Laugh and Learn
Comics by Bernie and Nature!
Vermont single-panel comics. Captions by Bernie, images by nature. Sponsored by the Insect Alliance, Solidarity for All Life, and our highly valued Local Pollinators with special thanks to iNaturalist and all the volunteers who help with the ID of postings.
Let's recognize our bond with all living species in nature.
Any day that you find a need for a tickle, read the latest weekly nature-inspired comics. My favorites from VOL I are Comics #2, #6, and #11. Which is yours?
- We have a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is the resurgence of wild turkeys in Vermont. I am thrilled every time I see one or more of these amazing birds. - Bruce M.
- We are thankful to live in a community that shares our care and commitment to the environment. A. D. Jericho
- Where did TURKEY come from? https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/where-did-your-thanksgiving-turkey-come-from?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=wotd&utm_content=peoplearereading-upperleft Chris N.C.
- Yes, we need to take care of this beautiful Earth not only for ourselves but for all creatures, large and small! Z.A. Milton, VT
- Wild Turkeys are a great success story. Let’s pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act to replicate this success for 12,000+ species! -Bernie
- Happy Thanksgiving! I also pledge to be a good land steward of my little part of this gorgeous state. I wish to honor the land of the Coosick band of the Nulhegan tribe of the Abenaki people who lived here for thousands of years. And the Langely family, who farmed this land as a group of Black Farmers who inhabited and farmed Lincoln Hill from the late 1700s for about a hundred years. And I honor all the trees in my forest, with special love for this Mother Tree, which is still very much alive and probably over two hundred years old. E.E. Huntington, VT.
Insect Personal Column
This Golden Crab Spider (Misumena vatia)
believes it has the Ligated Furrow Bee(Halictus ligatus)
cornered. But don't be too sure. Note the pollen on its pollen basket or corbicula signifying this is a female. She likely will be fighting for herself AND her sisters (the brood) back at the nest.
The photo was taken in our front yard in Jericho, VT. on 7/16/2022. The flower is a coneflower.
Tug of War or Tether of Doom?
VOTE
Jericho Center Trunk Or Treaters BEWARE
Jericho Times Missing Letter Game
Small prize for filling in the correct letters.
Medium prize for a photo of Godzilla.
Enormous prize for a photo of Godzilla eating a car.
Halloween Candy Corn;
Fresh, Alive, and Crunchy.
If we could just train the Asian Lady Beetles to land on and go inside the mysterious Jericho Drone instead of on and into our homes!
Peep or view more photos at Asteroid Moth (Cucullia asteroides) as one goes out on a limb to connect with you.
Dark Paper Wasp - Polistes fuscatus
Polistes fuscatus, whose common name is the dark or northern paper wasp, is widely found in eastern North America, from southern Canada to the southern United States. It often nests around human development. However, it greatly prefers areas in which wood is readily available for use as nest material, therefore they are also found near and in woodlands and savannas. P. fuscatus is a social wasp that is part of a complex society based around a single dominant foundress and other co-foundresses and a dominant hierarchy. -Wikipedia
Capable of distinguishing among individuals!
Given the dominance hierarchy, it is crucial to know who’s the boss. In an experiment after scientists painted a wasp face, she received an aggressive reception from her fellow inhabitants when she returned to the nest. They didn’t recognize her and were confused. They eventually learned it was her despite her makeover and everything went back to normal. This implies the wasps have the capacity to recognize and distinguish individual members of their community by their facial cues or “features”.
-Extraordinary Insects, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
Paper wasps target many caterpillars that gardeners consider pests.
Nature Comic #38 October 15, 2022'Chucklings'
Our backyard neighbors are sometimes a bit messy, digging large holes, and scattering debris of stones, and dirt. They are cute to watch especially when they stand on two legs to peer about. Talented as they are, we were surprised to see them building with bricks!
We enjoy watching them, particularly when they chew (invasive) goutweed/bishop's weed (Aegopodium podagraria) which, based on the expression on their faces, they seem to favor in their diet.
Woodchuck (Marmota monax)
5/2/2021 Jericho, Vermont
WIKIPEDIA: The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found throughout much of the Easter United States, across Canada, and into Alaska. It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
The groundhog is also referred to as a chuck, wood-shock, groundpig, whistlepig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, red monk,land beaver, and, among French Canadians in eastern Canada, siffleux. The name "thickwood badger" was given in the Northwest to distinguish the animal from the prairie badger. Monax (Móonack) is an Algonquian name for the woodchuck, which means "digger" (cf. Lenape monachgeu). Young groundhogs may be called chucklings.
Groundhogs play an important role in maintaining healthy soil in woodlands and plains. The groundhog is considered a crucial habitat engineer. Groundhogs are considered the most solitary of the marmot species. They live in aggregations, and their social organization also varies across populations.
Groundhogs are extremely intelligent animals forming complex social networks, able to understand social behavior, form kinship with their young, understand and communicate threats through whistling, and work cooperatively to solve tasks such as burrowing.
We probably don't need to provide bricks for groundhogs and other species to build their homes, however, we do need to help restore the habitat on our properties that they and other species need. We can start by leaving leaves somewhere in our yards, and by leaving old flower stems, both are needed by many species of bees, other pollinators, and caterpillars.
Nature Comic #37 October 15, 2022'Just showered but still 'Stinky'
Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red
Crying's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining
Because I'm free
Nothing's worrying me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me *"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Stink bugs (Family Pentatomidae) are moderate to large insects that are typically green or brown (some brightly colored or metallic). They have scent glands that can produce a bad odor. Primarily plant feeders, but a few species eat insects. Females of many species protect their eggs and sometimes even the newly emerged young.
The Green Stink Bug as an adult blends in with a variety of green vegetation they feed on. The nymphs have a colorful contrast of dark and light colors.
Highly variable in appearance, the Anchor Stink Bug can be white, pink, yellow, orange, or red, usually with diagnostic black markings. They feed on larvae and adults of butterflies, moths, and beetles, making them beneficial agricultural insects. Adults overwinter.
- Insects of New England & New York, Tom Murray.
Nature Comic #35 October 8, 2022
Unexpected Delivery
Our backyard neighbors are sometimes a bit messy, digging large holes, and scattering debris of stones, and dirt. They are cute to watch especially when they stand on two legs to peer about. Talented as they are, we were surprised to see them building with bricks!
We enjoy watching them, particularly when they chew (invasive) goutweed/bishop's weed (Aegopodium podagraria) which, based on the expression on their faces, they seem to favor in their diet.
Woodchuck (Marmota monax)
5/2/2021 Jericho, Vermont
WIKIPEDIA: The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found throughout much of the Easter United States, across Canada, and into Alaska. It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
The groundhog is also referred to as a chuck, wood-shock, groundpig, whistlepig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, red monk,land beaver, and, among French Canadians in eastern Canada, siffleux. The name "thickwood badger" was given in the Northwest to distinguish the animal from the prairie badger. Monax (Móonack) is an Algonquian name for the woodchuck, which means "digger" (cf. Lenape monachgeu). Young groundhogs may be called chucklings.
Groundhogs play an important role in maintaining healthy soil in woodlands and plains. The groundhog is considered a crucial habitat engineer. Groundhogs are considered the most solitary of the marmot species. They live in aggregations, and their social organization also varies across populations.
Groundhogs are extremely intelligent animals forming complex social networks, able to understand social behavior, form kinship with their young, understand and communicate threats through whistling, and work cooperatively to solve tasks such as burrowing.
We probably don't need to provide bricks for groundhogs and other species to build their homes, however, we do need to help restore the habitat on our properties that they and other species need. We can start by leaving leaves somewhere in our yards, and by leaving old flower stems, both are needed by many species of bees, other pollinators, and caterpillars.
Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red
Crying's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining
Because I'm free
Nothing's worrying me
Stink bugs (Family Pentatomidae) are moderate to large insects that are typically green or brown (some brightly colored or metallic). They have scent glands that can produce a bad odor. Primarily plant feeders, but a few species eat insects. Females of many species protect their eggs and sometimes even the newly emerged young.
The Green Stink Bug as an adult blends in with a variety of green vegetation they feed on. The nymphs have a colorful contrast of dark and light colors.
Highly variable in appearance, the Anchor Stink Bug can be white, pink, yellow, orange, or red, usually with diagnostic black markings. They feed on larvae and adults of butterflies, moths, and beetles, making them beneficial agricultural insects. Adults overwinter.
- Insects of New England & New York, Tom Murray.
Observing insects offers the opportunity to see many intriguing behaviors of insects. Some are too small to see with the naked eye and only expose themselves upon viewing the photo enlarged on a screen. This photo of a Virginia Ctenucha Moth (Ctenucha virginica) taken in Jericho, Vermont was one of them. After viewing well over 500 species of insects in our 1.3-acre yard, I still find more fascinating observations like this one. Congratulations to the new mom!
Nature Comic #36 October 8, 2022
House hunting, not a leaf in sight. 
One of the next most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the winter cover they need in the form of fall leaves and standing dead plant material.
The vast majority of butterflies and moths overwinter in the landscape as an egg, caterpillars, chrysalis, or adults. In all but the warmest climates, these butterflies use the leaf litter for winter cover.
Beyond butterflies, bumble bees also rely on leaf litter for protection. At the end of summer, mated queen bumble bees burrow only an inch or two into the earth to hibernate for winter. An extra thick layer of leaves is welcome protection from the elements.
There are so many animals that live in leaves: spiders, snails, worms, beetles, millipedes, mites, and more—that support the chipmunks, turtles, birds, and amphibians that rely on these insects for food. It’s easy to see how important leaves really are to sustaining the natural web of life. Read more at Xerces and read about creating Soft Landings for pollinators by Heather Holm here.
Leaf litter on the ground are essential habitat to help all sorts of beneficial creatures survive winter — including native bees, butterflies, moths, various beetles, and more.
Stem stubble is also important habitat. Some bees use pithy or hollow stems with a greater than 1/8" diameter. Different species use different heights (8"-24"). View nature comic #2 for a photo of a bee making a home in a goldenrod stem.
Consider a mission to increase the availability of Vermont nature housing in order to support a more diverse, vibrant, and biodiverse natural community. For more information about nesting and overwintering habitats click on Xerces pdf here.
Looking for more laugh & learn comics? View the previous 34 Comics by Bernie and Nature here.
One of the next most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the winter cover they need in the form of fall leaves and standing dead plant material.
The vast majority of butterflies and moths overwinter in the landscape as an egg, caterpillars, chrysalis, or adults. In all but the warmest climates, these butterflies use the leaf litter for winter cover.
Beyond butterflies, bumble bees also rely on leaf litter for protection. At the end of summer, mated queen bumble bees burrow only an inch or two into the earth to hibernate for winter. An extra thick layer of leaves is welcome protection from the elements.
There are so many animals that live in leaves: spiders, snails, worms, beetles, millipedes, mites, and more—that support the chipmunks, turtles, birds, and amphibians that rely on these insects for food. It’s easy to see how important leaves really are to sustaining the natural web of life. Read more at Xerces and read about creating Soft Landings for pollinators by Heather Holm here.
Leaf litter on the ground are essential habitat to help all sorts of beneficial creatures survive winter — including native bees, butterflies, moths, various beetles, and more.
Stem stubble is also important habitat. Some bees use pithy or hollow stems with a greater than 1/8" diameter. Different species use different heights (8"-24"). View nature comic #2 for a photo of a bee making a home in a goldenrod stem.
Consider a mission to increase the availability of Vermont nature housing in order to support a more diverse, vibrant, and biodiverse natural community. For more information about nesting and overwintering habitats click on Xerces pdf here.
