365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Hibernaculum!
Day 363: Today was a memorable day in the career of this naturalist. I paid the Lake St. Clair Sundews a chilly visit and found one...only one of many...starting to form a hibernaculum. This phase of Drosera rotundifolia's lfe cycle is one I had not been privileged to observe until today. The buds of new laminae ("paddles") will remain tightly curled until spring and the outer ones will die back. This unusual adaptation demonstrates this insectivore's winter survival strategy for conserving precious warmth during freezing temperatures.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment