Class Trip to Dead Man’s Bog

            My favorite trip this class has gone on so far was to Dead Man’s Bog.  We went on a Friday afternoon. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too chilly. There were hardly any mosquitos bothering us, which was lucky. Apparently last year was unbearable. The bog was not a long drive from campus but it was kind of hidden and definitely not well known to the public. We took back roads to get there.  

            Upon arrival, we noticed a fairly large grassy meadow area where we dispersed to begin our search for insects. We didn’t spend much time in the meadow, but we did find some neat insects, as well as a small green snake that either Dr. Hoekman or Geoff pointed out. While it wasn’t an insect, it was so neat to watch how quickly the snake slithered away through the grass, especially since I don’t really see snakes, living in the city. 

Leafhopper. Photo by http://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/green-leaf-hopper

            One of the insects that we saw all over the meadow hopping around in the grass were lots of small green leafhoppers. Leafhoppers are part of the order hemiptera, also known as “true bugs” and they feed on the grass by sucking the plant sap out of it. Sadly, I no longer have my leafhopper. I wasn’t paying attention and accidently crushed the one I collected. I was in the process of pinning a different insect for my collection but luckily I do still have the cricket that Dr. Hoekman caught.

            A major reason why Dead Man’s Bog was so memorable for me was that, it was where I caught my first dragonfly. The dragonfly was one of the insects I really wanted for my collection. Dragonflies are very quick and not easy to catch. Kaley spotted two dragonflies close by. One of them settled on the grass so I slowly inched closer and closer, careful not to disturb him and as soon as I was within reach I swiped my aerial net on top of him as fast as I could. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had caught him, a beautiful medium sized dragonfly. I still have yet to identify what family this dragonfly falls under. I was very happy about my catch!

Collecting insects at Dead Man's Bog. Photo by Dr. Hoekman.

            The best part of going to Dead Man’s Bog was wadding through the bog itself. Walking through the bog is so much fun, but sometimes tricky, especially since the objective is to catch an insect that moves about much quicker than you, whether they flying above you or jumping around through the foliage. Between keeping your balance as you walk along the uneven bog floor, keeping your feet from sinking through mucky areas, and getting through the foliage without tripping, the collection of insects definitely isn’t as straightforward in water as on land. There is a lot of coordination, skill and patience involved. While we did wade through the water a bit, most of our time was spent walking on top of a spongy layer of moss, that is known as sphagnum. Sphagnum is characteristic of primarily bogs but can be found in other wet areas. The growth of sphagnum eventually forms a raised bog blanket that provides habitat for aquatic plants and animals. Walking on sphagnum isn’t like anything I’ve walked on before. It amazed me how strong that layer of sphagnum was!

Peat Moss. Photo by http://www.lakeandwetlandecosystems.com/plants/ferns-mosses-etc/sphagnum-moss/

            Some of the things we were expecting to see but didn’t were pitcher plants and butterflies, which I still have yet to add to my collection. Instead there was mainly, a whole lot of leatherleaf. Leatherleaf is a shrub with alternately arranged leaves that are oblong shaped, thick, and feel leathery. It was odd not to see many butterflies because leatherleaf tends to attract to butterflies, bees, and birds. It is often used as a host plant for butterfly larvae or catepillars that will feed on the leather leaf. Kaley and I also saw a beautiful bumblebee that both of us wanted to catch but couldn’t because both of our nets were occupied.  It was kind of sad about the butterflies and the bee but I did catch a second dragonfly while in the bog.
            Overall, I had a wonderful time!! Definitely a memory I will remember!

Sources

http://wwn.inhs.illinois.edu/~dietrich/Leafhome.html

https://www.memphiszoo.org/blog/posts/butterfly-garden-planting-guide

http://www.carnivorous--plants.com/pitcher-plant.html