04-01-16 Field Note

04-01-16 Field Note

April 2, 2016

Rebecca Durham's field note shows sandhill cranes, diverse biocrust, spring blooms, and the red velvet mite.

MPG Field Note Biocrust, Buds and Blooms, Red Velvet Mite March 28, 2016 Rebecca Durham Crimson

The soil surface, a finite space, sometimes creates competition between moss and lichen (Homalothecium pinnatifidum and Peltigera malacea).

Two sandhill cranes take flight and soon become silhouettes.

Woodland star sways in high spring winds (Lithophragma parviflorum).

Exceptionally diverse biocrust thrives on steep north-facing slopes.

Mercurial spring skies bring rain, snow, and sun within a span of hours.

Male and female flowers form on separate individuals in this diminutive pussytoe species (Antennaria dimorpha).

The first prairie kittentail seen in spring conjures joy (Besseya wyomingensis).

Before petals push down and flip back, shooting stars aim up (Dodecatheon conjugens).

When looking through a magnifying lens, we see more than expected. We’ve been noticing these and similar mites in the biocrust all spring. Research revealed them to be red velvet mites, Trombidium sp. They live in the leaf litter layer, and increase the decomposition rate. They are harmless to humans.