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!
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