A solar eclipse occurs when moon passes between the sun and the Earth, causing a shadow to fall on the the surface of the Earth. The photograph at the right is a solar eclipse for 2008 (Image from NASA).

Of course, you should never look at the sun directly. The Stanford Solar Center has information on how to make a “pinhole camera” or solar projector to view the sun indirectly.

This video explains more about tomorrow’s eclipse:

If you miss this one, don’t worry. You can check NASA for future eclipses. There will be a total solar eclipse passing over the middle of the United States in 2017.

I’d love to hear from you if you get a chance to view it. Do you see any of the shadows they show in the video? We’ll probably be able to see a partial eclipse where we live.

This book lists were you can find solar eclipses through the year 2017:

You’ll need something like this for proper viewing:

I found this little jumping spider, Family Salticidae.

I was hoping it would turn and look at me, because jumping spiders have such large eyes in comparison to the rest of their bodies; they are really dramatic. I don’t usually try to pose my subjects, so I guess the silvery abdomen will have to do.

The feathery front legs were interesting, too.

I don’t know my spiders as well as insects, so if someone knows what kind of jumping spider it is, I’d love to hear from you.

Our mystery seeds this week were not what I expected.

After watching the seed pods for nearly a month, out burst these seeds with white wings.

Do you recognize them?

Be sure to leave a comment if you have a guess.

The Mexican hat is named for the way its flower has whimsical resemblance to a colorful sombrero.

The flowers are unusual because the disk flowers in the center form a column, rather than a flat disk as seen in the sunflowers and daisies (hence the species name “columnifera“.)

It is fascinating to watch the ray flowers, which look like petals, unfurl from the bottom.

Slowly the disk flowers start to open at the bottom, then move up to the top over a few days.

The leaves are delicate and highly cut in, giving the plant a lacy and open look.

Mexican hats are perennial plants that grow throughout much of North America. They are particularly common in the prairies.

They are will tolerate quite dry conditions and are regularly grown in Arizona.

Mexican hat plants grow readily from seeds. (See a close up photograph of Mexican hat seeds at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)

Do Mexican hats grow where you live? Have you ever watched their flowers unfurl?

I knew right away what is was.

A fly with a fuzzy body and colored wings, it had to be a similar species to the illustration I have framed on my wall.

This illustration is by Edmund J. Detmold, who was born in 1883. On the print you can see his initials, EJD, in the corner.

Detmold did this illustration for Fabre’s Book of Insects in 1921. Jean Henri Fabre was a French entomologist known for his keen observations of insects and his poetic text. The last chapter of his book is devoted to the habits of “The Anthrax Fly.”

On the back of my framed version it says,

“The Anthrax Fly:  Her delicate suit of downy velvet, from which you could take the bloom by merely breathing on it, could not withstand the contact with rough tunnels.”

The fly in the picture is a bee fly of the genus Anthrax. These flies usually lay their eggs in bee or wasp nests, which are the tunnels from the quote. Their larvae are for the most part parasites of bees and wasps.

You can see more photographs of bee flies in the genus Anthrax at BugGuide.

Sometimes discovering an insect can feel like discovering a bit of history.

A translated version of Fabre’s Book of Insects is still available from Dover Publications, although Detmold’s illustrations are not included.

The wildflower that produces these seeds can be grown throughout most of the United States.

Do you know the name of the unique flower that produces these seeds? Let us know what you think.

Edit:  The answer is now posted.

Desert mallows are low-growing shrubs native to the southwestern United States. They do well in arid conditions, requiring relatively little water to survive.

The flowers vary from pale pink to deep orange to almost red. Firefly Forest has photographs showing the variety of  desert mallow flower colors and also information about how to identify some of the different species. One species, Fendler’s Globemallow, looks a lot like its hollyhock relatives.

Desert mallows are relatively short-lived perennials, but they do self-seed readily. The ones in our yard were likely planted by birds or the wind.

If you are thinking of using desert mallows in your landscape, keep in mind is that the leaves are coated with tiny hairs that can irritate the skin and eyes if handled. I usually use gloves when working with them.

Here is a short video that shows more of the plant.

Where have you found desert mallows? Do they grow where you live?

The premise of the book is to guess who laid the eggs in the large, colorful photograph on the left page by matching them with one of the four animals in photographs on the right page. Fortunately, each page comes with plenty of helpful hints, so even if the child doesn’t recognize the egg, he or she will likely be able to figure it out. Answers are also provided in the back.

This is a great format for a children’s book. It encourages children to observe closely and it engages their curiosity. It is fast-paced and fun. It is sure to inspire more activities and experiments like these:

Activity 1. Who is oviparous?

Oviparous means an animal that lays eggs. (Technically, lays eggs without further development of the embryo while it is in the mother.)

Brainstorm to create a list of different animal groups with egg-laying females.

Birds are probably the first to come to mind. They are the only animal group where all the members lay eggs.

What other vertebrates lay eggs?

What about

• reptiles?
• amphibians?
• fish?

Can you find any exceptions, like snakes that give birth rather than lay eggs?

Turtles and tortoises lay eggs.

What about mammals? Mammals that lay eggs are in the group called monotremes, which include the platypus and echidnas.

Do any invertebrates lay eggs?

At least some species of

• Insects
• Spiders
• Crustaceans, like lobsters
• Some molluscs, like snails
• Flatworms
• Earthworms
• etc.

Can you think of any others?

Activity 2. Compare and contrast the eggs of various animals.

Look at photographs of different types of eggs.

How are eggs that are laid in the water different from those laid on land?

Are all eggs covered with a hard, rigid shell?

Are they all the same size?

What about color?

Do you know whose eggs were in the photographs? (Answers at bottom of post).

3. Investigate egg anatomy

Surprisingly, an egg can be quite complex inside. There are multiple layers and structures.

(Illustration by Horst Frank at Wikimedia)

Schematic of a chicken egg:
1.    Eggshell
2.    Outer membrane
3.    Inner membrane
4.    Chalaza
5.    Exterior albumen (outer thin albumen)
6.    Middle albumen (inner thick albumen)
7.    Vitelline membrane
8.    Nucleus of pander
9.    Germinal disk (blastoderm)
10.    Yellow yolk
11.    White yolk
12.    Internal albumen
13.    Chalaza
14.    Air cell
15.    Cuticula

The Exploratorium has a series of egg-vestigations for looking inside an egg, including

• Anatomy of an egg
• Making naked eggs
• Experimenting with naked eggs

4. The Color of Bird Eggs – In the News

Birds eggs come is an astonishing array of colors.

Poster of bird eggs – (Note:  This poster does have stylistic diagram of a bird’s internal reproductive organs, in case you aren’t ready to go there )

Scientists have begun to realize that the color of bird eggs may be about more than just camouflage and there has been a recent burst of studies examining various aspects of color and speckling patterns.

For example, speckling may add structural support to the shell and as well as protection from direct exposure to the sun. The speckles may protect against ultraviolet rays while allowing enough light it so the chick inside can adjust its internal clock. Or the speckles may absorb heat and help maintain temperatures when the incubating parents are away from the nest.

Ornithologists (scientists that study birds) have found that species that are the target of nest parasites, like cowbirds, are sometimes better able to recognize the color patterns of their own eggs than species that aren’t as susceptible.

It seems likely that how egg color works will differ between different species of birds and may serve more than one purpose. Sounds like some great potential for science fair projects.

To study bird egg speckles with youngsters, try this craft to make artificial speckled eggs. See if eggs with speckles or without are easier to find when hidden in the grass.

If you are interested in participating in a citizen science project, Caren Cooper put out a call for photographs of the eggs in house sparrow nests last year. The speckling of house sparrow eggs varies quite a bit. The instructions ask that you include  a white piece of paper and a penny in the photograph for scale.

References:

Wired magazine has a popular science article “Debate Over Purpose of Bird-Egg Coloration Continues”

For a scientific review, see CHERRY, M. I. and GOSLER, A. G. (2010), Avian eggshell coloration: new perspectives on adaptive explanations. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 100: 753–762. available online

If you have early elementary-aged children, be sure to take a look at Whose Egg Is This? by Lisa J. Amstutz.

Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Capstone Press (January 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1429678542
ISBN-13: 978-1429678544

This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

(The eggs in photographs are frog eggs and snail eggs.)

Take this little fellow. It looks like a small version of a house fly.

Is it a “baby” fly?

That was a trick question. “Baby” flies are larvae and pupae. This fly is an adult; it is simply a different species.

Most flies have large eyes, but the head and eyes of this one are smaller relative to the thorax than the species above.

The fly in this photograph looks like a tiny, dark-brown fruit fly. Fruit flies have bright red eyes, but this fly has brown eyes.

Do you have any idea why these flies are sitting on leaves?

Some of the flies are likely basking to warm up in the morning sun. Some might be watching and waiting for potential mates to fly by.  The shiny green long-legged flies, however, are on the hunt.

Long-legged flies feed on other insects like tiny leafhoppers. The flies perch on and search leaves looking for a meal.

Have you ever watched flies perched on leaves? What were they doing?

These seeds were a bit of a mystery for me.

I knew the seeds were in these button-like seed cases on the plants.

But what did the seeds look like?

I pulled one apart. Are these the seeds?

No, those are the envelopes the seeds come in. The seeds are circular and pretty tiny.

Hint:  this is a desert plant that is related to hollyhocks.

Do you know what it is? Don’t be shy to leave your guesses in the comments.

Edit:  The answer is now posted.