friends of orchids

[JScott]

I have all kinds of friends that live on my Orchids when I put them outside for the summer. Mine are different than yours, as you live in South Florida and I live in North Texas, but I've still got lizards and frogs that take up residence in my orchids every year. I even name the ones I see most regularly.

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Last year I even had a horned toad living among my plants, which I was surprised to see. I used to see them all the time as a kid, but I haven't seen one in years. I think habitat destruction has driven them nearly to extinction, and they are very rare now.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Yep. And climate change too

I used to have fireflies. The real ones with the butt that actually lights up for an instant, and I have not seen one south of Georgia in a decade

I am not sure if something that they ate left or died, or if something new that eats them arrived, but I noticed it right when the winters stopped getting actually cold. My Lychee trees are basically just hedges these days

[Dollythehun]

Very few here too. I blame pesticides.

[JScott]

My family has a house out on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula Oklahoma. I remember as a kid the fireflies were everywhere. Hundreds of thousands of them. They would just light up the sky at night. We'd go out and catch them and put them in jars to see who could get the most (and then we'd release them), however I can't remember the last time I saw a firefly at the lakehouse. I don't catch them anymore, so I haven't been looking for them, so there may still be some, but if there were as many as there used to be, I'd definitely notice them when we sit out on the porch at night.

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Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

Yep. And climate change too

I used to have fireflies. The real ones with the butt that actually lights up for an instant, and I have not seen one south of Georgia in a decade

I am not sure if something that they ate left or died, or if something new that eats them arrived, but I noticed it right when the winters stopped getting actually cold. My Lychee trees are basically just hedges these days

And you know, DirtyCoconuts, I've been interacting with you on here pretty regularly lately, and I'm starting to like you. You seem like a cool guy.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Amen, Jeff, you too.

I miss the fireflies...they were quite magical

[WaterWitchin]

We still have fireflies. Call them lightening bugs around here, at least in my posse. As many as we used to? Nope, but still quite a few. My cousin's farm in very rural southeastern Missouri still has them the way I remember them from youth.

Butterflies... we really have to work hard at providing for them in order to see many at all.

[DirtyCoconuts]

i just read an interesting article about them...it seems it is a combination of chemicals, loss of habitat and light pollution.

they are still around in bog and wet forest adjacent areas...one interesting part of the article is that pesticides have reduced the slugs and snails that they need to feed on.

[DirtyCoconuts]

this was too funny not to share.


there is one root that is not like the others


Up close and personal by J Solo, on Flickr

[Bulbopedilum]

This frog has visited me every morning now for the past week or so, somewhere in my orchid growing-area. Polypedates leucomstylax, I'm pretty sure. Today it was hiding behind my Bulbophyllum biflorum.

We have a bunch of house geckos as well over here. There was also a snake in my tree that showed up three times, but I haven't seen it in a while.

On fireflies, I saw one go into one of my plant pots a few days ago, at night. They only appear at certain times of the year but when they do a lot usually come out and it looks nice.

[DirtyCoconuts]

It must be hunting there at night. Or out looking for love lol