Pixie Cup Lichen – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The scientific name for pixie cup lichens is Cladonia asahinae The Cladonia genus of lichens, which includes the pixie up lichen seen here, is the primary food sources for reindeer and caribou! Pixie cup lichens are a species of cup lichen in the Cladoniaceae family. This […]
Monarch – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The lifecycle of the monarch butterfly is complex The first thing that I noticed when I saw this beautiful monarch chrysalis were the rings of gold spots lining its exterior. I thought to myself, how in the world was this color created by an insect?! It actually comes […]
Echinacea – IUCN Conservation Status: Varies Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family Although flowers in the genus Echinacea are common across the United States, two of the nine species have been listed as endangered species. Thanks to strong recovery, one has been delisted, and the other is now only […]
Carolina Mantis – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data There are more than 2,400 species across 460 genera and 33 families in the Mantodea order This photo was taken while walking about my backyard. I had just picked a few blackberries, and I was looking to see if I needed to prune the apple tree. That’s […]
Bluespine Unicornfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern In Hawai’i the bluespine unicornfish is known as “kala” The bluespine unicornfish can be found in the Indo-Pacific. Here it is pictured in the calm water off Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai in Hawai’i. It is also known by the common name, short-nose unicornfish. It […]
Conspicuous Sea Cucumber – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The conspicuous sea cucumber is a bottom feeder The conspicuous sea cucumber is a particularly weird looking sea cucumber. It can be found in abundance in the waters of Kaneohe Bay off the coast of Oahu, Hawai’i. Their local abundance is noted by a rarity throughout […]
Pacific Peacock Flounder – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The Kaneohe Sandbar can turn into a beach with the right tides! We were nearly three hours into a day of kayaking when we decided to hop out of the boat for a snorkel. Jill and I were paddling in Kaneohe Bay, which is home to […]
American Toad – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern You’ll be gulping down water that averages 143 degrees Fahrenheit! What do Bill Clinton, Al Capone, and Major League Baseball all have in common? They all of ties to Hot Springs, Arkansas. This photo of an American toad was taken while in Hot Springs National Park. It’s […]
Leaf Scorpionfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern I saw three different species of nudibranchs between the two dives! This photo was taken while out on a dive off the coast of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Despite having been to the Pacific dozens of times, this was surprisingly my first ever dive in the […]
JImsonweed – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The jimsonweed flower opens up every night as the sun goes down This jimsonweed plant is one of the most interesting plants that has ever grown in my yard. To start off, the corollas of the plant twist shut during the day. Corollas are the collection of all […]