The Truth Is ...

 

About 13.5 billion years ago, matter, energy, time and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang. The story of these fundamental features of our universe is called physics.

About 300,000 years after their appearance, matter and energy started to coalesce into complex structures, called atoms, which then combined into molecules. The story of atoms, molecules and their interactions is called chemistry.

About 3.8 billion years ago, on a planet called Earth, certain molecules combined to form particularly large and intricate structures called organisms. The story of organisms is called biology.

About 70,000 years ago, organisms belonging to the species Homo sapiens started to form even more elaborate structures called cultures. The subsequent development of these human cultures is called history. 

Three important revolutions shaped the course of history: the Cognitive Revolution kick-started history about 70,000 years ago. The Agricultural Revolution sped it up about 12,000 years ago. The Scientific Revolution, which got underway only 500 years ago, may well end history and start something completely different. This book [Sapiens] tells the story of how these three revolutions have affected humans and their fellow organisms.

There were humans long before there was history. Animals much like modern humans first appeared about 2.5 million years ago. But for countless generations they did not stand out from the myriad other organisms with which they shared their habitats.

— Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens

This Holiday Season, free yourself from intellectual intimidation, transcendental blackmail, and religious misology.

Image: James Webb Space Telescope

The 2023 Tiger Beetle Season!

"Every year, I give myself the gift of a new adventure, exploring the world nature has painted."

— Unknown

December tiptoed in with a delicate dusting of snow, yet I won't dwell on it — it melted, leaving our fields to revert back to their familiar brown.Instead, I'll share reflections on the 2023 Tiger Beetle Season. This year held its own charm, though it didn't quite match the richness of previous seasons. I opted out of visiting Necedah NWR for Northern Barrens due to the overwhelming presence of ticks, and alas, my ventures at Spring Green Preserve didn't yield an encounter with a Common Claybank. My explorations bypassed Bloomer and the Chequamegon for Cowpath and Long-lipped beetles, focusing predominantly on Sauk and Dane County species. However, a delightful exception emerged in the form of a solitary Twelve-spotted discovery at Seagull Bar State Natural Area in Marinette.

By early spring, when temperatures climbed into the 60s, Festive, Oblique-lined, and Big Sand Tiger Beetles began to emerge from their underground pupal cases. Spring marks the beginning of their active adult life, focusing on finding mates, feeding, establishing territories (if applicable), and contributing to the reproductive cycle by laying eggs in suitable habitat. And naturally, they must feed to support their metabolism to do all of these important things.

Come May, when things heat up a little more, Bronzed Tiger Beetles emerge ...

Often in unison with Six-spotted ...

This shot is from a series that's one of my favorite tiger beetle sessions of 2023 — having a tiger beetle hunt on a habitat of dead leaves rendered a unique photo opportunity for this species. It isn't unheard of, but I generally encounter Six-spotteds on rocks, dirt, or sand. Pope Farm Conservancy, conveniently located near my apartment, remains the prime spot for capturing high-quality portraits of this particular species.

I generally find Punctured and Ghost Tiger Beetles mid to late June at the Sauk Prairie Recreational Area, which has become one of my favorite insecting haunts. Sadly, it was a down season for Ghosts, as I only found them during a single outing and their numbers were unusually low. Hopefully this was just a down year (cyclical thing) and they'll emerge in higher numbers next spring/summer. 

Hairy-necked Tiger Beetles were abundant at the Arena Boat Landing again, but their numbers were also a bit lower than the previous season. 

While never plentiful, I found only a single Sandy-stream Tiger Beetle at the Sauk Canoe Launch this summer. Thankfully, I have a backup location for this species, which I did not visit in 2023. 

This next photograph is my favorite of the year — a Splendid Tiger Beetle posing stoically on a rock during the late summer season at Spring Green Preserve. 

Usually I find a Common Claybank or two among the Spledids along the rocky outcroppings, but none were found this year. 

Rounding out the year was an uncommon find — a Twelve-spotted Tiger Beetle photographed at Seagull Bar State Natural Area ...

There were a gazillion Hairy-necked Tiger Beetles at the bar, which you can revisit here. 

Last but not least, the only Virginia Metallic Tiger Beetle found during the late summer/fall season at Spring Green Preserve ...

In concluding days of the tiger beetle season, observations become treasures, each sighting a whispers farewell to these remarkable creatures. Their colorful exoskeletons, once vivid emblems of vitality, now seem to echo the fading hues of autumn, a testament to the passing of time. As a naturalist, I stand amidst this transition, embracing the ebbing of the tiger beetle season. It is not a goodbye but a pause, a momentary interlude in nature's ever-unfolding saga. For even as they bid adieu to their active reign, I await with anticipation the cyclical return of these nimble creatures, heralding the dawn of a new chapter in the tapestry of life.

Looking forward to 2024!

All images © 2023 Mike McDowell

Uh oh ...

"Names carry weight and meaning, often encapsulating more than just a word or title—they embody identity, significance, and sometimes even history or aspirations."

― C. George P. Thomas

Opening soon in Middleton just down the road from where I live — Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant. I wanted to know more about them so I did a little searching around on the Internet looking for the origin of the establishments avian moniker:

"The choice of the Cooper's Hawk bird as the namesake is often referenced in their branding and promotional material as a symbol of precision, agility, and excellence, which aligns with their approach to winemaking and dining experiences."

So, when the woke birding institutions rename Cooper's Hawk to Meanie Songbird-eater Hawk, will the owner of the winery follow suit and rename his establishment? I mean, William Cooper was a white guy who lived during that horrific colonialistic period from the 1700s to 1800s when nothing good happened, so will non-whites feel welcome at this winery-restaurant? 

So, who was William Cooper, anyway? According to the Birdwatcher's Companion (written prior to the age of woke), he was independently wealthy, taken with natural history from boyhood, and schooled in zoology in Europe. Cooper was a founder of the New York Lyceum of Natural History and a man of substantial reputation in the scientific community of his day. He was a student of paleontology, malacology, botany, and herpetology, as well as ornithology.

Thomas Nuttall initially christened this species in honor of Cooper. Despite their contributions to ornithology and natural history, both figures could have been deeply entrenched in racist ideologies. Recent articles proposing name changes for birds associated with controversial figures raise questions about their past actions, like North American Birds Named After Bad People Will Get a New Name. Bad people! Nevertheless, the Latin name, Accipiter cooperii, will endure, allowing birders to maintain their admiration and endearing references, often exclaiming "Coop!" with affection upon spotting them in the wild.

Photo © 2023 Mike McDowell

Yuval Noah Harari on conservatives losing, conspiracies, AI, religion & history