Meet the Tank: Sea Stars
By Meghan West
Gallery Educator
Science Museum of Virginia
Creatures
Question of the Week
What are you afraid of? Snakes, spiders, heights, loud noises?
For me, I am ok with snakes and spiders, although I am not fond enough of either to have one as a pet.
Good-bye, ospreys! See you next year...
If you spend much time on the Virginia coast, the high-pitched call of the osprey is a familiar sound. In fact it’s so familiar that it’s often taken for granted …until it’s gone. I love fall with its cool sunny days and blue, blue skies, but I am always a little sad when the ospreys leave. Around mid- September, the ospreys who summer on the Chesapeake Bay disappear. Where do they go?
A Webworm Horror Story
Last Sunday I decided to enjoy the beautiful fall weather and eat my lunch outside. About halfway through my sandwich, I glanced up to see something fuzzy crawling down my bangs onto my nose – UGH! It was a fall webworm – you know, those nasty hairy caterpillars whose giant webs appear on tree branches every fall? There seems to be a bumper crop this year – caterpillars are crawling on everything: across yards, along sidewalks, up walls, on decks and porches… you get the picture.
Dive into Deep Sea
By Ben Remo
Science Museum of Virginia intern
Deep under the surface of the world’s oceans is a whole other dimension of life that one has to see to believe. Humans have always been fascinated with the ocean and creatures of the seas. The new IMAX movie, Deep Sea delivers to that curiosity by giving audiences an up-close look at the most bizarre and intriguing sea creatures in existence.
The Chesapeake Bay “Ouch” Forecast
Have you met Chrysaora quinquecirrha? If you’ve spent time in the Chesapeake Bay in the summertime, you probably have. His more familiar name is sea nettle, and he is not one of the most pleasant fellows you will ever meet. The sea nettle is a large sea jelly, a semi-transparent bell-shaped invertebrate with long stinging tentacles. Chrysaora quinquecirrha lives along the Atlantic Coast south of Cape Cod. Like many of us, he loves the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and can be seen in greater abundance here than anywhere else on the East Coast.
Flying Squirrels Play Baseball?
Play ball! It’s Opening Day at the Diamond! Today Richmond welcomes its new baseball team, the Richmond Flying Squirrels, with a sold-out Diamond! So why Flying Squirrels???
Well, flying squirrels are rather cute! And Virginia boasts 2 species: the Northern Flying Squirrel, whose range includes a few isolated high altitude locations (it is more common in states farther north) and the Southern Flying Squirrel, whose range includes the entire state except its westernmost tip.
Day Two:first day in the Field. Dana D'Agostino posting
Our first day in the field saw us piling into the caravan of vehicles, headed for Prince William Forest Park. We pulled off next to the stream and gathered our gear; waders, dip nets, pH meter, clipboards and the backpack electroshocker.
We trooped through the woods to our first test site; a third order stream. The weather was hot and humid, with a few clouds in the sky. We all made sure to cover ourselves with bug spray and sunscreen. Gene and his crew began our expedition by working downstream, shocking and collecting the fish.
Notes from Northern VA: Deborah and Terry reporting
A picture (or 5) really is worth a thousand words. Wish everyone could have seen the look on our faces when Dr. Maurakis (Gene) told us about the cautionary tales of those "brain eating amoeba" - Naegleria fowleri - that inhabit low level waters at temps of approx 78 degrees. Nice thoughts for our outing tomorrow and our introduction to electrofishing in Prince William Forest Park. Those pictures will certainly tell a story.
A picture is worth a thousand words
SMV is conducting a multi-year study of fishes and invertebrates. Yes, we’re collecting, identifying, and counting critters! But we’re also looking at the physical environment: water temperature, current, pH... all sorts of other factors that determine what critters live where.
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