On occasion, i have taken to the habit of arriving quite early to the location of that morning’s nature walk and taking several hundred photographs of various birds, plants etc.
After the walk, I include the best dozen or so photos in the trip report.
One spring morning at Marie Curtis Park, I found a garden snail and took several photos of it.
When I got home, I realized so my snail was not alone!
Not knowing my insects especially well, I asked Ken Sproule what kind of creature this was.
He informed that that it is NOT an insect but, rather, a crustacean; the same family as lobsters or crabs.
This is a woodlouse and it is characterized by a rigid, segmented, long exoskeleton.
They feed mostly on dead plant material and are usually active at night.
In the natural world, you really do learn something new every day!
Woodlouse (photo: Ken Sproule)
Miles Hearn
But what did the snail do with the woodlouse? Or was it vice versa?
Every spring I am busy collecting these creatures that have wintered over in my house and with the first warm spring sunshine they try to get back outside. I save dozens of them as they come out from behind the molding and from under the floorboards. They are very annoying and not pretty at all but I still try to help them on their way to the outdoors to join their million relatives under every rock and pot in my garden.
Pat Lund