we walk down the peaceful path for long
periods of time without speaking a word.
When we decide to converse, we talk about really random stuff like the
latest movies we have seen, podcasts that has enlightened us, our thoughts on
the best hiking snacks and hiking gear reviews.
Our chatter very rarely involves work topics,
but we sometimes find ourselves on the topic.
Work as a topic of conversation can be so exhausting physically and mentally,
we try to avoid it at all costs. However,
we have resolved some pretty serious office drama on the trail. We share confidential stuff that falls under
that category “What is shared on the Trail – stays on the trail”. Hopefully,
my stories will make you smile.
**********************************************************************************
NO QUICKIES IN THESE STICKIES
As we marched in sync down the trail
on an early fall morning, it seemed small sticks were falling from the trees
and landing on us. We couldn’t figure
out why so many sticks were were falling out of trees because there was no
wind. We finally discovered it was walking
stick insects. We stopped and took a
closer look at what was going on with the walking sticks. To our surprise, there were many of them all
coupled up and we were pretty sure they were mating. They were everywhere and taking care of
business. Our childlike curiosity had us
watching them until our adult minds kicked in and we felt like we were watching
a peep show and invading their privacy. They
were not bothered by us and continued taking care of business. We all
agreed we hadn’t given walking stick insects much thought in the past, but now
our curiosity was sparked. We talked about walking sticks as we hiked and
as dinner conversation. After a little
googling, we found out it was walking stick mating season and that there are no
quickies in these stickies act of mating.
When mating, male and female walking sticks
may remain coupled for several hours, several days or sometimes even
weeks. That explains why they were
falling out of trees on us because they were tired. Another interesting fact is that female stick
insects are able to reproduce entirely without males. Unmated females produce
eggs that become more females. When a male does manage to mate with a female,
there’s a 50/50 chance their offspring will be male. We also learned that should a bird or other
predator grab hold of its leg it can make an easy escape. Using a special muscle to break it off at a weak joint, they simply shed
the leg in a defensive strategy known as autotomy. Juvenile stick insects regenerate the missing
limb the next time they molt, which is when they shed their old shell, to make way for a new growth. In some cases, adult stick insects can even
force themselves to molt in order to regain a lost leg.
Stick
insects often go unnoticed, unless they are falling out of trees, because they
are camouflaged with their appearance as a stick. They're typically brown,
black, or green, with thin, stick-shaped bodies that help them blend in as they
perch on twigs and branches. Some stick insects exhibit lichen-like markings to
make their camouflage more authentic and make their disguise more complete. Stick insects imitate twigs swaying in the
wind by rocking back and forth as they move. These amazing bugs are hard to spot because
they look so much like twigs—until those twigs get up and walk away, that is. Some stick
insects can change color, like a chameleon, depending on the background. Stick insects may also wear bright colors on
their wings but keep these flamboyant features tucked away. When a bird or
other predator approaches, the stick insect flashes its vibrant wings, then
hides them again, leaving the predator confused and unable to relocate its
target. All walking
sticks are herbivores. One of the reasons that they look like sticks is so they
can graze on the leaves of their preferred trees in peace. They are an
important food source for other animals — some of which eat them, while others
eat their droppings, which come from their hardy digestive tract's ability to
break down certain tough leaves. Birds, bats, reptiles, spiders and small
mammals enjoy walking stick adult as a meal.
Stick insects aren't venomous but if threatened, they will
regurgitate a nasty substance to put a bad taste in a hungry predator's mouth,
ooze foul-smelling blood from joints in their body, some large, tropical stick
insects may use their leg spines, which help them climb, to inflict pain on an
enemy and some direct a chemical spray, much like tear gas, at the offender.
When all else fails, they play dead. A threatened stick insect will drop from
wherever it's perched, fall to the ground, and stay very still. A bird
or mouse may be unable to find the insect on the ground or prefer living prey
and move on.
The stick insects we saw on our Ouachita Trail hike were all
about 2 inches long. There has been
reports in different parts of the world of some being 21 inches long. Around the world, there have been more than
3,000 species of walking stick bugs identified.
The walking stick discovery on our hike prompted us to read up
on the insects and have a down-to-earth learning experience. It is
endless what there is to discover and learn while outdoors, just pay attention
and soak it all in. A walk in the woods always
offers something new. It doesn’t matter
how old you are, there is always something to learn.
I am not sure how many species are on the Ouachita Trail and probably
won’t ever know. Hopefully, each year
when I visit the trail for a hike, I get see a few because they are fun to
watch as they sway and stagger a long their way. They
really don’t seem to mind if we are curious and get up close and personal. In my opinion, there is nothing creep about
this insect.
Ad 1 of
Stick bug porn
– they were getting busy and then dropped from
the trees on us!
(Photo and caption by Teresa Willis)
*************************************************************************************
Fumble While They Tumble
One of the most amazing things I have seen while hiking on the Ouachita Trail are tumblebugs, which are a scarab beetle. Tumblebugs are also called dung beetles. Me and my hiking friends watched in amazement as the two beetles seemed to be working against each other to roll their masterpiece. Their black thick-bodies were poop-encrusted. As a kid, I called them turd tumblers. A Google search later educated us on their nasty habits that are necessary for their survival. When they find poop they mold it into balls, roll the balls away and bury them for future eating or for laying their eggs in. When the eggs hatch, the kids find themselves surrounded by food. Lots of tumblebug species exist, and some specialize in tumbling pre-formed, pellet-like droppings of rabbits, sheep, and deer. It is a good day for them to find the pellet-like droppings, less work for them than forming their own balls.
Our tumblebug discovery on the trail stopped us to watch the show. The two tumblebugs were rolling their ball up the path, one on top and one on bottom and it was a funny thing to see. The trail was steep and occasionally the ball got out of control and rolled backwards, carrying the tumblebugs with it. Sometimes the two bugs canceled out one another's efforts, but other times one bug hung on while the other one took a tumble. In fact, in the picture below if you look beneath the pushing bug you can see a second tumblebug, upside-down, just in the way.
The tumblebugs we saw on the trail made dung-tumbling seem a disorganized, grungy business. Not all tumblebugs roll balls of dung. Some species live in tunnels dug beneath piles of poop and are called tunnelers. Others simply live in the poop and are called dwellers. The ball rollers we saw are rollers.
"Rollers" roll and bury a dung ball either for food or for laying eggs in them. During the rolling process other rollers may try to steal the ball, so that explains why the rollers seen on our hike seemed to be in a hurry. In some species the male and female roll the ball together, while in others the male does most of the rolling, with the female sometimes hitching a ride. When a spot with soft soil is found the ball is buried. Then the male and female mate underground, and the female lays eggs inside the ball. In some species the beetles remain in the tunnel guarding their offspring.
Tumblebugs undergo complete metamorphosis. The egg is inserted into a ball of dung, a grub-type larva hatches and eats the dung the ball is made from, hollowing it out, and when the grub grows to a certain size it metamorphoses into a pupa, a strange-looking resting stage more like a grub than a beetle. Eventually the pupa metamorphoses into a dung beetle. The dung beetle exits the ball of dung, flies away, finds dung and a dung beetle of the other sex, and reproduces.
They are not just unusual oddities; they do important work and people that are aware regard them as desirable, beneficial insects. In parts of Texas studies show that tumblebugs remove 80 percent of a grazing area's cattle droppings, and that goes a long way in keeping down the numbers of disease-transmitting flies.
I found a story online about a hiker finishing his morning poop and to his amazement he barely got his breeches up before a tumblebug was in the middle of his poop getting busy. The poop had not been on the ground more a few minutes, and nothing was visible at its sides so obviously something was moving it from below. The poop was bouncing around, but surely a tumblebug would not be at work after less than three minutes. However, it was indeed a tumblebug. For several minutes, the bug probed and nudged two of the hiker’s smaller creations before settling on a much larger blob, beneath which he vanished entirely. The hiker had to leave before the beetle completed its masterpiece. However, judging from the zeal with which the tumble bug begun its job, the hiker was sure that by the time he was off the trail the larvae would indeed be snug in a turd ball, thanks to him.
Hikers are supposed to be burying their poop! That is if they have time. If the tumblebugs are attacking poop before a hiker can get his breeches up, should a hiker bury the tumblebugs with the poop or just let it be. Inquiring hiker minds want to know.
************************************************************************
The Thug Life of a Slug
The moment we saw the slug on the trail, I thought about when I was a child when my grannie would let us put table salt on the slugs surrounding her beautiful flower beds. The table salt would dissolve them before they reached the flowers to cause their damage. It sounds cruel to me now that we tortured them with table salt. Their fate was table salt versus pesticides. I remember them being a lot bigger than the one we saw on the trail.
The thug life of these tough-skinned, menacing terrestrial secretes a film of mucus for protection. These little thugs are agriculture pests. Their crime against foliage is devastating. They can destroy foliage faster than plants can grow, thus killing even large plants. They act in their own self-interest and make decisions to commit their crimes without hesitation. Slugs are vital to the natural cycle, as they aid in rapid decomposition and return needed nutrients to the soil.
They are similar to snails, however, slugs evolve without a shell, scientists believe, due to lack of calcium in the environment and high dampness or humidity levels. Slugs' bodies are made up mostly of water. They must generate protective mucus to survive. Many species are most active just after rain because of the moist ground. In drier conditions, they are great at playing hide and seek in damp places such as under tree bark, fallen logs, rocks and leaves to help retain body moisture. Only between 5 and 10 percent of slugs are above ground. The remaining 90 to 95 percent of the slug population is below ground.
Slugs produce two types of mucus: one is thin and watery, and the other thick and sticky. Slugs also produce thick mucus that coats the whole body. The mucus secreted helps prevent the slug from slipping down vertical surfaces. The "slime trail" a slug leaves behind has some secondary effects: other slugs coming across a slime trail can recognize the slime trail as produced by one of the same species, which is useful in finding a mate. Body mucus provides some protection against predators, as it can make the slug hard to pick up and hold by a bird's beak or the mucus itself can be distasteful. Slug slime is gross. But for the slug, it is crucial. It allows them to glide the foot muscle along the ground. Slugs are gastropods. Which means stomach foot. The foot, which is the flat bottom side of the slug, is a powerful muscle. This muscle contracts in rhythmic waves while the slug secretes slime at the same time. This allows the slug to glide across the slime as its foot contracts. A slug’s slime is as unique as human fingerprints. Slime contains special fibers that make it extra sticky and helps to ensure slugs can make vertical climbs without sliding backward.
Slugs have both male and female genitalia. If there are no suitable mates, slugs can impregnate themselves. When two slugs’ mate, both get pregnant as they exchange sperm. Slugs partially encircle one another. The male parts of the slugs join together in a kind of corkscrew to exchange sperm. However, they frequently get stuck like this. Then one slug will chew off the penis of its partner or even its own to get “unstuck.” The victim, however, can survive with just female genitalia and can continue to breed. A few days later the slugs lay eggs in a hole in the ground, or beneath the cover of an object such as a fallen log. A single slug lays up to one hundred eggs several times each year. And bearing in mind that, mostly, when slugs mate, both get pregnant, you can see how quickly 1000s of slugs can appear. A single slug can accumulate a staggering 90,000 descendants during its lifetime. Slug eggs are those tiny pearly white balls you find in the soil as you dig. Small, round, delicate, and easy to squish. But they are remarkably resilient. Slug eggs can lay dormant for years and only begin to hatch when conditions are optimal. So, even if you are sure, you are totally on top of controlling slugs naturally, there can, in fact, be thousands of eggs in your soil, just waiting for the perfect conditions.
Do Snails Shed Their Shells?
It’s a common childhood belief that slugs are snails that have outgrown or lost their shells. This is not the case. Snails can leave their shells. Their shells can be damaged and they can also lose them completely.
Do Snails shed their shells?
Snails start their lives with soft shells that grow along with them and harden as they age. This means the shell is fused to their body and they cannot change their shells. Snails can leave their shells to search for food and mates, but they cannot live without their shells or come out of it completely.
Do snails leave their shells?
Snails will leave their shells in a sense, but their shell will always remain attached to their body. There are a lot of things that determine whether a snail will come out of its shell, one major factor is the environment. If it is too dry the snail will seal itself in its shell with a layer of mucus to prevent it from drying out. This is why you only tend to see snails outside of their shells when it is raining. They only tend to leave their shell in search of food or a mate and spend most of their life curled inside their shell. Because they retreat deep inside their shell they can often be mistaken for dead snails.
Can a snail live without a shell, what happens when it loses its shell?
A snail cannot live without its shell, the shell protects it from predators and environmental conditions. If a snail is outside its shell then it is because the shell has been destroyed or sometimes parasites may make their way inside the shell and force the snail out. If a snail loses its shell it will sadly die shortly after, no snails have been known to survive for any more than a short amount of time without their shell.
Now that we know snails don’t shed or change their shells, lets look at why one may be without its shell. The most common reason for this is that their shell has been broken. This usually occurs after it has been stepped on by a person or if their shell has been damaged beyond repair by a predator. The loss of a snail’s shell can also be quite a long process. Snails with problems, such as calcium deficiency, will often lose their shell and it will slowly flake away. This is because they do not have the calcium levels and energy to repair it. If a snail has lost its shell it is never an intentional act on the snail’s part.
Do snails die when their shell breaks?
Snails are able to repair minor breakages to their own shells. However, most breakages cannot be repaired by snails and the shell will eventually crumble away. The breaking of a shell would not kill a snail directly but without a shell a snail cannot survive.
Why are there empty snail shells
If snails don’t shed or change their shells, then why is it so common to see an empty snail shell on the ground? The main reason is that the body of the snail will either be eaten or it will decompose once it has died. Snails have a fleshy body that will rot away, however the shell does not rot and can become fossilized.
Can a snail become a slug?
Slugs and snails are different species and a snail cannot become a slug. However it is very possible that they evolved from the same ancestor.
The next time I see a snail shell on the trail, I will pay closer attention to the shell and check closely to see if the snail is closed up in the shell. It is possibly the sluggish slug I saw on section 6 could have possible been a snail that had left it shell? Not sure, I just made an assumption it was a slug.
*************************************************************************************************
My Adventurous Trekking Poles
When I grip you in my hands, I feel invincible on the trail. You’ve been there from the beginning. You were cheap and made of aluminum, but I will always love you more than a lighter, more expensive set of carbon poles. We’ve been through so much.
You’ve provided stability to keep me upright more times than not, as I hike over rocks and through creeks. With you in place in each hand, I can gawk around and soak in the trail’s sights and feel confident that you will brace me and keep me from a fall.
As I click-clack down the trail. I sometimes get the tips of the poles wedged between the rocks which gives me a little jolt. It’s not your fault, I need to use my rubber tips, but then I couldn’t make a leaf kabob which gives you a good photo op.
You are like magic wands and performing miraculous tricks. You not only keep me from falling but you help me fight the briars away on the trail’s narrow ways. I’ve imagined many times that you would be a great weapon if I ever have to take on a snake or a bear.
I wrote you an ode because on my last hike I realized how important you are to me. I let my guard down for just a few seconds and with both poles in the same hand and a rolling rock under my feet, in a moment I was down, and trail punched me in the face. Thankfully, I walked away with a bruised ego and only dirt on my face.
We make a good team; our rhythm is in sync without much thought. If you could talk, there is no doubt your stories would be better than mine. You will always be on my plunder list as number one!
******************************************************************************************************
I’ve never had a reaction to poison ivy, but I got three little blisters from touching “hairy rope” while climbing over trees on the OT. They have itched a little off and on. Since I got home I’ve been rubbing witch hazel on the blisters and they have dried up.
“Hairy rope, don’t be a dope!”
Comments
Post a Comment